Catching Bigger Smallies

[RyanZ]

So I recently have been fishing the tippacanoe river in Indiana and have been very succesful with smallmouth.  Ive been catching around 30 every time i go within a 5 hour period.  Needless to say Ive been having a blast, the only question i have though is how to nail the bigger smallies.  Right now im hitting 10-13 inchers every other couple of minutes, but never anything that is big( besides one 4lb 12oz smallie yesterday that my buddy pulled out ;D ).  Anyways i figure this is probably a stupid question but i would ask it anyways.  Does anyone know what i could do to try and catch or lure in bigger fish.  Fighting 13 inch smallies out of the river is fun, especially at the rate im doing it, but id like to start going after and nailing some bigger guys.  To give you my scenario, im using a 1/8oz jig head, with a gary yamato 4" twin tail grub.  Let me know if you guys have any suggestions on what to do.  Thanks

Ryan Z

[Crestliner2008]

Since I am not familiar with this river you are speaking of, can you tell me how large it is? Average depth? Any deep holes? How fast is the current usually? Is there a dam that releases water from time to time?

If it's a fairly large river, then I'd focus on finding deeper water with current breaks or eddys in them. If the water is not too fast, you could drift a drop shot through it, or a large (6") Senko, texas rigged. Trust me, a 2 pound+ smallie will inhale these large plastics with no problem!

A little more info would help though.  

[RyanZ]

Heres the info.  The tippecanoe river is a river that comes straight out of lake freemont in monticello Indiana.  Yes they do open up a dam that pours water into it every once in a while.  The current seems pretty fast some times i find my jig on top of the water trailing behind me when we hit 1 foot spots and the current is stronger.  Usually we are walking in 2 to 3 feet of water, but it varies, sometimes we will hit spots where the river gets up to my chest (im 5' 10'').  The best spot so far has been a about 3-4 foot slow moving current spot right before you hit a 1 foot "rapid" area.  Im guessing thats because the fish build up right there in that whole and dont want to go through the shallow area.  The river is kinda muddy, i've been using bright green hula grubs by yamamto with a 1/8oz jig.  

[bass wrangler569]

Try some big 1/2 and 3/4oz white/chartreuse spinnerbaits with gold blades. Smallmouth love 'em, and the larger size and gold blades really stand out in the muddy water you described. Also, try some jerkbaits. I'm typically a lc pointer guy, but in muddy water, xraps have more action and seem to get more attention. The xr8s are a good all around size, but if you want to target smallmouth in the 2.5lb+ range, pick up some xr12s. They're going to seem too big, but trust me, they're not, especially in low vis conditions. Color wise, I would focus on glass ghost for slightly clearer water and hot steel for muddy water. Good luck!

[shaw24]

I'm just down the road in Montgomery county....I have been wanting to fish the Tippy for a while now, but I havent had the chance. I do most of my fishing in Sugar Creek b/c it's so close and such a good smallmouth fishery. I have heard ppl catch a LOT of smallies out of the tippy though so I'm sure the lunkers are in there!