John Gillio Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 What are some favorite smallie lures being used on our rivers and streams(I"m partial to moving water )? Over the years,mine would be the twister baits. White,yellow/orange,and plain yellow are colors I have confidence in. The 2 in. size works best for numbers or if you are fishing a small stream that is also blessed with rock bass,panfish,and chubs,and you like catching a variety of fish. The 3 in. cuts out the chubs and panfish for the most part. The 4 in. is great in the fall or if you are more focused on the big boys. Attaching A silver safety pin spinner can enhance the presentation,especially in dingy water. Twisters don't hang up as easily as some lures do and they are inexpensive, which makes for a happy wallet. I'm sure the Sammy is a favorite, and I had never heard of it before I saw it mentioned in a forum. Jonn Graham surely puts some great lures together too. What other favorites are out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 one lure that has been around for a long time is the charlie brewer pro whirly bee. sort of a cross between the plastic twister and a spinnerbait . white and purple have done well for me rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 This is Smokey-a 4", Smoke/Blue Flake Strike King 3X Cyberflex Grub Texas rigged on a 1/8 oz. slider head. BTW it is getting hard to find that smoke grub anymore. The 3X material has great action and is indestructable. When I took this picture, this very grub had caught me over 25 bass. I caught a few more before loosing it to a snag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Jones Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 I am real fond of the X-rap slash baits. Gold,Rusty Crawdad and Orange and Gold. This year however I tried a new rig that I read about in In-Fisherman...A tandem Fluke rig. It's a simple method that produced very well for me numbers wise. It's a 3 way swivel with 8 and 12 inch flouro leaders and a couple 4 inch flukes with size 2 worm hooks. It's action is quite impressive as it mimics chasing baitfish and darting in opposite directions everytime you twitch them. It worked real well on T.Dodges beloved Kilbuck. Also I love throwing anything hand poured. The action is 10X of store bought lures but there is a downfall...Due to the softness they get torn up pretty quick but at a a measley .02 I think I can afford to make more. Not to mention I just re-melt them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 For some reasom wading the fox is fall seems my favorite time to fish for smallies. I like Sims Spinners in Chrome, and Twister Tails (White) on a darter. There is a guy in MI that makes his own that I really like, called StankXBait. I have luck with Hair Jigs under a float as well. Simply Fishing - Travis (Blog) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Trybul Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 That's one of the great things about smallmouth bass fishing. They are such an opportunistic predator that can be caught on a wide variety of baits. My all time favorites are: chug bug, lucky craft pointer, senko style stick baits, yum crawbugs, chompers hula grubs, and berkley powerleeches. At one time or another all 6 of these lures have produces special days when other lures couldn't come close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dodge Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 worked real well on T.Dodges beloved Kilbuck. Welcome back Corey, nice ti hear from again. Just so you know that would be "Swami's" beloved Kilbuck. For some reason these guys get a kick out of calling me Swami. (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Though I fly fish for smallies 90% of the time, when I do grab my spinning rod, and if the water is even slightly clear, it's a Berkley's 4" punkinseed power worm rigged texas style with a 1/8 oz. matching bullet sinker and pegged. In fact, it's probably the most common bait I use for his green cousin as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skappel1 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 In spring I like to use Lucky Craft 100 Pointers. Strike Kings Bitsy Bug jig in 1/4oz. with a smallie beaver as the trailer is hard to beat for both smallies and largmouths. Works great for numbers and size. Fish is slow or fast. Last summer while fishing the Eagle River chain I came in contact with a mid 30's muskie burning it in for the next cast. Spring, summer and fall its hard to beat a drop shot rig with a 4-7in trick worm. Other than artificial, I catch most of my 20in+ fish on split-shot and 4-6in chubs and suckers. When the water is below 50 its hard to beat live bait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Jones Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I did notice a strong resemblance to Carnac the Magnificent there Swami. Yeah been busy and have some free time on my hands now that the New year is here. Heading to Kissimee Chain in Feb. for 9 days of Fishing and Disney. Got a free guided tour for making a bunch of plastics up for the guide who took me last time on Lake TOHO. Which is a big deal because it cost me $285 for 6 hours last time. And it was wild shiner fishing. Not my favorite but does produce large fish. This time will be artificial. I drive by the Rock everyday and look at open water dreaming of Spring. Although I do have 5m waders now and have been thinkin of hitting the Ice Shelves with a Float and Fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Depends on what they are biting on, but I prefer to fish on or near the surface if they are willing... some favorites...B-2 Buzz from Accent, LC Sammy 100, LC Gunfish 95, 5.25" Zoom Super Flukes, Blockhead Poppers & Sneaky Pete's on the fly rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bterrill Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Grubs- Grubs will catch fish and lots of them and lots of species. Believe me throwing a smaller grub is more of a handicap than an advantage. With a 2-3" grub, you are making your bait available to everything with a small mouth. Small fish outnumber larger ones. The bait may never get in front of a large fish. Big bass aren't as agile as smaller more numerous fish that will get there first. I think one can discourage large fish from biting as they won't move very far to eat a small meal. There are far more 15-21" smallmouth in a river than most people think. By throwing undersized baits, you miss out on better action. I throw 5" Grubs when I throw them or 4.5" shad swim baits on a minmum of 3/16th oz, often 1/4oz. To get down in the water column in front of big fish. Using heavier line means you can go in close to cover and not loose fish or lure. The size of fish you get goes way up. The number of 20" smallmouth I have found in small streams (100cfs or less) would shock you. Throw long casts with bigger baits to not spook them and discourage peckers and dinks. Repeat the above theory with any lure you throw. Smallies don't have small mouths... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 My go-to baits around here are the fluke (in baby bass or pearl), and just about anything Gitzit makes, especialy their in-line spinners. Next year I'm looking to master the shaky head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Manthe Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I have most luck on tube jigs Texas rigged. Colors are usually any darker color. Also the rapala original is a favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Also the rapala original is a favorite. The Rapala floating minnow is one of my favorites too, but I haven't used them much the past few years. Great lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim J Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Eric, you always beat me to this... HA A+++ My only change would be this word... "By throwing undersized baits, you miss out on the bigger action." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don R Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 A+++ My only change would be this word... "By throwing undersized baits, you miss out on the bigger action." My thoughts exactly. Good post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 It looks like we have a nice variety of lures used by some very competent fishermen. A good friend of mine always says,"It's not the bait you use that catches fish. It's how you use the bait." We all agree big fish like big baits. This is good info. for anyone just getting into the sport. As far as lures go, I believe having confidence in what you are throwing, and a knowledge of how to work it are more important than the lure itself. A friend and I had a good 45 min. discussion with fly fishing legend Larry Dahlberg a few years back. I had alot of questions about fly fishing for steelhead. I was new to steelhead fishing and my partners were all into dead drifting egg patterns and woolybuggers. They were catching fish. I was not. Larry asked me if I had confidence fishing other flies for other types of fish. I said I felt quite comfotable with streamers. He suggested I try streamers and fish them like I would for smallies. The next time out was a great experience,and I have had good luck since. Thanks for all the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim J Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I've been a fan of Larry's since 20 years ago he was on In-Fishermen in a float tube catching huge pike on a fly. No one even knew what a fly was back then and to see huge flies for pike? HA Cutting edge as usual for those guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I've been a fan of Larry's since 20 years ago he was on In-Fishermen in a float tube catching huge pike on a fly. No one even knew what a fly was back then and to see huge flies for pike? HA Cutting edge as usual for those guys. While he must've been using an outsize 5-6+" fly for those big pike the Dahlberg Diver he"s famous for designing for bass is (only) 3".Put properly in front of a hungry big bass he'll gobble it up as greedily as anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gillio Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I've been a fan of Larry's since 20 years ago he was on In-Fishermen in a float tube catching huge pike on a fly. No one even knew what a fly was back then and to see huge flies for pike? HA Cutting edge as usual for those guys. Larry seems to be a really down to earth guy. I was totally surprized when he sat down,with my friend and I,and chatted fishing for about 45 min. What a body of knowledge and experieces he carries around with him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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