do smallmouth and largemouth like the same stuff?

[Ikaika]

So I'm going to be chasing after some Current River smallies this weekend, and since this is my first time fishing for smallmouth, I have no idea what I'm going to throw.

Will my normal spinners, cranks, jerkbaits, and worms work or is there anything specific that they really like?

[Chris]

I like to use 1/4oz spinnerbaits, smaller crankbaits, tubes, jighead worm 4 inchs long, dropshot can be killer, small jigs, anything crawfish looking, topwater pop r, small spooks, tiny torpedo,

I tend to down size some around here because the smallmouth run small but if the smallmouth are good size you can use the same bait size as you would for largemouths.

[waterfoul]

I agree on the "anything crawfish" looking.  I've caught many 4 lb plus smallies on crawfish crank baits...

[Raul]

Bass are bass the difference is the size of the offering, crawfish immitators work on both as long as there are crawfish for the bass to feed on.

[Phishn_Phool]

Ika I have fished the Current many times..I have also had a float service and guided on the Gasconade out of Jerome, Mo for many years.  Now it was always my opinion that most people used too small of lures to fish for Mo smallmouth.  My favorite lures were in order 1.Blackover silver 4 1/2 inch Smithwick RattlinRogue 2 3/8 oz Stanley double willowleaf spinnerbait #3 a fluke in the Arkansas shiner color and a buzzbait 3/8 oz in chartruese that is all you need for both LM and SM

[roadwarrior]

For the most part I fish for smallmouth on the Tennessee River with live shinners, but I travel to Bull Shoals several times a year and fish artificials. Although I generally target smallmouth, we catch plenty of largemouth, Kentucky and white bass on the same lures. These include suspending jerkbaits, Gitzits, lizards (4 & 6") and topwater (Spooks & Sammys). Late afternoon and evening my target usually switches to walley and striper and I only fish jerkbaits. Still, we catch everything else and on my last trip I caught a 5+ lb smallie on a Lucky Craft Pointer 128.

The Pointer 128 is a large lure. So my point is, big smallmouth will hit a large bait. If your lake/river generally holds smaller fish, maybe you need to downsize. I never downsize.

[Raul]

I 've been thinking carefully about this, if an 8 inch LMB hits a bait almost as big as he is why shouldn 't a big momma smalljaw hit a large bait ? and a big momma smalljaw has much bigger mouth than an 8 inch LMB.