Fishing small lures

[EGbassing]

2 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

I have caught some large bass on the smallest lures imaginable while going for panfish.  I have caught 3+ pound bass while ice fishing with some of the smallest jigs imaginable.  

 

Yes, a bass will hit small lures.  While I enjoy fishing bigger things there are times when a small lure will work much better.

I've caught hundreds of bluegill on small lures and I've never caught one bass on anything smaller than a 2.75" ned rig. Maybe it's just the fish in my area that don't bite small lures, I don't know. 

[the reel ess]

My buddy caught an 8 lb bass one winter while trolling jigs for crappie. It's not uncommon. In fact, it's essentially the float/fly method. He also uses a crappie trolling crankbait in spring for bass with some success.

 

I have a combo that's "old school medium" spinning rod and a light reel. It has 6 lb test mono on it. I use it for Rooster Tails and Beetle Spins. I'll take it down to the creek sometimes or to my buddy's pond that's full of stunted bass. It's a hoot because that combo catches anything in the water. 8 lb. would probably work better for targeting bass though. I miss the hookset a bit with the whippy rod and light line even with those light wire hooks.

[MN Fisher]

On small lures - #0 & #1 Mepps, Beetle Spins, etc - I've never caught a bass larger than 12". Ned Rigs and Drop Shots aside - for me, the smaller lures are panfish/trout only based on my experience.

[JLindsey]

I catch plenty of bass on small lures, and not just dinks either. I throw 1/8oz KastMaster spoons, small inline spinners and 3” grubs on a medium spinning rod with 6lb fluoro. If big bass and monster pickerel aren’t “supposed” to eat small lures, then it sure seems like nobody told them about it. 

[Brad Reid]

I may have posted this on my similar thread. I caught this bass on 3-22 using 2lbs. Nanobraid and a #2 Mepps Plain Aglia, silver blade. Neighbor Joe was next to me in his boat, weighed it: 3 lbs. 7 ozs. You can see the little Mepps in its mouth.

 

I think the largest LMB I have caught on 2 lbs. braid was around 4 pounds, maybe a little over. Also 3 pound white bass, a nice catfish, too, which almost spooled me.

 

That one "insurance" rod to carry along for me, when fishing is tough? I think if panfish weren't in the mix, I'd use a light spinning rod, maybe even an ML, a 2500 reel and size up to 4 lbs. or even 6 lbs. Nanobraid. Whether it is 2, 4 or 6, it is all so very lightweight and fine, I am not certain I could tell the difference. It casts great.

 

#2 Mepps, maybe a upsize to a #3 for bass, I'd avoid throwing it into tough places, likely use it in coves just outside of vegetation, toss it down creek channels or the deepest part of the cove.

 

Brad

 

 

 

 

I should have added something, that when I cast a tiny Mepps with a treble hook? My hand is in position and flipping the bail almost exactly when it hit the water. If not, certainly depending on water depth and what is in it, you can get hung up pretty fast. But, the good thing is the treble hook is so small, it is almost always easily shaken loose to free it.

 

Trouble is, it is easy for a big bass to leap in the air and sling it off.

 

Nothing works perfectly!

 

Brad

[WRB]

There are dozens of crankbaits under 2" long for bass. Bagley's Honey B and Killer B, Rapala CD #3 & 5, several lipless crabkbaits etc, etc have been around for decades. Structure spoons that replicate Threadfin shad are usually under 2" long, soft plastics between 2" to 3 1/2" for finesse presentation are common. Jigs, most are under 2 1/2" long, some mini jigs under 3/4" less trailers.

Bass eat small size lures often.

Tom

[WI_Angler1989]

I frequently catch big bass (for my area) on a #1 Mepps inline spinner. Not sure if you're familiar, but that's a pretty small lure. You'll never know till you try it, man!

[Glaucus]

6 hours ago, EGbassing said:

I've caught hundreds of bluegill on small lures and I've never caught one bass on anything smaller than a 2.75" ned rig. Maybe it's just the fish in my area that don't bite small lures, I don't know. 

Sometimes downsizing is the only way to catch them. Smallmouth bass go nuts on mayflies during the mayfly hatch and those things are really small. One of to think of it is, you don't always want the sandwich but you might walk by the table and grab a chip or two.

 

I think your input is as valuable as anyone else's. Hopefully you know that and continue to give your 2 cents.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

I usually carry a couple ultralights when I go to the river, 6lb mono. Zebco ZO2 with zebco Omega rod. 

 

Usually throw tiny cranks like strike king, rebel. Also throw roadrunners and beetle spins. We use "satilla spins" with is just a local made small spinnerbait. Panfish-Copperheads, warmouth, shell cracker, red breast, and occasionally specks. 

 

Most if the time you end up catching several bass and mudfish. Im also a believer bass like tiny baits. 

 

 

[EGbassing]

1 hour ago, Glaucus said:

Sometimes downsizing is the only way to catch them. Smallmouth bass go nuts on mayflies during the mayfly hatch and those things are really small. One of to think of it is, you don't always want the sandwich but you might walk by the table and grab a chip or two.

 

I think your input is as valuable as anyone else's. Hopefully you know that and continue to give your 2 cents.

Thanks! Yeah, there definitely are situations that call for small lures. Even the smallest bass in my lake seem to prefer 12" worms over anything else for some reason though. ? They're odd fish 

[drew4779]

I've caught more bass on crickhoppers and rebel wee crawls than I can count.  I lost my PB (at the time) on the side of the boat with a crawl in the late 90's.  Since then I rarely pull out the ultra-light, I can still see that last head shake that snapped the line.  I miss it though.  Nothing more fun than catching a big ole' bass on an ultra-light. 

[Brew City Bass]

9 hours ago, EGbassing said:

I've caught hundreds of bluegill on small lures and I've never caught one bass on anything smaller than a 2.75" ned rig. Maybe it's just the fish in my area that don't bite small lures, I don't know. 

It's more than likely a list of reasons why they're not hitting your small presentations. 

For my lakes, it depends what tiny lure I'm fishing. Tiny crankbaits, tiny jigs, stuff like that never seems to get bit for me. But tiny worms, ned rig, 1" minnow on drop shot, those all get hit by the big girls all summer long. 

But I do agree with you, if you wanna catch consistent big fish, use a big(ger) bait. I have fun using a drop shot, but for every 5lber I catch I gotta weed through a hundred 1 lbers and crappie. Most days I am not up for that so I'll opt to throw a big moving bait. The only days you'll catch me drop shotting or fishing a tiny lure is when I've deemed that the fish aren't in the mood for a larger bait, which to be honest is rare. I can almost always find fish willing to bite a jig, crank, spinner, or jerkbait. 

1 hour ago, EGbassing said:

Thanks! Yeah, there definitely are situations that call for small lures. Even the smallest bass in my lake seem to prefer 12" worms over anything else for some reason though. ? They're odd fish 

I'm sure there's a forage in the lake that mimics a 12" worm. There's one lake I fish where they won't touch anything but a worm or craw imitation. 

[EGbassing]

20 minutes ago, Brew City Bass said:

I'm sure there's a forage in the lake that mimics a 12" worm. 

There are a lot of snakes in there. That's what I would guess.

[Munkin]

I use to wade fish a small local creek with a friend. We would use 6' UL spinning rods with 4lb line and catch everything in the creek. Mini Fat Rap in Craw was deadly for SM and I caught several that went 3lbs. Not saying it is a good strategy for a tournament but it was fun on that UL gear.

 

Allen

[Bluebasser86]

Texas' 18+lb state record was caught on a crappie jig. Bass are opportunistic, if a tiny bait wiggles close enough they can suck it in with minimal effort, chances are pretty good they will. A big plus to tiny baits is there's less there to look fake. You have to fish the right gear to get the most out of them though. A tiny crank on what is typically consider light bass gear is too heavy and won't allow it to work correctly. Drop down to 4lb or even 2lb test and they really come to life. 

[greentrout]

hank parker's classic 1/8 oz. white spinner bait ... george cochran's little mr. money and zoom finesse worms have caught me more bass than i can count ...

 

of course, rebel critters and the beetle spin take a back seat to no one ...

 

good fishing ...  

[CHIP-MAINE]

my standard  #1 lure is a #$ or#5 mepps- catch many and big large and small on it

[bigbill]

For lighter smaller baits I use a 5’5” spinning rod, with 6lb test, I also use a 6’ spinner rod for larger baits, I use 8lb test.

 

my Pb of 10# was landed on 8# test. I prayed line don’t fail me now. The Excalibur silver thread line never failed me yet.