Smallmouth help part II

[BigTerp]

Got some really good advice on a previous thread pertaining to what I should be using for chasing smallmouth. Thanks for that!!

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=29931

Now that I've got my boat finished up, and I'm between season splits for duck/goose hunting, I plan to spend some time to seriously start chasing smallmouth. My wife and I caught a dozen last weekend on some panther martin and mepps in-line spinners that I happened to have on hand. All really small smallmouths though. Wondering what you guys think works best this time of year. I'm fishing the upper Potomac river and water temps are currently in the mid 70's. Planning on heading out this week to pick up some lures for the weekend. What should I be getting for this time of year and what should I wait to pick up until next spring/summer? Below is a laundry list of what I've been eyeing up at my local Wally World.

Crank Baits
- Rapala Shad Rap (crawdad)
- Rebel Crawfish

Topwater
- Pop R's
- Rapala Original Jerk
- Heddon Tiny Torpedo

Plastics (rigged with jigheads)
- 3" Tubes
- Smallie Beaver
- White Flukes

Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance for any help!!!

 

[spagatti]

I don't know much about your part of the river but I have always had luck in the Doah and further down river from you on the Potomac using zoom lizards, junebug color. Also, I really like very shallow crank baits...smallies seem to hate chartreuse for some reason so i try and get some of that color in an otherwise natural looking color. Some smaller square bils work well also but you have to be prepared to get them out of the rocks.
That's not to say that's all I have caught them on, plenty on senkos, flukes, rapallas, etc. but those appear to be my go to. When you find them they are typically schooled up so keep hitting that spot. Also, if it looks like it should hold fish hit it from all angles...sometimes they are just looking the other way.
My absolute favorite way to spend a day is river smallies on as light tackle as I can get away with. I always smile when someone is catching their first one and thinks its a monster, then they pull in a 8 inch angry little fish.

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks for the tips!! You say smallies hate chartreuse. As in they shy away from chartreuse and you don't get any bites with that color, or they hate it so much they bite it out of spite?

 

[spagatti]

They seem to hate Chartruese in a way they must destroy it. I find for the real shallow cranks I throw like the manns minus one and bandit footloose, if I can get a hint of Chartruese on a natural color they basically let me know when they hit to say the least.
I did throw some zoom lizards that were junebug with a Chartruese tail...didn't notice a difference. But on the crank baits they set the hook themselves.

 

[BigTerp]

Got it, thanks!! I've done a ton of largemouth fishing, but have never specifically targeted smallies. I live on a portion of the Potomac that holds alot of smallmouth, so I'd like to try and get after 'em.

 

[lovedr79]

i have been using a 4" waky worm, chartrouse and white with a 1/8 or a 1/16 oz. leade head. its the dumbest looking setup but my goodness it has been paying off this year!

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Those shad raps will catch anything.

 

[lovedr79]

my other go to is a rapala original floating in chartouse or a yozuri is chartrousse or blue/chrome. I don't know why I even have 200 different lures in my box I typically use 3, and why I carry 4 rods on the boat is still a mystery. if they are biting on a fluke I fish it until they stop or I go home.

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks guys!! Went out yesterday and ended up with 5 between 2 guys. My first cast of the day caught a small one on a Heddon tiny torpedo, figured it was going to be a good day. Not so much though. Caught my other 2 on a shad rap. All three of mine were pretty small. Missed a few using a 1/4oz football jig with a watermelon red smallie beaver attached, and also missed 2 on the torpedo. My buddy caught a nice 12"-14" smallie on a swimming minnow. At 1lb 9oz, it is currently the boat record :LOL2:

 

[spartyon8]

My go to smallie combo is a brown/tan 4" tube rigged weedless on a worm hook with a slip sinker. Pop it 2-3 times off the bottom and let it sit. The key here is a taught line and line watching. They will creep up and start swimming off. Always land some good sized guys. I like to fish to the sides of swirling points in rivers.

 

[MiPikeGuy]

I catch lots of smallies on Shad Raps, or jointed Shad Raps. I fish really murky water, the RS's (rattling, suspending) seem to outfish the non. Hot Tiger, Clown and the various crawdad patterns work well for me.

I also slay em with a black back/gold belly Xrap, twitch/twitch pause.

I'm probably the only one but we also catch a fair share throwing 2 1/2"-3" spoons while pike fishing. Tends to keep the small ones away to seeing as they can only usually bump it. It takes a good 17-18"er to hook-up.

 

[BigTerp]

Pre-spawn smallmouth fishing is TOUGH!!! Been out 5 times now without boating a single fish. Water temps were in the mid 40's to mid 50's. Was up to 56-57 when I was out over the weekend. Should be staying in the 50's now that Spring is finally here. I've been targeting slack water, eddies and creek mouths with everything I can think of. Been using tubes, wacko and texas rigged senkos, in-line spinners, finesse jigs, shallow running crank baits and haven't even got a bite!! Only thing I've neglected to try was hard and soft jerkbaits. Any trick to finding these guys pre-spawn? Talked to a buddy who caught a dozen the same day I was out over the weekend. He caught them all within a 100 yard stretch of the river where a bluff came off the bank into about 10' of water. That makes me think I'm just not fishing the right spots? But maybe my fishing skills are that bad also. Any suggestions?

 

[redbug]

with the winter we have had across the country the fish may be a bit behind schedule
at that water temp they should be starting to move from wintering holes to the spawning areas
they will move shallow in short order keep at it
remember the shallow water will warm first so look for shallow water near deep water and have at it
for me RED is a big color in the spring crawfish tend to look red in early spring
I think it is due ti them digging into the bottom red clay? at least that's my take on it

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks redbug. Was out over this past weekend with no luck. Stayed late and did get into a few catfish. Was nice to finally get some fish into the boat. But I really want to catch some smallmouth!!! Planning on heading out Saturday. Water temps are getting up near 60. Hopefully they aren't spawing quite yet.

 

[New River Rat]

BigTerp » 15 Apr 2014, 09:31[/url]"]Pre-spawn smallmouth fishing is TOUGH!!!................ He caught them all within a 100 yard stretch of the river where a bluff came off the bank into about 10' of water. That makes me think I'm just not fishing the right spots? But maybe my fishing skills are that bad also. Any suggestions?

IF you can find one, there's a good shot at more there. And other places that are similar. Think deeper water (relative) to surrounding water. Add a seam or eddy. Structure and cover are a plus. Just keep on hitting the river, file away your experiences and you'll do fine.

 

[Dark3]

Try taking a beaver style bait with chart tipped tail like RI and put it on a jig head like a SK football and drag it around potential staging areas. Also clown suspending jerkbait in similar areas. If you find docks by deep water=gold. Dead sticking jerkbaits by bluffs near shallow water. SM hate crazy colors like chart, bubblegum, clown ect. After the spaen dies off a dropshot and deep diving cranks near ledges (shallow to deep) in the morning are excellent options.

 

[BigTerp]

New River Rat » April 26th, 2014, 6:58 pm[/url]"]

BigTerp » 15 Apr 2014, 09:31[/url]"]Pre-spawn smallmouth fishing is TOUGH!!!................ He caught them all within a 100 yard stretch of the river where a bluff came off the bank into about 10' of water. That makes me think I'm just not fishing the right spots? But maybe my fishing skills are that bad also. Any suggestions?

IF you can find one, there's a good shot at more there. And other places that are similar. Think deeper water (relative) to surrounding water. Add a seam or eddy. Structure and cover are a plus. Just keep on hitting the river, file away your experiences and you'll do fine.

Thanks!! I'm still trying to work it out.

 

[BigTerp]

Dark3 » April 26th, 2014, 7:18 pm[/url]"]Try taking a beaver style bait with chart tipped tail like RI and put it on a jig head like a SK football and drag it around potential staging areas. Also clown suspending jerkbait in similar areas. If you find docks by deep water=gold. Dead sticking jerkbaits by bluffs near shallow water. SM hate crazy colors like chart, bubblegum, clown ect. After the spaen dies off a dropshot and deep diving cranks near ledges (shallow to deep) in the morning are excellent options.

Thanks. I'll give some of these a try.

 

[MiPikeGuy]

Any advice for me guys?

I'm a novice smallie angler at best and usually catch mine at random.

My smallie lake is approximately 1100 acres, root-beer colored water, 90ft(?) max. Tons of living popple trees in the water in 3-6fow, lots of logs strewn in between the trees/shore. Mostly hard clay/sandy-rock bottom, random car-size boulders, random rocky outcroppings with rock shelves and small drop-offs. Basically structure EVERYWHERE you look. We find Smallies through all of it.

BUT, my problem is the Pike. No matter what I throw, 9x out of 10 a Pike beats the Smallies. I usually use a 7ft M, with 14lb Powerpro and it saves my lures, and I know it can handle the lakes big Pike. Pike teeth destroy it through, so I'm always running a steel leader.

I know there are big Smallies, cuz we've caught them on big Pike spoons, but not with any consistency. We'll catch 100 Pike in a day and only a few Smallies, even though I know they're there and usually visibly active. And we're always catching them on something different, at different depths, and types of structure, all in the same day. Whether trolling Shad Raps in 20fow, or pitching spoons in the trees.

The leader creates issues galore when trying to throw small cranks, and Smallies bite way less. I've tried plastics with no leader and caught fish, but get bitten off every few casts. I've tried Knot-2-Kinky but I hate tying it and I switch lures too often. I just bought a new M/L for smallie duty and lighter line than my M, and really want to focus on Smallies this summer to hone my skills. I'm just frustrated from knowing there are monsters prowling and my selection is limited, tired of losing gear. I keep reading everything I can but not much help in my situation. I know losing gear is part of the game, but it adds up quick.

I guess there wasn't much of a question there, but I'm just trying to figure something out. Help, please! Thanks in advance.

 

[BigTerp]

That sounds like quite the unique problem. Wish I had to beat other fish away to try and single in on a specific species!! Good luck, I'm sure one of these guys will chime in with some ideas