River Smallies

[Drew14741]

What are your favorite lures for river smallmouths?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Crankbaits

Mepps Spinners

Topwaters

Soft plastic JerkBaits

Hard plastic Jerkbaits.

[Bobby Bass]

If you can find them- Gapen ugly bugs in orange and brown and yellow work swell to. Other wise small spinner baits with gulp trailers.

[bronzeback01]

Depends on the time of the year In the spring a 3.5" texas rigged tube and a white 3/8oz spinnerbait with silver willow leaf blades do the trick.

During the summer starting post spawn plastics like tubes, creature baits do it for plastics and white topwaters and finesse jigs are my preferance.

in the fall you cant beat shad collored crankbaits like Rapala DT's and then the same finesse jigs.

So I guess if I only had to throw four baits for smallmouth it would be a white spinnerbait, topwater, finesse jig and a crankbait.

[Central Bassman]

What kind of finesse jigs do you like? And what Size?

[lookincalifornia]

in current i thow an in line spinner

no current a topwater [PoorWordUsage]er

original raps, 1/8 oz. chartruce spinnerbaits, rebel crawfish, and 2" grubs(usually chartruce)

i used to fish a small river in iowa for samllies and would only use 3 or 4 different lures all year

[bronzeback01]

I stick with 1/4oz jigs for the most part. The river isnt real deep (less than 8' most of the time) so I rarely need to jump up to a 3/8.

I make all my fenesse jigs so I can customize them. I use a Do-it mold with a custom bent owner 3/0 hook. I stick with watermellon or green pumpkin heads and silver eyes. I use green pumpkin skirts with 80 strand count. I trip a heavy weed guard because the stiffer guard is much better in the rocks. I tip it with a 3.5" Yum wooly hawg tail. This is the ultimate rock jig. I've tried almost everything else and these work the best.

[bronzeback01]

If your fishing small rivers I'd use a floating Rapala in about a #10 in firetiger and a 1/8-1/4 oz lipless crankbait in shad patterns. I've probably caught 100s of smallies out of the Zumbro on these baits.

[Ray Esboldt]

A redtail chub.

jigworm - tube, stickbait, craw, etc.

crank - big and noisy, lipless cranks included

spinnerbait - Single blade with lots of weight

topwater - poppers or props or buzzers

skirted jig with a grub trailer

[Daze Off]

I mostly fish a smaller river and really try to only target bigger fish so here is the list of tools:

3/8 and 1/2 oz bass jigs and, this year, football headed jigs with Lake Fork Craw trailers. - Will go to 1/4 oz w/ Zoom Swimmin Chunk if no action for a few hours

3/8 and 1/2 oz spinnerbaits and buzzbaits (occasional 1/4 oz too)

Carolina Rigged Centipedes, Ring Fries, 4" senkos

Texas Rigged 3.5 and 4" tubes

Wacky rigged short senkos

Small cranks of various kinds - esp. Wiggle warts

5" soft and 4" hard jerkbaits

Tiny torpedos and Super Spook Jrs.

Single (swim) and skirted double tailed grubs (jigged on stand-up or football head).

Daze Off

[Cooter]

Mepps or Blue Fox inline #3 or 4 with silver blade and white dressing - maybe a small chart twister trailer.

[Meaney]

Most definately the Original Floater Rapala, and the X-Rap for a deeper run

[tacklebox7FF]

jigs.. with Gulp combinations..any kind works

[tearin' lips]

Any plastic, #11 floating raps, surface baits(skitter walk/pops)...You can't ever have just one, but if I would have to state my #1 fish catcher it would be plastics, specifically tubes.