Small Mouth Bass

[Bow Man]

What are your go to and must haves ( lures...etc...etc.. ) for fishing small mouth bass? What really works for them?

 

[CanadianAngler87]

Depends on the body of water but my go to would be Crayfish imitations!

 

[AnglerAnonymous]

Jerkbaits and mini jigs

 

[BASSMASTER19]

jigs, deep diving cranks and gobi imitations. Mainly what ever bounces on the bottom and looks like a fish

 

[rich_ace_G]

under a bobber
or

I always give 5 - 10 seconds before I start the retrieve.

 

[getin]

worms on a jg, casting and retrieving. Also, white twister tails on jig.

 

[hamiltonangler94]

Tubes, tubes, tubes...can't say enough how effective they are for smallmouth

 

[Lunker Hunter]

wacky rigging a yum senko is what i get the most fish on

 

[grayer]

spinners are my go too in rivers. Mepps and strike king spinner baits are all I bring when I am wading the rivers

 

[Bow Man]

Okay to be specific, The Upper and Lower Niagara River ( if you fish there you know it is fast moving water with a few "calm" pools ). What about swim jigs any one had any experience with them? Or how about Bass jigs with rubber tails on them?

Also what about spinnerbaits?

 

[MartyLee]

crawfish lure (soft plastic or hard one) Tubes, live bait.

On a side note I just got the 2014 regs, and where I go camping on Unit 10 smallmouth is open all year now, kinda kool and kinda not.

Pro: on may 24 weekend I can keep bass, (if I do not get walleye or trout)
Con: can legal take bass off theres beds

 

[salmotrutta]

under a bobber
or

I always give 5 - 10 seconds before I start the retrieve.

worms on a jg, casting and retrieving. Also, white twister tails on jig.

spinners are my go too in rivers. Mepps and strike king spinner baits are all I bring when I am wading the rivers

x 2 ^^^^^^^^^^^ worms, spinners and white twister tails. Twister tails can be put on a large hook and fished on or just below the surface.

 

[OCDComputing]

Jitterbugs/Poppers! Love top water baits!

 

[classic drifter]

i really like to use a fake leech on a float on a float rod setup, tried it on thanksgiving weekend and it produced some wicked results on a fast river, tried it on my favorite lake in the east and landed a few smallies on the same rig, im sorry im just addicted to pinning!

 

[Kasim Baluch]

Senko, real yummy juicy worms, and my frogs.

By far the easiest and STILL most exciting way to fish them is to drop my line way down under and give it a little up and down tug with my fingers. You know its coming but don't know when. LOVE IT.

can't wait until the season opens

 

[rich_ace_G]

twister tails imo is the simplest way to fish for bass. the reason I use crawlers is i like feeding them since i'm strictly c&r. and most of the time the crawlers are gone when i land them. hopefully they actually ate it.

 

[Joel52]

under a bobber
or

I always give 5 - 10 seconds before I start the retrieve.

Put half a worm on the end of that spinner and hold on.

 

[Christopheraaron]

crawfish lure (soft plastic or hard one) Tubes, live bait.

On a side note I just got the 2014 regs, and where I go camping on Unit 10 smallmouth is open all year now, kinda kool and kinda not.

Pro: on may 24 weekend I can keep bass, (if I do not get walleye or trout)
Con: can legal take bass off theres beds

You won't see a difference in populations, and if you do that can only be seen as a good thing as far as I'm concerned, smallmouth are destroying other populations of fish up there.

As for my favourite lures, 7" dark coloured senkos, walk the dog baits in bright colours, jig and twister tail, mepps, perch and crayfish crankbaits.

 

[Jacklake]

There are some lures that work all the time, like a ShadRap - the one I put on the line for all my guests.
But I suggest the main thing is to 'Match the Hatch'. I know this is a fly fishing term but it still applies. In the lake I usually fish, crayfish used to be abundant, but now are not. So the bass have switched to minnows, especially young-of-the-year perch, which are quite small.
I think the main point is to learn what prey is available at the time of year and specific location where you are fishing.
Small crayfish in the rocks early in the season, small minnows in July in the weeds, large dragonfly nymphs over the mud in July, larger minnows in August (in the weeds), really large minnows late in the season, leeches twister-tails or wooly buggers) in the warmer water near shore, etc.
For good success you need to match the dominant forage at the time.
Cheers, Greg

 

[Bow Man]

Cheers everyone, i just find it interesting to know what tackle other people use and feel are more successful, at times you really see patterns.