Favorite baits for creek smallmouths

[plawren53202]

So I just rediscovered how much I enjoy fishing creeks/small streams after a 20+ hiatus. Used to fish a creek/small stream all the time at my grandparents' house, in my teens. I started stocking up on gear after watching lots of YouTube (thanks Creek Fishing Adventures)--light Lew's spinning combo, and a starter assortment of lures, hellgrammite soft plastic with jig heads, Rooster Tails, Rebel Wee Craws and Crickhopper, and some basic curly tail grubs/heads/jig spinners.

 

Found a place and went for the first time this weekend. Rediscovered the joy that a 1 pound smallmouth fighting in current on a light spinning rod can be. Also caught a bunch of longear sunfish/bluegill, shiners, etc. This particular spot is between what I would call a creek or small stream. Pretty wide; deepest holes range from 3-6 feet deep, I'm guessing. Lots of current in places combined with long deeper holes. Very clear water, definitely spring fed.

 

This creek is definitely going to go in my rotation of fishing spots from now on. So I'm looking to gear up a little more and thinking through what other lures would be good for smallmouths in this type of setting. Tubes? Small wacky rigged worms (4" Dinger)? Small swimbait like a 2.5 or 3 inch Keitech type? Others? I would love to hear what baits are your favorites for those who fish this type of water.

[Scott F]

I’ve always found river fish are not very picky. I talk to a lot of stream smallie guys who are good stream fishermen and they all catch fish on different lures. Pretty much anything you like, when you put it in the right place, and presented properly will get them.

[plawren53202]

29 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I’ve always found river fish are not very picky. 

That's my memory, and certainly seemed to be the case yesterday. Contrast to my most frequent largemouth fishing these days, which is trying to coax picky overpressured dinks in a crystal clear pond to bite--it's like fishing a trout stream without the upside. Yesterday was a blast with longears divebombing my Rebel Wee R Craw nearly every time it hit the water. The one smallmouth I caught also hit my hellgrammite like a freight train the second it hit the water.

 

Another question I forgot to include in my first post: what colors, particularly soft plastics, do people prefer? My gut instinct says in crystal clear water, natural colors like green pumpkin, browns, colors that mimic the natural forage like crawdads and small shiners. But I know sometimes there are color choices that defy logic, like fishing bubblegum pink and chartreuse for bedding largemouths, so just wanted to make sure I'm not overthinking it.

[Scott F]

For color, it’s the same thing. Feeding smallies sit in a calm spot next to current and watch for food coming downstream. They don’t have time to think. If they hesitate, the food is gone. On different days, they might prefer a different color. No way to predict what they may want. Choose a color you have confidence in. If it doesn’t work, change. 

[The Bassman]

I envy you. What you described is the foundation of my love of fishing. I spent many days wading my local streams until the last couple of years. Knee and ankle issues have slowed me way down. My favorite technique was throwing a small (1/8) buzzbait during low water. The strikes were vicious. Glad you rediscovered how fun stream fishing can be.

[MGF]

I wish I lived someplace that had streams like that.  

 

But...I was an avid cave diver at one time. I didn't fish much during that time but I used to dive a cave in Missouri that supplied a spring run into a creek (not that far from St. Louis) that I would have loved to fish. We used to have small mouth and trout follow us hundreds of feet back into the cave and to depths of 160 feet. Without our lights, I don't think fish wandered past the natural light zone of the cavern.

 

I apologize if this was too far off topic.

 

 

 

 

[Ogandrews]

In general when I’m fishing a smaller stream like that I spend most of my time fishing slow baits that stick around in the strike zone as long as possible. Most of the time I’m throwing a small tube, a rage menace or a chigger craw on a jig head, suspending jerkbait, top water walking bait, or small swimbait fished really slow. Stream smallies hit a lot of lures you don’t need to overcomplicate it, but I like to fish slower to maximize the amount of time my lure is in front of the fish.

[Dogface]

On 5/4/2020 at 10:10 AM, plawren53202 said:

I started stocking up on gear after watching lots of YouTube (thanks Creek Fishing Adventures)--light Lew's spinning combo, and a starter assortment of lures, hellgrammite soft plastic with jig heads, Rooster Tails, Rebel Wee Craws and Crickhopper, and some basic curly tail grubs/heads/jig spinners.

 

 

You been looking in my small creek bag? ? What you listed is mostly what I use. 

 

Ad a few Beatle Spins in yellow and white. I also use black and chartreuse but not as much. 

 

[plawren53202]

22 minutes ago, Dogface said:

You been looking in my small creek bag? ? What you listed is mostly what I use. 

 

Ad a few Beatle Spins in yellow and white. I also use black and chartreuse but not as much. 

 

After 2 or 3 trips, I can say this selection was definitely headed the right direction. Given my relative newness to creek smallmouths, I have done pretty well. The hellgrammites have worked well. Also have had really good luck with a Ned rig, the original ZMan Finesse TRD in Blue Craw especially, also PB&J, on just a basic ZMan mushroom jig head. Rebel Craw always manages to catch a couple also, along with a bunch of sunfish and bluegill. 

[BoatSquirrel]

Last year I caught my pb smallmouth on a WhopperPlopper 75.  The fish came clear out of the water after it.  They eat that thing with absolute anger!

[Dogface]

18 hours ago, BoatSquirrel said:

Last year I caught my pb smallmouth on a WhopperPlopper 75.  The fish came clear out of the water after it.  They eat that thing with absolute anger!

The OP was about small creek small mouth so I didn't mention the Torpedo but I use the Torpedo on the Susquehanna for small mouth.  It is productive at times.  

[PaulVE64]

For crystal clear water Watermelon red Swamp Crawler on a 3/32 oz jig and a Carolina rigged 3/16 oz Blue Glimmer Rage Bug

 

For stained or dirty I go black maribou jig with a twin tail grub

[Smells like fish]

A floating stickbait or jerkbait whichever you want to call them in the 2.5"-4.5" by AC Shiner or Rapala. I have as many as 20 of the Rebel grasshopper lures. Change the hooks on those and you're in bizzness! I have many hundred if not thousands of creek fish on those 2 lures alone. Though now I have joined the dark side where Ned Khede is king lol (trd CrawZ)

[bagofdonuts]

I'll save you a life time of trying to find the perfect summertime creek bait. It's a #8 popping bug.

[RoLo]

 

 

All gamefish tend to be more aggressive in water current. Stream fish have a constant supply of moving water

This might explain why river bronzebacks are unusually vulnerable to topwater lures...'any' topwater.

When the surface stuff isn't working, my second favorite lure for stream smallies is a jig & curly-tail grub. 

 

Roger

[flyfisher]

When i am not using my fly rod which is a better producer for me I almost exclusively use a circle hook nose hooked 4" stick worm.  I had some custome made a while back that were double dipped in clear plastic on the nose just for this purpose and any color works as long as it is yellow  

Fly rod is the way to go though with slow sinking spiders and poppers.  

[Linewinder]

One my current faves is Berkley Flicker Shad.

[CountryboyinDC]

Creek smallies are fun, certainly not as educated as reservoir bass usually are.  I think what you have should be fine, tackle wise.  If you find yourself getting hung up with what you have, you could get some offset worm hooks for those soft plastics you have and maybe some light bullet weights.  I think what others said about small topwaters is good advice too. 

I stopped fishing creeks. Folks that own land on them tend to be territorial, even if you can canoe up it making it clearly 'navigable'.  

[Linewinder]

In Virginia, that may be true, depending upon where it is.  Some counties are covered by King's law (I believe that is what it is called) and others by Common law.  VDGIF should know, if you ask them ahead.  Don't ask me how I found that out -- I'll deny it.

[NYWayfarer]

On 5/4/2020 at 10:10 AM, plawren53202 said:

I started stocking up on gear after watching lots of YouTube (thanks Creek Fishing Adventures)

That guy has a great channel. He sure does love those Nikko Hellgrammites. I bought a pack just because of the amount of success he has with them.

[plawren53202]

7 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

That guy has a great channel. He sure does love those Nikko Hellgrammites. I bought a pack just because of the amount of success he has with them.

LOL agreed. I couldn't bring myself to pay $7 or whatever a pack of the Nikkos is, so I compromised and bought a few boxes of the Bass Pro version. They're not Elaztech but they seem to get the job done. May actually be a benefit that they don't float; few weeks ago I was fishing a super clear farm pond using them just texas rigged with no weight, so they were slowly sinking. It was perfect for that presentation and I doubt I would have been able to fish them like that if they had been the floating Elaztech of the Nikkos.