How to target river smallmouth in winter?

[SMbasser]

Hey guys, could some of you guys share some knowledge on how to target river smallies in the winter on open water. I live in upper midwest and its a pretty big river dam with mainly rocky bottoms but there are sections where there is flat mud. Baits to use? Water depth target? Current or slack water? Please and thank you guys! 

[Finessegenics]

Personally, I've had very little success on late fall/winter smallmouth as im on the shore. I do the best out of current in "deeper" spots 10-15 feet (which is still shallow, but the deepest im able to get from shore) But, In my opinion, you cant go wrong with a hair jig or ned rig, but getting those baits down in deep water may be difficult. I think a hula grub on a football head could do some serious damage on them too. 

 

And merry christmas!

[Scott F]

58 minutes ago, SMbasser said:

Hey guys, could some of you guys share some knowledge on how to target river smallies in the winter on open water. I live in upper midwest and its a pretty big river dam with mainly rocky bottoms but there are sections where there is flat mud. Baits to use? Water depth target? Current or slack water? Please and thank you guys! 

You don’t say which river or how big a river you are talking about. In my rivers, 10 feet is about as deep as it gets. Winter smallies group up tight in their wintering holes. In winter, the best days are sunny afternoons when the air temps are up. You’ll have to find and fish near those wintering areas. Slow to still water in eddies that are deep and near current are the high percentage spots. Soft plastics like Ned rigs are a good choice.

[soflabasser]

Try fishing with a ned rig.

[Turtle135]

As has been mentioned the Ned Rig is a great way to start. Add a suspending jerkbait like a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 or 78 and you have a great one-two punch for winter river smallmouth. As an information resource check out "The Little Stuff" on Youtube. He has a smallmouth playlist with a bunch of winter smallmouth videos.

[bowhunter63]

Hair jigs and small swimbaits work really good.

[TnRiver46]

In winter I just ditch the river and go downstream into the “reservoirs” 

[roadwarrior]

19 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

In winter I just ditch the river and go downstream into the “reservoirs” 

Nope...The other way around.

 

[Scott F]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Nope...The other way around.

 

Usually, if they aren’t stopped by dams, smallmouth will migrate out of the river into a lake or reservoir where they can find deeper water to spend the winter.

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Nope...The other way around.

 

We are talking about different waters..... mountain streams in East Tennessee that are loaded with smallies all summer are a ghost town right now. Just got done fishing one, zilch