Topwater lures for smallmouth bass 2024
Tmoyer10 reply :
I fish a lot of low/clear water small mouth bass on rivers. I have been messing with different topwater lures and have had better luck with subtle presentations. I was wondering if there was suggestions for kinda of soft/hard plastic top water walk the dog type lures that didn't rattle and were subtle for high pressured bass?
Nattyboh74 reply :
How come you're against rattles? Curious.
fishindad reply :
Fluke-type bait rigged EWG weedless is great in smaller streams and rivers. Basically, it works any time you're fishing smallies in current!
A-Jay reply :
Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~
Checkout the Sebile Stick Shadd and the Rapala X-Rap Sub Walk ~
Both subtle & effective and may suit your needs.
A-Jay
38 Super Fan reply :
Clear Zara Spook, super subtle. 
Also, welcome to the forum!
BuzzHudson19c reply :
River smallies? BUZZ BAIT!
Walking style, Kvd sexy dawg. In my opinion if smallies are hitting top water, don't worry about being subtle.
Tmoyer10 reply :
I'm not totally against rattles. It just seems as of late because of all the pressure and how clear low and clear the river is. Less noise is working better. I tried the savage soft plastic mud minnow and I do like that. I was just curious if anyone made a hard plastic walk the dog that didn't rattle. I generally use lucky craft gunfish and they work well but like I said seems like lately you need something with less noise.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 7/30/2017 at 6:43 AM, Tmoyer10 said:I fish a lot of low/clear water small mouth bass on rivers. I have been messing with different topwater lures and have had better luck with subtle presentations. I was wondering if there was suggestions for kinda of soft/hard plastic top water walk the dog type lures that didn't rattle and were subtle for high pressured bass?
Drill a small hole in the back of a Super Spook Jr, add drop or two of superglue in the hole and roll the ball around so it gets in the super glue. Add a thin coat of epoxy to the hole and you should have a silent spook.
A-Jay reply :
Forgot to mention - for what you've described, it's tough to beat the Original Rapala Floater Minnow ~
Been catching fish for a Long time.
Balsa rules.
A-Jay
Tmoyer10 reply :
I will give that a try. I would like to be able to go out with loud topwater and just nail them every day but lately it seems like they want it in more of a quiet approach.
Gundog reply :
On 7/30/2017 at 7:35 AM, fishindad said:Fluke-type bait rigged EWG weedless is great in smaller streams and rivers. Basically, it works any time you're fishing smallies in current!
^^^Took the words right out of my keyboard. The erratic action definitely draws smallies.
papajoe222 reply :
Like A-Jay said, an original floating Rapala, I like the #7 for river smallies, in gold/black back twitched down a seam equals smallie on the hook most anytime.
Frenchman83 reply :
On 7/30/2017 at 7:35 AM, fishindad said:Fluke-type bait rigged EWG weedless is great in smaller streams and rivers. Basically, it works any time you're fishing smallies in current!
Try nose hooking as well. Nice thing about a fluke is you can run it on the surface or subsurface pretty easy
fishindad reply :
On 7/30/2017 at 9:42 PM, Frenchman83 said:Try nose hooking as well. Nice thing about a fluke is you can run it on the surface or subsurface pretty easy
Agreed! Most all the rivers and streams where I live have grass both emergent and submergent, which is where the bass hang out. I try to use poppers, props and walkers but it gets too frustrating clearing weeds every other cast. Open water the walking bait is sure fun though.
Turkey sandwich reply :
If I want something a little more subtle than the bigger, noisier topwater stuff, I usually switch up to a Skitterpop or X Pop. The Skitterpop is awesomely versatile in that you can pop it a bunch of different ways, and it walks reasonably well. Conditions dictate everything, but poppers are really under-used these days and they flat out catch fish when bigger, louder presentations are just a little too much.
Neil McCauley reply :
When I want subtle topwater I use my fly rod and a little panfish popper. You'd be surprised how hard they'll hit this but ignore regular topwater hardbaits. Also a ton of fun landing them.
Wee Hooker reply :
Excuse for jumping right in with my first post here, but I'd vote with Short Fish. A topwater bug can be delivered via fly rod with minimal disturbance and can be fished at any pace you like (including dead drifting.). Even their smaller size/profile can play in here. In particular , I would vote for foam terrestrials and mice patterns but any number of top water bugs in the size 2-6 range can be effective.
Try it and you might get hooked yourself.
Dave
J Francho reply :
Luck Craft made a 100 size solid wood Sammy that was perfect for smallies.
Further North reply :
Turkey sandwich reply :
In addition to the immediate surface stuff, since we've gone fly tackle, a Deceiver or Clouser Minnow stripped just under the surface can be absolutely thrilling. They don't quite cast a mile like a Zara Spook, but once you get the hang of them, man, they're hard to beat.
scaleface reply :
I use to catch quite a few on a five inch grub fished as a top water . I used a worm hook and 1/8 ounce weight . I t-rigged them with the hook ran all the way through ,exposed much of the time .Its subtle and the strikes were viscous .
moguy1973 reply :
Horny Toad with a 4/0 1/16oz weighted swimbait hook with screwloc keeper. Smallies love those. Very subtle buzz action
Nicholas Frederick reply :
Whopper plopper 90 or 110 caught many its my go to top water smallie lure.
Crestliner2008 reply :
Myself and a few fishermen I know always carry a few #7 original Rapalas in their boxes for just such a situation. Hard to beat that old lure! I also would try nose hooking a 4 fluke-type plastic (Zoom makes a good one). That kinda subtle, sub-surface, erratic action will sometimes out do the Rapala. Good Luck!
FryDog62 reply :
I will echo from above the fluke (I prefer a white Caffeine Shad and Owner screwlock hooks for smallies), also Subwalk and Skitterprop. The Lindners have done several shows on river fishing for smallmouth with a variety of top waters but frequently tout the Skitterprop. More subtle than a buzzbait but very effective (I get better hook up % with this lure than other topwaters). Wired two fish has a video circulating with Kyle Peterson throwing the Whopper Plopper for river smallies too -- not so subtle but the 110 comes without rattles.
caclunker reply :
On 7/30/2017 at 7:02 AM, Nattyboh74 said:How come you're against rattles? Curious.
i'be never noticed much difference with a rattle for topwater lures...not personally against rattles,really don't consider
bigbill reply :
Depending on the size of the river or stream I use smaller inline spinners, spinflys, rebel crawfish crankbaits. The spinners I bring them over the top of rocks sticking above the water and drop them into the pools behind the rocks. I purchase the discounted, clearance baits to use in rivers and streams.
Attila reply :
I've always used a Rapala Skitter Pop (silent, no rattles) and the original size 7 floating minnow (also silent) when it comes to subtle smallmouth baits.
The flies mentioned sound like they could be a lot of fun too, wondering if I could try flinging them on an UL - anyone tried that?
Further North reply :
On 10/23/2017 at 7:05 AM, Attila said:
The flies mentioned sound like they could be a lot of fun too, wondering if I could try flinging them on an UL - anyone tried that?
You can give it a shot, but it doesn't tend to work well. The weight of the line carries the virtually weightless flies. I've played around trying to throw some heavier streamers (sub-surface flies) and poppers with a long ultralight...but the distance is awful, accuracy is near zero...and if you tie into a decent fish you're going to have a lot longer fight on your hands than you want.
For me, it's just easier to use a fly rod.
Some folks use a clear bobber to do it...but to me it's just more work than it needs to be.
Attila reply :
On 10/23/2017 at 8:00 AM, Further North said:You can give it a shot, but it doesn't tend to work well. The weight of the line carries the virtually weightless flies. I've played around trying to throw some heavier streamers (sub-surface flies) and poppers with a long ultralight...but the distance is awful, accuracy is near zero...and if you tie into a decent fish you're going to have a lot longer fight on your hands than you want.
For me, it's just easier to use a fly rod.
Some folks use a clear bobber to do it...but to me it's just more work than it needs to be.
Thanks for the feedback Further North, I appreciate it! The technique sounds like it might work on a smaller trout/bass creek, say no bigger than 10' across. I haven't used a fly rod in years and at this point would be worried if my roll cast would end up in some grass or tree limb situated just over the surface of the water...lol
Further North reply :
On 10/24/2017 at 12:41 AM, Attila said:Thanks for the feedback Further North, I appreciate it! The technique sounds like it might work on a smaller trout/bass creek, say no bigger than 10' across. I haven't used a fly rod in years and at this point would be worried if my roll cast would end up in some grass or tree limb situated just over the surface of the water...lol
Your first casts would undoubtedly wind up in the weeds...heck...plenty of mine still do...but fly casting seems to be like riding bikes...it comes back pretty quickly.
related Smallmouth Bass Fishing topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.