Picky smallies

[Mr. Aquarium]

I have a pond with a mix of smallies and largemouth. Both fat and healthy but I can only get bit by smallies in 2 baits! A tube and drop shot. Also blades in winter. Everything else I use, I catch largemouth. Jigs, small swimbaits, and Texas rigs during the day. At night Texas rig, spinnerbaits, wake baits chatterbaits and Texas rig.  They love bottom crawling baits.  They feed heavily on craws but also has a ton of bait fish. Like white and yellow perch! I never tried power fishing this place. 

This place has a healthy population of both! Fat and big! 

I find it odd that I only catch smallies on 2 lures! Even in the same spots as largemouth. 

 Back when we first started fishing here we would get more smallies then largemouth. 

[je1946]

If your talking about the place down on the cape that has very big smallies, they have seen and been caught on everything but the kitchen sink, by some very gd anglers, tournament there every other wk.  Perhaps if you try the kitchen sink lol.  I like to call them educated smallies.

[Mr. Aquarium]

2 hours ago, je1946 said:

If your talking about the place down on the cape that has very big smallies, they have seen and been caught on everything but the kitchen sink, by some very gd anglers, tournament there every other wk.  Perhaps if you try the kitchen sink lol.  I like to call them educated smallies.

No tournies or big boats on this place! Car tops only! I love it! 

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

Here are a few suggestions:  Rage Tail Swimmer, Rage Hawg,  Lizzard, Structure Bug and Menace.

BPS Tender Tube #71.  GYCB Senko and Fat Ika,  Megabass Ito Vision 110. Siebert Outdoors Cosmic

Spinnerbait. Gitzit "Baby Diaper Yellow".

 

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

I’ve fished the rage craw, lobster, space monkey, senkos, muzzle destroyer and d bomb. All largemouth! 

[A-Jay]

21 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I have a pond with a mix of smallies and largemouth. Both fat and healthy but I can only get bit by smallies in 2 baits! A tube and drop shot. Also blades in winter. Everything else I use, I catch largemouth. Jigs, small swimbaits, and Texas rigs during the day. At night Texas rig, spinnerbaits, wake baits chatterbaits and Texas rig.  They love bottom crawling baits.  They feed heavily on craws but also has a ton of bait fish. Like white and yellow perch! I never tried power fishing this place. 

This place has a healthy population of both! Fat and big! 

I find it odd that I only catch smallies on 2 lures! Even in the same spots as largemouth. 

 Back when we first started fishing here we would get more smallies then largemouth. 

 

7 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

No tournies or big boats on this place! Car tops only! I love it! 

 

1 hour ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I’ve fished the rage craw, lobster, space monkey, senkos, muzzle destroyer and d bomb. All largemouth! 

May not be what you fish as much as perhaps where you fish it.

As you've mentioned, this special lake has a mix of both brown & green bass, and while there may be some times that they can be mingling around in the same areas, I'm willing to say that most times, they are not.

My advice, after the brown bass leave the beds, fish deeper than you have been.

A-Jay

[Mr. Aquarium]

20 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

 

May not be what you fish as much as perhaps where you fish it.

As you've mentioned, this special lake has a mix of both brown & green bass, and while there may be some times that they can be mingling around in the same areas, I'm willing to say that most times, they are not.

My advice, after the brown bass leave the beds, fish deeper than you have been.

A-Jay

Makes sense! There’s a lot of deep water. Not much shallow cover.  I usually fish drop offs and stay deeper fishing edges! But there’s a few off shore humps

[dodgeguy]

Chartreuse senko in the spring drives smallies nuts.

[dodgeguy]

smallies also hit jigging spoons and jerk baits.

[Deeare]

Try a ned rig!

[Mr. Aquarium]

7 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

smallies also hit jigging spoons and jerk baits.

I never tried them here! How deep would you fish a jerkbaits 

5 hours ago, Deeare said:

Try a ned rig!

Yea I plan on doin that with small craw baits 

[Jleebesaw]

I agree that they are probably in deeper water. If there are offshore humps, that's a no brainer for smallies. I fish smallies more than LM and in my experiance they aren't picky eaters. They can be hard to find, but once you do they are normally quite aggressive and easy to catch.

[dodgeguy]

5 hours ago, Jleebesaw said:

I agree that they are probably in deeper water. If there are offshore humps, that's a no brainer for smallies. I fish smallies more than LM and in my experiance they aren't picky eaters. They can be hard to find, but once you do they are normally quite aggressive and easy to catch.

If the waters clear they will come up from 15 or 20 feet sometimes and hit them .

[Dogface]

The best is yet to come. Think how satisfied you'll be when you figure it out. 

 

BTW keep notes on all my catches. Especially location, depth, lure, time of day and type of bottom.  Hopefully when you would look back you will see a pattern.  

 

Good luck!

[rejesterd]

I would try a deep-diving jerkbait (Strike King has a good one that's not expensive).  Also a Rebel Big Craw in 15-25 feet.  It won't go down beyond 17 feet or so, but smallmouth will come up for it.  You just have to match the seasonal color of the crawfish.  Earlier in the year, it's brown and orange, then transitions to red with blue highlights later on.  I've caught more smallmouth on that lure than probably anything else in the past 30 years or so.  Smallmouth are generally roamers, so you have to power fish to find them imo. 

[Krux5506]

Sounds similar to a place I used to fish almost daily until it was purchased by a private party who cracked down on the fishing. Anyway, I'd consistently get summer time smallies there on top water, even during the afternoon with the sun high. Occasionally a largemouth would go for top water but for whatever reason it was mostly smallies. If there was a nice breeze with a bit of chop to the water, it would help a ton. Sun did not play a role. I'd always throw Heddon torpedos, smaller live target frogs and if there was a really good chop to the water then buzz baits.