stubborn fall smallies

[Jig Thrower]

the past few times i have been smallie fishing i have not grabbed a single one.  i have been throwing my go to jig the hula grub  green pumpkin in color that always seems to grab one even if it is ten inches in size.  nothing seems to work crank baits, jigs, tubes, nothing a few largemouth, but no smallies? what do you guys think or suggest?

[fishizzle]

maybe they are on the move

I know that as the weather cools they gorge especially on craws because they fatten bass faster with "blubber" for "hibernation"

Keep searching--you are on the right track.  When you find them, I assure you, hold on

somtimes I go deep aroung rocks and just catch largemouth in my smallie areas

[bassnleo]

In rivers here, fall smallies really go on the move. They tend to gang up and travel toward their wintering haunts.

Cover alot of water. Once you find them you will usually load the boat.

[Crestliner2008]

Where are you fishing? Lake, reservoir or river? What is the water clarity? Water temps? How deep are you fishing?

Once these basic questions are answered, I'm sure some of us smallie hunters can help a bit more.

[fishizzle]

lately the smallies have been evading me too.

I go deep for smallies and catch largemouth????

[Matt 825]

lately the smallies have been evading me too.

I go deep for smallies and catch largemouth????

Funny you say that.  I have caught more deep largemouth this year when fishing for smallmouth than any other year.  

[Korea_Bassmaster]

hey i live in central michigan and when i go i thro a white spinner bait along the banks early in the morning or on a overcast day. and i kill em! a few years ago at this time, i was in the nbaa tournement and we had a tourny on wixom lake in michigan and my partner and i started throwing a white 3/8 oz. spinner with 1 gold willow leaf and 1 silver colorado blade shallow and we were getting fish about every other cast! we caught 4 4+pound smallies along sea walls and where the bank drops off with grass 4-6 feet off from the bank. but once the sun came up and it started to warm up the were gone!  try it out and let me kno how it works for ya!

[brgbassmaster]

Also in that tourney there were guys catching them on crankbaits yellow and purple in color. they were fishing in 10ft of water and they did awesome as well. But spinnerbaits are much more fun to have a smallie hit in my opinion.

[Tin]

Get on a wind-blown point or cut, put the TM on high, and go nuts with a jerkbait. If you throw it, they will come. And s mentioned earlier, where there is one there is more.

Second choice would be to stare at your electronics and look on off-shore structure for balls of bait. Once you find it, drop the drop-shot down and have fun. Once you find what exactly they are on, run around and find more of them (humps, saddles, ect..)