6 baits

[Idahosmb]

You only get three soft plastics and three hard baits for all year. What are you choosing and why? I'm saying terminal tackle is included. I'm going with  zoom lizard, rage menace, and yamamoto senkos. I chose these because I feel it covers reaction, finesse, shallow, and deep fishing. Hard baits I'm choosing a sixth sense curve 55, I love it's action and have had luck on smallies with this crank. A dirty jigs 3/8 finesse swim jig. Last, I'm going with a loon whopper plopper. Of course again I feel that I can fish most conditions and seasons with this set up. Of course this list is playing off of my strengths. I can't wait to see what you all say.

[Swampdonkey fishing]

Soft plastics...

yum dinger, TRD tubes, and crackn’ craw

 

Hard baits...

Sexy shad poper, blue bill square bill, and glacier ice jerk bait.

[MIbassyaker]

My smallie fishing is mostly done floating and wading small rivers and streams in late summer.  Some of the old-school options still rule here:

 

-4" Yamamoto or Kalins Grub + 1/8oz head

-4" Berkley power worm + 1/8oz slider head

-4" Senko or Ocho

-Heddon Tiny Torpedo

-KVD or LC 1.5 squarebill

-#3 Mepps Aglia

 

 

 

[Columbia Craw]

Robo Worm Fat Neon bluegill

Yamamoto Hula Grub 176

Tube in green ugly

 

I can fish these at any depth; drop shot, hop or drag.

 

Megabass Vision 110  Yellow Perch

Normans Deep Little N in Columbia Craw

Dobyns Beast spinnerbait in chartreuse/lt glimmer-double silver willows

 

Reaction baits that cover aggressive fish looking up or down to twelve feet deep.

 

[TnRiver46]

Soft: strike king bitsy tube, zoom finesse worm, and a toad

 

harbait: popper, spook, jerkbait

[BigAngus752]

Plastic:

Z-Man ZinkerZ, SK Rage Craw, Zoom UV worm

 

Hard:

Cotton Cordell Super Spot, bladed jig, hollow frog

 

[Junk Fisherman]

Soft- ISG Tube, Berkley Max scent flatworm, 4" Keitech swimbait (tough leaving a TRD off)

 

Hard- Staysee 90, Duo Realis spybait 90, double willow bladed spinnerbait

 

Why am I picking these?  A swimbait and tube are staple baits that I have tied on all year long.  The flatworm is a dropshot bait that I quickly gained confidence in last fall.  I fish a dropshot probably 50% of the time after the spawn is over.  Those 3 baits account for probably 90% of all the smallmouth I catch.  

 

I would much rather have a TRD than any of the hard baits but I'll play by the rules.  While I am not a big jerkbait guy, I know how lethal a jerkbait can be in the spring.  I had my best day ever on a Staysee last spring so I need to keep that going.  I have caught good fish on a spybait but need to throw them more.  And if I am up north in the summer, the spinnerbait can be awesome on those breezy days.  I hardly don't fish them around Chicago but up north they are always tied on.  Nice topic.  

[Spankey]

Tube Baits 2 1/2" - 3 3/4" Case & Zoom

Grub Baits 3" - 4" Mr. Twister, Zoom, Kailan

Finesse Worms 4" - 5"   * many types

Creatures 3"    * many types

Pop R's & Chug Bugs

Hair Jigs

Bitsy/Micro Jigs

Crankbaits and Jerkbaits

 

River Fishing For Smallies

[813basstard]

Plastic: speed worm, creature bait, fluke

 

Hard bait: spinnerbait, walking bait, Chatterbait 

[Idahosmb]

Well, what I have realized so far from your posts, and already knew but still haven't done is I need to figure out the jerk bait and get on that train. I use sinking rapalas quite often but more like a crank on a cast and wind retrieve. 

[Deephaven]

Soft: Trickworm, Senko, Zoom Chunk on a Skipping Jig

Hard: Frog, Jerkbait, Spinnerbait

 

Not sure it is fair to consider a jig terminal or a trailer a soft plastic, but too bad those are what I'd pick.

[Shadow1]

Soft Plastic: River Rock Helgripede, 4" Senko (black), BPS Tender Tube (zucchini)

Hard Bait: 1/8 oz Tim Poe Spinnerbait, Megabass Pop X, Heddon Baby Torpedo 

[JLBBass]

Mainly fish Lake Erie for smallies, so:

Plastics:

3'-4" tubes

4"-5" grubs

"secret" drop shot bait 

 

Hard baits:

LC Pointer 100sp

LC Staysee 90

Rapala DT

 

[J Francho]

14 hours ago, Idahosmb said:

You only get three soft plastics and three hard baits for all year. What are you choosing and why?

Stamp collecting.  Plastics and hardbaits are only 40% of my bare minimum to catch fish.

[roadwarrior]

Senko, Fat Ika, Rage Tail Menace and Space Monkey

 

Megabass PopMax, Norman Fat Boy and Red Eye Shad

 

[Junk Fisherman]

46 minutes ago, JLBBass said:

Mainly fish Lake Erie for smallies, so:

Plastics:

3'-4" tubes

4"-5" grubs

"secret" drop shot bait 

 

Hard baits:

LC Pointer 100sp

LC Staysee 90

Rapala DT

 

 

A 7-14 smallie?  Erie?  Tell us about that.  

[Spankey]

3 hours ago, Idahosmb said:

Well, what I have realized so far from your posts, and already knew but still haven't done is I need to figure out the jerk bait and get on that train. I use sinking rapalas quite often but more like a crank on a cast and wind retrieve. 

That doesn't mean anything. You are not doing anything wrong. Those Husky Jerks, countdown and X raps can be fish a few ways. They can be ripped and paused also along with what you are doing now. Pick up a couple up that have a real slow float to them. 

[JLBBass]

14 minutes ago, Junk Fisherman said:

 

A 7-14 smallie?  Erie?  Tell us about that.  

Yep! Erie, about 15 years ago. Drifting a 4" tube, a few miles East of the W's, in about 25 ft of water. Took a few pictures, and sent her back to her home! Actually, I put her in the livewell, intending on keeping her, but after thinking about it a little, I couldn't get myself to keep such a beautiful creature, and let her go. Bad part......Cell phone pictures were on, puked that year, and I never backed up my pictures......?

[Log Catcher]

Baby Brush Hog - Black Emerald.

Ultra Vibe Speed Worm - Junebug.

Shaky Head Worm - Watermelon Seed.

Bandit 200 - La. Shad.

1/2 ounce Spinnerbait - Spot Remover.

Pointer 100 - Ghost Minnow

[The Maestro]

Yamamoto Flappin Hog

Jackall Crosstail Shad

Senko or maybe a Keitech Swinging Impact 

 

Rapala X-Pop

Vision 110

Double willow spinnerbait 

 

[Junk Fisherman]

2 hours ago, JLBBass said:

Yep! Erie, about 15 years ago. Drifting a 4" tube, a few miles East of the W's, in about 25 ft of water. Took a few pictures, and sent her back to her home! Actually, I put her in the livewell, intending on keeping her, but after thinking about it a little, I couldn't get myself to keep such a beautiful creature, and let her go. Bad part......Cell phone pictures were on, puked that year, and I never backed up my pictures......?

 

That's awesome.  I said I would mount my first 5 lber but then I couldn't.  Said I would mount a 6 lber and I couldn't do that either.  Some great pictures is enough for me.  

[roadwarrior]

53 minutes ago, Junk Fisherman said:

 

That's awesome.  I said I would mount my first 5 lber but then I couldn't.  Said I would mount a 6 lber and I couldn't do that either.  Some great pictures is enough for me.  

 Still looking for a 12 lb 1 oz smallmouth to mount.

 

[CountryboyinDC]

Nikko ZaZa helgrammite (small, usually 1/16, jighead)

Yamamoto Senko 4", Texas-rigged with light bullet weight

Keitech 3.3 fat swing impact, Tennessee Shad, on a keel-weighted swimbait hook

 

I think jigs and spinnerbaits are hard baits, I've just always thought of hard baits as plugs.

Finesse jig 

Rebel Wee Craw

Super Spook Jr

 

Ask me this afternoon and that list could change, especially the hard baits.  That took more time than I thought to narrow them down. 

 

[mtb.mike]

I am not a big soft plastics guy and I hardly use them. The wacky worm gets some use though...usually a yum dinger rigged on a weedless worm hook with an O-ring.

 

For hardbaits I like to find deals and diamonds in the rough. I spend more time than I like to admit looking for lures that rival name brands.

 

Hardbaits:

BPS Double Down Plopper

Wanby Floating Minnow

BPS Nitro Spinner 1/2 oz

 

Honorable Mention:

Pistol Pete Woolly Bugger

I use a light weight spinning setup with a water bobber. I originally bought it for trout but the smallmouth kept going after it so I put it into the line up. Not sure what it is, maybe its the spinning blade on the front of the fly that gets the bass going.

 

[Steveo-1969]

My smallmouth fishing is done wading a shallow rocky river.

 

Softbaits: Strike King Ned Cut’r worm, small 3” to 3.5” paddletail, Googan baits Rattlin’ Ned

 

Hardbaits: I’m allergic to treble hooks so... Strike King Bitsy Bug finesse jig (3X)