Basic smallmouth lures and techniques

[rtwvumtneer6]

Good evening, everyone!  I just got a text from a fishing partner that said, "Get your gear together, we're taking the boat to the river for smallies this weekend!"

 

Naturally I'm excited, but I'm a largemouth guy.  Naturally he won't answer his phone, so here I am.  Curious what you guys might suggest I take with me and rig up that I would already have in my bass arsenal?  

 

Thanks!

[LCG]

I have had good luck with zoom trick worms, brush hogs, curly tail grubs, and a mepps in line spinner, #4 gold. Good luck to you and have fun. 

[Adam.love05]

Senko, curly tail grub, small swimbaits, crankbaits, jerkbait, Shakey head, zman trd.. just think small and finesse and you should have a fun day! They will also hit most largmouth baiys.. they just stage in different areas..

[haggard]

Soft plastics -

 

4 to 5 inch TX rigged worm (or paddletail / swim dinger) with 1/4 oz bullet weight.

 

2.5 to 3.5 in paddletail on a jig head

 

TX rigged baby turtle if you can find 'em

 

ned rig ~1/10 oz with 2.5 in worm

 

Nothing over 5 inches.

 

 

[EGbassing]

Ned rig is the #1 lure for smallmouth in my opinion. If you use it, make sure you get the real Z-man heads and Elaztech TRDs. Putting have a senko on a standard jig head just doesn't work nearly as well. Plus, you'll safe a lot of money in the long run since the elaztech baits last so much longer.

[rtwvumtneer6]

Well, looks like this will be the first time I take more (or as many) spinning rods as I do baitcasters.  

 

Thanks everyone! 

[roadwarrior]

Rage Tail Baby Craw and Menace

BPS Tender Tube #71

3/8 oz Siebert Outdoors jig (PB&J)/ Rage Craw (PB&J)

 

[Oregon Native]

If you want to keep it simple the Ned hook will hold small swimbaits, grubs, TRD's.  All good smallie baits.  Six or eight lb line...colors....green pumpkin....maybe a chocolate or watermelon and your golden.  Lots of good info above too.

Good Luck 

[OkobojiEagle]

small frame spinnerbait

 

oe

[Glaucus]

Literally only need the Ned Rig (1/10oz ShroomZ head with weedguard and Finesse TRD in Coppertruese) and Whopper Plopper (75 or 90).

[J.Vincent]

1 6ft6 or 6ft10 Medium ModFast Baitcaster for Sammie’s

 

1 6ft6 or 6ft10 Medium Fast Spinning combo for tubes and Senkos

[GeekOutdoors]

I'd go with a 7' feet medium fast rod with 20 pounds braided like and some tubes as fat and as short as possible in natural color with some purple in 'em. If its a river I guess it will have some current so you should not go under 1/4oz tube head and if you go with a 3/8, you might want to upgrade to a 7' MH, Fast action spinning rod especially with mid size tubes (3.5-4").

Take the fastest retrieving spinning reel you have to "eat line slack as fast as you can.

 

BTW I don't use leaders on these setups, braid to bait.

[MickD]

Good suggestions so far, but I would be sure to take some super flukes with 3/0 gama hooks. Don't take a lot of space, and they kill smallies on rivers.  You have to hide them when tying on.  :-)  White/pearl with chartreuse tail and something green, I like the green back, pearl belly.

 

The weight of the tube jig will depend on the depth and current speed-take along 1/4, 3/16, 1/8.  Smaller rather than longer tubes.  Green green green.

 

[Turkey sandwich]

Lots of good info.  Which river are you fishing?  Here's the thing with smallmouth in rivers, they'll take most of the same lures you'd present to largemouth, but the river will drastically change how you present them due to current.  Use the search feature on here for info on how fish orient in current, how it effects where you'll find them, and how it effects how you present to them.  

 

I've spent more time fishing the Susquehanna for smallmouth and have done well fishing crankbaits, grubs, Ned rigs, poppers of every variety, every variety of jig, drop shots, large spinnerbaits, a ton of different flies, etc.  If you're in a boat, have a number of rods rigged up and ask yourself "what can I present best here?" every time you find cover or structure likely to hold fish.  

 

Also, understand that fish living in current have to eat constantly and fishing reaction baits naturally that force fish to make fast decisions is a great big fish strategy. 

[Turkey sandwich]

Also, scour the internet for any Jeff Little material you can find.  He's very thoughtful and intelligent in his approach to fishing and teaching and probably one of the best river smallmouth fishermen on the planet. 

[Spankey]

Turk all this rain in Penna. has killed my smallmouth fishing this season for the most part. I had to suppress my short bout of major depression so I made a lake my new home. I had to. Have caught some nice Greenies. I can only believe the man upstairs will make something good come of all this rain. I'm not the worlds most religious guy but I have to believe something. I'm hoping after this hurricane things will settle out up till November. A few nice smallies before winter sets in will cure me. I'm not fishing those Greenies really any different than River Smallies, just less the current. Good luck. 

3 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

Also, scour the internet for any Jeff Little material you can find.  He's very thoughtful and intelligent in his approach to fishing and teaching and probably one of the best river smallmouth fishermen on the planet. 

Good stuff. 

[Turkey sandwich]

1 hour ago, Spankey said:

Turk all this rain in Penna. has killed my smallmouth fishing this season for the most part. I had to suppress my short bout of major depression so I made a lake my new home. I had to. Have caught some nice Greenies. I can only believe the man upstairs will make something good come of all this rain. I'm not the worlds most religious guy but I have to believe something. I'm hoping after this hurricane things will settle out up till November. A few nice smallies before winter sets in will cure me. I'm not fishing those Greenies really any different than River Smallies, just less the current. Good luck. 

Good stuff. 

 

It's been really rough. Rivers have been either tricky or dangerous most of the summer.  Even under more "normal" conditions, I might swap out 9" worms, beaver and creature baits, but not a whole lot else.  

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, Turkey sandwich said:

 

It's been really rough. Rivers have been either tricky or dangerous most of the summer.  Even under more "normal" conditions, I might swap out 9" worms, beaver and creature baits, but not a whole lot else.  

I was all butt hurt earlier in the season about the situation. Being a laker this season did me a world of good actually. I'm throwing a lot more soft plastics which has always been my favorite way to fish. It has me back to fishing much slower. If you want to call it finesse fishing. Buzz bait fished more this year than the last 5 put together. Much less Crankbait fishing this season. The lake I'm fishing holds up good to all the rain we've been getting. This hurricane will be a good test. 

[Boomstick]

I had a good day smallie fishing alongside a dam with a cement wall with crankbaits today, along with my oldest son. Most of the baits you get a largemouth with will catch a smallmouth, but from my experience the most important thing is where you fish them.

 

To target a largemouth, just find cover. A bridge, weeds, lily pads, etc.

 

For smallmouth, look for rocks or cement walls and fish alongside them. For example earlier today as soon as I got my crankbait alongside the cement wall on the dam, I got a fish.

[soflabasser]

I have caught river smallmouth bass on crankbaits and small swimbaits.

[Tyler.]

On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 7:01 PM, EGbassing said:

Ned rig is the #1 lure for smallmouth in my opinion. If you use it, make sure you get the real Z-man heads and Elaztech TRDs. Putting have a senko on a standard jig head just doesn't work nearly as well. Plus, you'll safe a lot of money in the long run since the elaztech baits last so much longer.

got a picture of your lure set up by chance?

[Crestliner2008]

I know this is a tad late, but in case you are still puzzling over answers, I'll throw in My two cents. Rivers and smallmouth just naturally go together, like bacon & eggs. Been fishing them for more decades than I care to admit. In my opinion, the most effective presentation for someone less than familiar with the species and/or environment, would undoubtedly be a plain 1/8 oz. ball head jig dressed with a 3" curly tailed grub. Get several colors of the plastics, but make sure you have some chartreuse.  

 

If you want even more excitement, take along a top water popper as well.