[Flatheadmaniac]

Since by the looks of the "favorite species" poll we have a lot of smalmouth anglers here...heres my question...do any of you "juice" up your lures for smallies..or just use them as is out of the box?..by this i mean do you guys add any kind of attractant, hop up your baits(could be as simple as changing stock hooks) or any other means...if so what do you prefer?
I have been fishing for stream smallies longer than any other specie i chase and would say out of all the species i chase, i know more about smallies than any of the others. I was once like many and chased them as a youngin during high school with my ultra light rods and a bag full of in-line spinners and a few floating Rapalas. Back then i also like most only chased them during the spring and summer and gave up when it turned to cold to wade in shorts...but i have been on the late fall/through winter bite for quite a few years now and am glad i did.
There are times when i "juice" my baits, mostly rubber baits pre-soaked in some store bought goo, but most of the time rely on the lures action in conjunction with my retrieve to trigger a strike..."hop-ups" mostly include getting rid of the junk stock mustad or eagle claw hooks that come standard and replace them with either Gamakatsu or Owner treble hooks(i do this to ALL of my spoons with great success), but also do this to my other baits including stick baits, small cranks and topwater baits.

 

[Fish]

I do if the bite is slow. I'll put some garlic or crawfish attractant on it.

I usually spray it in the box on them and let them sit over the winter like that.

Spinnerbaits are far and away my favorite lure, but when I use a tube, I'll sometimes play around with it by adding alka seltzer tablets inside and that works pretty good.

If the fishing's slow I do start to play around with the colors of whatever I'm using. If it's a spinnerbait, I might change the blades or go to 1 colorado for more vibration than 2 blades could give...maybe cut the skirt to make it shorter etc.

One thing I do to a lot of my hardbaits is take some red fingernail polish and put a red spot on them. Maybe it's coincidence, but it seems to get more strikes that way.

 

[Flatheadmaniac]

Thanks Fish

Tuning lures to the conditions and fishes mood is right on the money
I know if im using a lure i have confidence in and know it will catch fish..i vary my type of retrieve until i trigger a strike....now mind you im not a lake fisherman(way more to factor in there), but for stream fishing i carry a select hangful of lures that over the years have out produced anything else ive used...now lots depend on the fishes mood and what they are chasin(craws or minnows)..but a lot also depends on MY mood and what im looking to get out of the trip..if im by myself and looking for BIG fish only..i mostly throw a tube, madtom bait..if im just looking for action and dont care about size..i'll throw small cranks.
Now if im with fishing buddys and "braggin rights" are on the line..i have some "top" secret" baits/attractants i use to stay on the boards..lol( i cant say in detail..my buddys read this forum..lol ) But i do believe scents help a lot, specially on neutral to negative fish.

 

[Fish]

I'm just the opposite as you in the fact I don't know how to fish streams as well as lakes.

In lake fishing I don't much believe that a spinnerbait is just a "fish finding" or "searching" lure. I think if you throw it to the side of structure and you get bit, you don't go and throw something else because you've found bass. I throw a spinnerbait right back in there and burn it so they can't get a look at it and let their competetive instincts take over and race to the lure. If they hit a fast moving lure the first time, it makes no sense to me to go and throw a slow moving lure in there right away.

I keep going closer and closer to the structure with every cast until I don't get anymore strikes for a while.

Then I'll switch it up and go with a worm or tube and work it slowly. If that doesn't work or if it stops, I'll move on and come back to the spot later in the day.

I don't really know how to fish the streams like you do and just look for the outside bends for the deeper water and just go from there.

I don't really have a technique,but just try to hit the brushes/stumps and underneath the lowhanging branches if it's sunny or hot out.


I think it's more in the action of the lure than the actual lure you use sometimes so I try to get a feel for what they tell me.

 

[mrfish/OH]

Good advice

All good, I especially have to agree with this Fish

I think it's more in the action of the lure than the actual lure you use sometimes so I try to get a feel for what they tell me.

Same way I feel, that vibration & instictive strike to trigger them. I like the scents too, mostly just Baitmate crawfish scent. Works for me.

 

[Flatheadmaniac]

sounds good Fish

Well to tell you the truth..i never throw a spinnerbait..i know i ton of guys that do for smallmouths..but i dont..had a whole box filled to the rim of all brands, sizes and colors..gave it to my Dad who lives in Fl. for big LM's.
The way i hit a stream is a lot different that the "norm"..most guys fish going upstream...i cant get into this technique and prefer to fish going down stream..the most active fish with be in the faster moving water(riffle")..i hit them hard and fast then settle in for the neu/neg. fish sitting in the "hole"..then most of the time i pass the "run" unless it has some good rocks and depth, the head to the next riffle.
I guess with the two types of baits i use..cranks, jigs, tubes ti imitate a craw..i just make sure to "match the hatch" for color in clear water..go a little brighter in stained water always trying to keep contact with the bottom bouncing off rocks, boulders and gravel...for minnows baits i also "match the hatch" in colors for clear water, again going brighter in stained water..this type of lure i keep eith on the surface, near the surface or suspended at mid-depths. As we all know that bass feeding on craws will be looking down..bass feeding on minnows will be looking up..easy and makes perfect sence..but i see a lot making this mistake all the time and wondering ..."why cant i draw a bite?"..lol

If i was a lake LM hunter i would sure key in on cover too like you do..weed beds, rock piles, boulders, any kind of wood and lilly pads would be were i'd start.
When i visit my parents..i always love hitting thier lake right at day-break throwing a big top water or big wooden plug like a Castic bait near the floating grass beds..have landed some nice fat ones that way..my personal best Fl. LM is just a few oz. above 9lbs..which is not so good for Fl....but hey im not a LM hunter..lol
My sister has the family record at 12.4 lbs, i'll let her have that one..lol

 

[Fish]

Well, I'd be more than happy with a 9#er.

Hey don't forget the docks. If you can skip a lure underneath them, you'll have some good days that others don't that can't skip.

Another thing to do is get a spinnerbait (as long as it's not titanium) and bend it a bit so that you can cast to the edge of the docks and if you do it right it will work towards the dock. You'd be amazed at how many fish you can catch that way compared to just casting to the edge and working it back normally.


Yea, I know, you don't care much about bass fishing, but I don't ever see you guys talking about much bass fishing, so I have to jump in when I get the chance.

 

[Flatheadmaniac]

lol..lol..hahahaha

"Yea, I know, you don't care much about bass fishing, but I don't ever see you guys talking about much bass fishing, so I have to jump in when I get the chance. "...hahahahaha...man oh man..thats funny..
Well i'll confess i LOVE to bass fish...but smallmouth bass are REALLY part of the "sunfish" family(Centrarchidae) and black bass belong to the Micropterus to be exact..lol....WB, stripers/ Hybrid Stripers are part of the temperate bass"true bass" family(Percichthyidae)..so i DO like BASS fishing..just NOT into the LM fishing in Ohio..why..? cause around Ohio everyone fishes for them..yea ive caught a ton of them out of pits, ponds and lakes..avg. sizes run prety small from all the fishing pressure and i just cant get into it...plus on the streams i fish ive only caught about a dozen LM's since high school...and i hate the thought of going to the crowded lakes fighting all those people, boats, ect. to catch a 2-3lb fish , when i think the avg. size smallies i catch are BIGGER than them LM's those "bass" guys catch..plus a river/stream smallie aint no push over when hooked
PLUS the best thing is..i dont have to fight for a spot to catch them...and if someone crosses my line..i just smack my fishing partner upside his head and tell him to watch where hes castin..lol
Fish, we all have our favorites to hunt and fish for..my choices are in no way better than yours..."to each is own!"...and i like it that way!
Scott

 

[Fish]

I agree with you on fighting the crowds. It's not fun.

I have to say though that a smallmouth bass belongs to the Micropterus (dolomieui) species and is a Black Bass and the Largemouth bass is also a member of the sunfish family.

 

[lureboy98]

Me and a friend always fish in the Mohican during the summer. I can't think of the last time when we haven't caught a smallmouth. As a matter of fact, the best lure I've found was a 2 inch long yellow and silver countdown rapala. We have a minnow seem and that makes a big difference as well. Sometimes the only bait we can catch them on are minnows. I've never caught one on a crawfish.

 

[cwcarper]

Well, I'm still in the throwing inline spinners at them phase, for the most part. I like to use small roostertails on an ultralight, usually white or black. I rarely target smallies specifically, though, and like the roostertails because I can catch lots of different species on them. Last couple of years I've tinkered with shallow-running crankbaits in the winter. Couple of people I know catch lots and lots of big smallies year round this way, but I don't care for the cold that much. To answer the question, though, I just use the bait "as is", right out of the box.

 

[MadCatter]

I have a slew of lures that I have filed the barbs off hooks so they do less damage .. .I never use live bait for bass they take it too deep .. that is about all I do to any lures ... there are some lures that I take the trebles off on and just have on single hook in back so it don't get snagged .. you have to pick a lure that you can tune because they are designed to work with the weight of trebles

 

[Flatheadmaniac]

thanks for the replys guys

"I never use live bait for bass they take it too deep"...i use live bait during cold water and never have a problem with that..but then again i watch my rod tip like a hawk and use bigger baits than most for smallies

 

[MadCatter]

I guess thats why you list bait feeders in your tackle .. so you can watch the rod tip

 

[Flatheadmaniac]

actually

The baitfeeder/ baitrunner style reel is used during spring and fall when they are hitting HARD..not during winter for subtle bites...duh!
After the many seasons of winter fishing smallies..i can tell the difference between a 4" shiner bangin the rod tip..and a smallies subtle take..i have never gut hooked a smallie !(and i dont use circle hooks)

 

[BottomBouncer]

I read in one of these posts about blades giving vibration.

Willowleaf blades give off the most vibration, while colorado blades displace more water.

 

[Dave_E]

I'm pretty sure that...

willows give off the most flash, colorados the most vibration, and the indiana is the middle man, but I could be wrong.