Top Lures for Pre/Post-Spawn River Smallmouth

[Obi_Wan]

10 hours ago, TOXIC said:

While I don’t wade fish anymore, I used to rig a 3 inch Kalins Smoke with Black Flake, I think it was technically named a smoke salt and pepper, on a 1/16th jighead, hook exposed.  I would cast it across the current and let it sweep down river.  If you cast up current, you’re almost guaranteed a snag.  I had 100 fish days with this rig.  

Thats how I was planning to fish them.  I have some Fat Alberts, but I’ll look into the Kalins as well.

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, Obi_Wan said:

Thats how I was planning to fish them.  I have some Fat Alberts, but I’ll look into the Kalins as well.

Fat Albert is awesome, Kalins are awesome…….. and big bite baits lunker grubs are awesome 

[Bdnoble84]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:16 PM, Bdnoble84 said:

Spinnerbait, jerkbait. I struggle otherwise which i think is more of an issue of finding them this time of year than baits thrown

I’m adding 3” largo shad and 4” easy shiners to my prespawn list. Smallmouth inhale them and i run into the bonus walleye now and again. Plus i can use an underspin head if i want extra flash and vibration but a spinnerbait isnt producing.

[PaulVE64]

Two weeks ago we had sleet, this week it's in the 70's. My river is dropping but still 2 ft above summer flows.

Smallies are set up on in 5 ft of water in boulder feilds in the backeddies of big current breaks.

Today I found a school of 2 to 3# river smallies in an area of maybe 40 sf.

They started taking a carolina rigged pike streamer. When that died I switched to a weightless worm that I deadsticked. 

I also did well for 12 - 16" smallies on rock shelves in about 3 ft of water with craw jig.