What Is Best Lures When Smallmouth Are Hitting Baitfish On Top But Wont Touch Anything In Your Box ? 2024
tgat77 reply :
Can someone please help me on this situation I have alot of times fishing for smallies when they are dialed in on the shad and small minnows they wont touch any lure I throw at them and I have tried everything in my taclke box which is any and just bout everything a bass will eat any help would be greatly appreciated
Mumbly reply :
For smallies busting the surface my go to bait would be a spook. Either a super spook jr or sometimes a puppy.
Having said that, there were quite a few times last year that a pop-r was deadly as well.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Zara Puppy is a killer when they're chasing small baitfish on the surface. For subsurface fish you could try something like a Keitech Swing Impact Fat 2.8 on a jighead.
WIGuide reply :
I've had this happen a few times too. I finally picked up a few on a weightless soft plastic jerk bait.
FryDog62 reply :
On 4/16/2015 at 8:04 PM, WIGuide said:I've had this happen a few times too. I finally picked up a few on a weightless soft plastic jerk bait.
X2 - especially in colder spring water with long pauses after jerks...
J Francho reply :
What depth?
tgat77 reply :
On 4/16/2015 at 1:32 PM, Mumbly said:For smallies busting the surface my go to bait would be a spook. Either a super spook jr or sometimes a puppy.
Having said that, there were quite a few times last year that a pop-r was deadly as well.
ThatFishin'Guy reply :
I have had good luck with the small size Pop-R
tgat77 reply :
Thanks guys for all your help I have tried many times with flukes with no success but not a zara spook yet or the puppys...and franco mostly its when im in 30 or as deep as 80 ft in the channels and also sometimes in the flats...I fished dale hollow last weekend and they were hitting baitfish on the surface in 50 ft of water I thought small ratrle trap would be the ticket but had no success and also tried hair jigs counting it down
J Francho reply :
Suspending jerk baits, weighted flukes, big Sammy or Gunfish, tubes. Those are my game.
J Francho reply :
If they're I the bottom doing what ever it smallies do when they're not on the rampage (making us look dumb) I go with a drop shot or jigging spoon.
tgat77 reply :
Thanks franco I appreciate it btw whats your favorite drop shot bait for smallies in gin clear water in the heat of summer?
EvanT123 reply :
One late summer night a year or two ago. I witnessed the most outrageous feeding frenzy I have ever seem. It was at the mouth of a creek and literally ever second there was a fish busting the surface. They were everywhere. I threw the book at them but came up empty handed. Sorry I can't be more help but wanted to share the frustration.
J Francho reply :
Cross tails, Shad shaped worms, Gulp leeches, robo worms.
MickD reply :
I've not had this happen in such deep water. Under the conditions you describe I would think that matching the hatch very carefully would be the ticket. A couple things are obvious, the fish are plentiful and aggressively feeding, the prey is very plentiful which means it's probably a school of all one species. What species would the school likely be? Try to identify the species and match it as perfectly as you can for the same size, same color, neutral buoyancy, then vary the action to find out what triggers them. I would think soft plastic minnows, flukes or similar. Or neutral buoyancy hard jerks. I'll bet if you can match the hatch the lure will be struck on the fall pretty regularly.
I expect on any given lake there would only be a couple prey species that would be there in the numbers you describe, most likely one of the shads?
Fisher-O-men reply :
These, fly-lined on 5lb braid.
tgat77 reply :
Thanks mick the lakes I fish are deffinitely shad and alewife are main forage ive tried so hard at matching the hatch but I think your rite theres so much bait the lure would have to be identical to the bait they are gorging on....thanks franco robo worms are my favorite as well...one day I hope to find the rite match if I do I will deffinitely share with all of you
tgat77 reply :
thanks fisher o men I have seen these they are pricey but if they work I dont care just want to catchem!On 4/17/2015 at 10:04 AM, Fisher-O-men said:These, fly-lined on 5lb braid.
Dogmatic reply :
Flutter spoon?
RoLo reply :
What's the Best Lure When Smallmouth Are Hitting On Top
But Won't Touch Anything In Your Box ??
Cast Net
roadwarrior reply :
Rage Shad is another option.
everythingthatswims reply :
Spro BBZ Baby Shad would be worth a try
wuchr20 reply :
I like weightless flukes. White is the color I like best
tgat77 reply :
Flukes havent worked for me that is one of my fav lures to fish in spring but doesnt due me good when thats the feed they are on thanks for the insight...flutter spoon may have to try that one too
Hogsticker reply :
Floating or slow rise jerkbait would be my choice. Something bright and flashy, maybe with a orange belly so it stands out from the bait fish. Try every cadence you can think of till you generate a strike. I've encountered this situation many times and this is what worked for me. Granted it wasn't over such deep water, but I don't think that would matter.
flyfisher reply :
Tiny Torpedos have done the trick for me in these situations.
wuchr20 reply :
I like the weightless zoom super fluke in pearl.
retiredbosn reply :
The situation u described I would first try a rebel popr, if that didn't work, what ever size fluke matches the size and color of the bait rigged weightless. Cast the fluke into the swarm and do nothing, no twitches or jerks let it flutter, start counting if you get to a long ten count work it back with long pauses.
A-Jay reply :
On 4/16/2015 at 9:59 AM, tgat77 said:Can someone please help me on this situation I have alot of times fishing for smallies when they are dialed in on the shad and small minnows they wont touch any lure I throw at them and I have tried everything in my taclke box which is any and just bout everything a bass will eat any help would be greatly appreciated
Tons of great options presented so far.
A bait that gets little fan fair but has worked for me in this situation many times is the Rapala Sub walk.
When bass seem unwilling to commit to traditional surface offerings and a regular jerkbait is clearly going under the bait & the bass, being able to present a lure with a walk-the-dog style technique just below the water surface (and right in their face) can be the deal.
It has been especially effective on smallies, who love to chase this bait down & hammer it. I'd recommend changing out the stock trebles. That VMC dressed treble on the back has not worked for me.
A-Jay
tgat77 reply :
Thanks a jay I will try it for sure thanks man
retiredbosn reply :
On 4/22/2015 at 11:01 PM, A-Jay said:Tons of great options presented so far.
A bait that gets little fan fair but has worked for me in this situation many times is the Rapala Sub walk.
When bass seem unwilling to commit to traditional surface offerings and a regular jerkbait is clearly going under the bait & the bass, being able to present a lure with a walk-the-dog style technique just below the water surface (and right in their face) can be the deal.
It has been especially effective on smallies, who love to chase this bait down & hammer it. I'd recommend changing out the stock trebles. That VMC dressed treble on the back has not worked for me.
A-Jay
Man I completely forgot about that bait. I went to buy some when I first learned about them, then completely forgot. How long have they been on the market now 10 years?
A-Jay reply :
On 4/23/2015 at 9:13 AM, retiredbosn said:Man I completely forgot about that bait. I went to buy some when I first learned about them, then completely forgot. How long have they been on the market now 10 years?
I don't exactly Boats, at least 7 or 8 anyway.
It's such a sleeper of a bait. Especially early season as it doesn't have a ton of action.
But what it does have is a subtle but killer little roll right before it comes to rest on the pause -
Smallies just Can't Stand it.
A-Jay
bigbill reply :
A Rapala f7 original floater match the color of the baitfish. Blue or black.
Joesfly firetiger apache 1/4oz inline spinner.
BigSkyBasser reply :
An old infisherman smallmouth special showed Al Lindner swearing by techniques to apply towards this for cold and warm water conditions.
In warm water he would toss the classic popper or when endorsed by Rapala the "Skitter Pop." (Great lure but I prefer spooks.)
In cold water they were throwing little elk hair jigs about 8-14" under a large float and getting stupendous amounts of bites.
Note I have never tried the latter mentioned but would like to. Probably could supplement a senko and get the same reaction.
Joycer81 reply :
When I see smallmouth feeding at the surface I start trying to catch them from the top of the water column down.
I will start by fishing the Zara spook anytime I can especially when bass are active at the surface. I do most of my fishing on either Lake Ontario or the St Lawrence River though so surface lures aren't always an option.
If the fish won't hit at the surface I will try and finesse them with light fluorocarbon and jerkbaits, tube jigs, a spy bait or the good old drop shot. In these situations where I've thrown everything without luck I try and focus on how I'm throwing the lure instead of what I'm throwing. Some days the trick is just to pick up the fairy wand and down size my line to the lightest possible.
Another thing I've learned after reviewing gopro footage of myself is that on these tough days often I get caught up in changing lures to try find the magic one. As a result of this I get locked in to one style and speed of retrieve with every lure. After noticing this I started to focus more on not being so static by changing speed and concentrating on varying styles of retrieve on these days and did see some improvement.
If they still won't touch anything in my box, I try not to get to frustrated because it gives me an excuse to buy more tackle!
Brewerbass reply :
Swim jig with a paddle tail trailer like a grass pig.
hawkoath reply :
It's trout stocking season over here and one multi-purpose lure that has been working really well when there is bait around, the bass are flying but you can't seem to get a hit is modified Kastmaster.
Dave Hull reply :
Try a fat Gitzit (a tube bait) of the magic size & color needed on the original flat shaped jighead. Fish it like a jerkbait. I like the subwalk and the flukes as mentioned above too as topwater, although the preference for fun, isn't always as effective on schools herding fish to the surface.
masterbass reply :
Super fluke jr or the good ole grub/jighead.
MIbassyaker reply :
On 6/6/2015 at 9:27 AM, BigSkyBasser said:In cold water they were throwing little elk hair jigs about 8-14" under a large float and getting stupendous amounts of bites.
The Float 'N Fly!
http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/tips/post/winter-float-fly-bass
egladding reply :
Try throwing a double fluke rig(donkey rig). It has a better action than a single fluke.
dropshottah reply :
INLINE SPINNER
k3bass reply :
If smallmouth are busting the surface and won't touch anything I'm throwing on top I'll tie on a slow falling jig-n-pig usually with a double tail grub. Let it fall down below the commotion and pop it a few times. This usually catches bigger fish for me than a topwater when they're chasing bait fish to the surface.
related Smallmouth Bass Fishing topic
previous topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.