What is your "If they are here they will take this" lure?

[MickD]

SMB usually can be taken if they are found, but now and then they can be VERY particular about what they will take.  Do you have a lure that has your confidence enough that when you use it, and you don't get bit, you are confident they are not around?

 

I'm interested mostly in big water, not rivers.  SMB, not LMB.

[Dwight Hottle]

Absolutely jerkbaits.

[TnRiver46]

1) A small tube jig 

2) a finesse worm

[jbmaine]

Ned rig

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

 

The only lure I have ever used that out fished live bait is the Rage Tail Menace.

 

 

 

[BoatSquirrel]

25 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

The only lure I have ever used that out fished live bait is the Rage Tail Menace.

This is quite a statement, and not the first time you have mentioned it.  Your favorite setup with it, times of year to use it?  Please educate us--Thanks!

[A-Jay]

On 9/2/2019 at 11:26 AM, MickD said:

SMB usually can be taken if they are found, but now and then they can be VERY particular about what they will take.  Do you have a lure that has your confidence enough that when you use it, and you don't get bit, you are confident they are not around?

 

I'm interested mostly in big water, not rivers.  SMB, not LMB.

For me, when & where big brown bass are 'found' plays big a role in technique & bait selection; current weather / water conditions too of course. 

I have not had major success all season, in every situation with any one deal.

Early & late season, when smb are 'feeding down' -  Blade bait, Vibrating Jig or Rage Bug on a Swing head.

Used to be a tube but for some reason I hardly throw them any more - probably a big mistake.

Especially with the Goby Infestation - Best thing ever btw. 

Early & late season when smb are feeding in the 'middle' of the water column, Jerkbait all day, everyday. 

Mid-season when smb are feeding up (not including Mayflies - that's fly rod time for me) it's a perch colored Pop Max. 

Mid-season when smb are feeding down, used to be drop shot a ton, now it's a Ned Rig more often than not. 

Also great during the big fly hatches on the bottom.

Mid to Late season when smb are feeding in the middle of the water column, A-Rig. 

It's a big fish confidence bait for me - may not get a ton of bites, but the ones I do get, will be the Right Ones. 

 

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

A-Jay

 

 

 

[billmac]

Curly tail grub

[roadwarrior]

15 hours ago, BoatSquirrel said:

This is quite a statement, and not the first time you have mentioned it.  Your favorite setup with it, times of year to use it?  Please educate us--Thanks!

Spinning tackle, #6 Tatsu, T-rigged with a 3/8 oz bullet weight.  Fishing for smallmouth on

the Tennessee River. The exact spot was just outside a current break.  Five on five casts!

 

[J Francho]

20 hours ago, MickD said:

I'm interested mostly in big water, not rivers.  SMB, not LMB.

Really good question, and I'll use Erie and Ontario as my example.  If I find bait, and by bait, I mean the bottom is carpeted with bait on the graph, I'm confident something that I can get down there will get bit.  It's usually either on a Hopkin's Shorty spoon (1 oz.) or some plastic on a DS.  Occasionally, I'll throw a football and craw jig, or a tube on a 3/4-1 oz. tube head, but that's rare anymore.

[MickD]

Thanks, guys , for your comments.  Keep them coming if you have new ideas.  J Francho, how deep would it be when using  a 3/4 to 1 oz tube jig?  Tubes are still quite good around St Clair and Sag Bay, usually with 3/16 or 1/4 oz in 15 feet or less. 

 

The only thing mentioned that I've not tried some version of is the A rig.  A Jay, that's what you were casting in your recent video before hitting the fish on Ned, right?  Seems like a big price to pay (casting effort), but if it's the only thing going, worth it.

[Spankey]

17 hours ago, billmac said:

Curly tail grub

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^

 

 

 

* can’t say I’m a huge huge lake water guy *

[J Francho]

26 minutes ago, MickD said:

J Francho, how deep would it be when using  a 3/4 to 1 oz tube jig?  Tubes are still quite good around St Clair and Sag Bay, usually with 3/16 or 1/4 oz in 15 feet or less.

We fish A LOT deeper, but remember, it's all relative.  I'm not ever going to rule out 15-20', but I pretty much have ignored 30' or less the past decade or so.  I'll consider that 30' line on my maps "shoreline" and look at structure from there.  LSC isn't all that deep, so, I'd say you're good at that 15' level.  I'm talking dead of summer and that point where they hit their wintering spots.  Fall and spring, you just never know, but if you run into them, it's game on.

[Krux5506]

Ned rig or drop shot in Lake Ontario in anywhere from 6ft to 30ft. This time of year is when I see big smallies in both shallow and deep water out there. Usually I will choose to go shallow because I love sight fishing structure with long casts + finesse baits. 

[Scarborough817]

for smallies? drop shot or a ned rig

[A-Jay]

4 hours ago, MickD said:

Thanks, guys , for your comments.  Keep them coming if you have new ideas.  J Francho, how deep would it be when using  a 3/4 to 1 oz tube jig?  Tubes are still quite good around St Clair and Sag Bay, usually with 3/16 or 1/4 oz in 15 feet or less. 

 

The only thing mentioned that I've not tried some version of is the A rig.  A Jay, that's what you were casting in your recent video before hitting the fish on Ned, right?  Seems like a big price to pay (casting effort), but if it's the only thing going, worth it.

A-Rig's are a commitment for sure.

For me they've become sort of an addiction /obsession. 

It's interesting to note that I did fish an A-Rig for two full seasons WITHOUT a BITE !

Took me a while to understand how, when & where to fish it to get bites; and I'm still learning each trip out.

So Every fish I do get on an A-Rig is like redemption.

 It's one of the few deals I throw where it seems every bite on is a 'good one'.

Admittedly there are probably other deals I could use that may get more bites but the big fish appeal is addicting, despite the intense upper body workout required.

 

Finally it's worth noting that an A-Rig as totally helped me get through the 'Summer / Fall Transition'.

 During what has routinely been a 2-3 week period often leaving me asking "where are the bigger brown bass", fishing (committing to) this technique has lead directly to quite a bit of net & scale use.

And if things go according to plan, next couple of weeks could be good.

 

A-Jay

[8pt172]

Great Question!!!

 

Spring time below 45 degrees can't beat the black marabou jig, and for 45 plus, it is the Keitech Fat 3.3 and 3.8' Sun gill swim bait.  I slow crawl it along the bottom, keeping in contact with the bottom the best I can.  When the fish transition onto the beds, the TRD is a killer. 

 

Suspended Summer Bass are the worst creatures to find and catch.  Limited success with a Spy Bait and Deep Jerk on windy days.  Deep crank has saved a day or 2 also.

 

Fall, they eat most everything when you find them. Spinnerbaits and Jerkbaits in the wind are killer, when it gets flat calm the TRD and the Tube are my go to.  Just starting to experiment with different drop shot presentations, but haven't had better success than with the baits mentioned above yet.

 

If I had to only fish 1 bait all year, it would have to be the Keitech Fat. 

[MickD]

3 hours ago, 8pt172 said:

I slow crawl it alon   the bottom, keeping in contact with the bottom the best I can.  When the fish transition onto the beds, the TRD is a killer. 

I have found the 3.8 Keitech very good, but most of my fish come on snapping it off the bottom, or twitching it as I retrieve it.  In very clear water the KVD in pearl white is excellent , too.  Same snapping retrieve works well for LMB at times, too.  thanks again for all the comments.

[M0xxie]

In rivers/creeks, I've had a lot of luck with Johnson's Crappie Buster SpinR Grub, which is an under-spin jig with a curly tail grub, but I also use Berkley's Gulp minnows. Sometimes I put it on a jig spinner for some extra flash/vibration.  They're made for crappie, but the bronzies don't care.

 

For lakes my go-to would be a weedless wacky-rigged 4" or 5" stick worm with shrink tubing (I hate o-rings) -- I like the Trokar weedless wacky hook in a 1/0, or if you like the safety-pin-style weed-guard, the Gamakatsu's aren't too bad (except for the price) -- tend not to fish wacky as much in the river because the plastic is so soft, and they rip in the current, even with the tubing.

[Krux5506]

Pretty sure last time I spent a couple hours chucking an A-rig I woke up the next day feeling like my back was tweaked out. It's definitely a work out. 

[bowhunter63]

Bitsy bug jig and a baby Rage craw trailer

[J Francho]

2 hours ago, Krux5506 said:

Pretty sure last time I spent a couple hours chucking an A-rig I woke up the next day feeling like my back was tweaked out. It's definitely a work out. 

I threw one for 8 hours in TX on Oneida.  I was in the river, near Rt. 81 bridge, right next to Jaime Hartman, who was fishing a Fed tx, IIRC.  He came in first for that one, I came in second for mine.  Man, was I sore the next day.

[Krux5506]

Yeah it's brutal. I throw mine on a Mojo Bass 7'9 heavy swimbait rod. I don't know if I hate the A-rig or just that rod, but either way I have nothing to show for the times I did spend time (or mostly energy) throwing one. 

[DubyaDee]

It's all season dependent for me.

 

Early spring/late fall- Blade bait

Spring- Jerkbait

Summer- Drop shot

Fall- Swinghead 

 

Those are my #1's, my #2 is always a tube regardless of season.

[GANGGREEN]

When smallmouth are active, they bite.  They'll take any of the lures mentioned and tons of other stuff that nobody's mentioned.  When they're tough though...…..If I presume fish are there, they won't hit anything else and I really need or want to catch them, just to prove something, you downsize.....a lot.  Tiny bugs, hair jigs, curltails, tubes....tiny.