"Newish" to smallmouth

[jbsoonerfan]

So I have caught some smallmouth in my fishing days but I have never intentionally set out to target them. I usually catch them when I am just fishing for largemouth. We are going to Lake Murray in Oklahoma this weekend and there are some really good smallies in there. I have a general idea of what to look for but I need a little bit of help with where they might be. Water temp is 66 and this lake is super clear with some spots probably 20+ feet visibility. We have had quite a bit of rain over the past few days. We really want to target smallmouth and try to focus on catching them. Have they moved up yet? Will they hit a jerkbait, like a MB 110 jr? Ned rig? 1/4 oz crank? Drop shot? Shakey head? I guess I am asking more where they might be in the water column and what they might be after. I know this is a general question and probably hard to answer but I appreciate any feedback. Thanks guys.

[Crestliner2008]

Smallmouth will take all of you asked about at one time or another. I've always found that finding them is the hardest part. Not being familiar with that lake, I cannot speculate as to where to find them. But if humps are out there near deep water, you should be able to find the bait. Which is what you look for, not the bass. Find the bait.....put down a logical presentation and you will get bit.

[A-Jay]

66 degree water temps here is post spawn.  May have males still guarding beds (they will be suicidal)  but the fat girls may be sitting back on the first or second break.  Put a rage bug on a 1/2 swing head and drag it around, see what happens.  I'd suggest sitting shallow and throwing deep.  Work up hill.

Good luck

A-Jay 

[papajoe222]

On 5/3/2019 at 7:19 AM, A-Jay said:

66 degree water temps here is post spawn.

What temps do SM normally spawn?  I'm guessing it's cooler than LM, but I never asked.

[TnRiver46]

On 5/9/2019 at 10:05 PM, papajoe222 said:

What temps do SM normally spawn?  I'm guessing it's cooler than LM, but I never asked.

Upper 50s to mid 60s

[bwjay]

If you have any super flukes in shad color, give those a shot. The Strike King ZTOO use ElaZtech which causes them to float. From what I gather, topwater is not an all-day thing, but if you bring them subsurface, you can get some sweet bites. Use a swivel 8-12" ahead of the bait to bring them subsurface. It also kind of looks like the shad is chasing tiny baitfish which attracts more attention. Walk the dog with these, real slow twitches, maybe one or two and then and a two to five second pause. Obviously mix it up based on your observations. I have heard of very good things with this bait but moreso in the prespawn and spawn. You might be postspawn now so I'm not sure. The Caffeine Shad is another option but I don't know how much it floats. If it sinks more than a ZTOO then you may not need the swivel. Since they're pretty cheap, give both a shot, maybe with slightly different colors to see what works best. The point is mimic a dying baitfish basically. If your lake doesn't have shad, then this won't work. OK might work better with craw imitators like a Texas rigged Bandito Bug or Krackin Craw. I just broke my PB today (in MN lol) on a Bandito Bug and I tried it based on all of the good things I heard about it. I'm happy to report it doesn't JUST work in Texas. Give it a shot.

 

I hope this helps... most of it is based on reading and not actual experience.  I'll check back to see if it worked!

[BassinCNY]

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Upper 50s to mid 60s

It probably depends where you are too. I fished a finger lake in New York last weekend and the smallies were spawning. The water temperature at the surface was 49 degrees first thing in the morning and had warmed to 54 by mid-afternoon.

[Boomstick]

For targeting active bass, you can target them more or less like a largemouth. A spinnerbait or a crankbait should do nicely.

 

If they are not chasing in shallow areas I would look for areas with a sandy bottom and an occasional rock near a steep slope. Smallies like to suspend next to these rocks in areas with a sandy bottom, so if there's a weedy or slimy bottom, move along. Should there be a single smaller deep area in the lake, then you have almost certainly hit a jackpot. Work the area around the deep spot, focusing alongside any rocks.

 

A finesse drop shot using a nose hooked roboworm is usually my preferred choice for targeting suspended smallies, but should you find any prime structure areas where there's almost certainly smallies lurking then there a wacky rigged finesse worm might be the way to go. Alternatively, a t-rigged rage tail can haul in the smallies too! If they're spawning, throw it on their beds and wait.