What To Use For Larger Smallies In Missouri Streams?

[Dan052]

I have been stream fishing for smallies since I moved here 15 years ago, and have always used the same thing....because it's always worked.

a small little jig head, with pumpkinseed, or chartreuse colored grub. my only problem is.....i have never caught any note worthy smallies. The biggest being MAYBE 15 inches. I've caught literally thousands of the 7-12 inch range....which are fun, but i want a lunker.

Any suggestions on what to use? Should I throw the same lure, in a bigger size? Should I try a crankbait?

What has worked best for you guys on the big smallies in the streams? I know they're in there...i have seen them! Thanks!

[zsmith62]

Larger Smallies... you mean mediummouth bass? Sorry I couldn't resist, kinda felt like being a smarta**...

Anyways, look under any of the other post for the streams your fishing or even the "Did you know" topic (should be near this one). I just found out about it, but there is a forum just for smallie fishing, riversmallies.com. There are a lot of people on this forum who know a lot more about smallie fishing than I do, just look for thier reports and posts...

By the way, I don't know what size grubs you're using, but when I'm spinfishing for smallies that is one of my go-to lures....

[RSBreth]

The old (and tired) saying about "big lures=big fish" doesn't necessarily apply to Smallmouths. I tend to use faster and bigger lures than most, but I still catch really nice ones on the same lures I catch numbers on. I think it's more about where and how you're fishing than what lure you're throwing, within reason. If you are using tiny Crappie grubs, then maybe yeah, you could go up in size.

Are you fishing where other people can easily access the spot, especially from wading? The further you are from an access point, the better.

Get away from the crowds, especially bank fishers.

Are you fishing the easy spots to cast to, or are you throwing up in nasty downed timber?

When floating, do you drift into a pool and cast here and there as you drift along, or do you turn the canoe around and go fish the spots at the top of the riffle everyone else blows by, right in the current seams?

Do you make multiple cast to great spots? It sometimes takes a few casts to get a big Smallies attention.

Are you "stealthy"? Do you keep quiet wading, making long casts? Or do you bang around in the canoe, float right up on where you are casting?

Do use use just one lure? (Yes) Let the fish tell you what will work that day. If you're floating carry several rods rigged with different types of lures.

There's probably hundreds of tips people here could share, if they want to be helpful.

A couple of good articles: Softbaits for Smallmouths

And for those not "allergic" to crankbaits: Smallmouth Cranks For Rivers and Lakes

[Flysmallie]

Or do you bang around in the canoe, float right up on where you are casting?

Uh......Guilty.

RS said it well. It's more about how you fish than what you fish. And I think one big thing that everyone keeps overlooking, you have to have confidence in what you are doing and the lure that you are using. Some people get way to hung up on using one lure or one style of fishing. Don't feel bad, my best fishing buddy is going to spend most of his time on the river throwing a white rooster tail. And even if he is getting outfished by another lure he continues with the rooster tail. He has confidence in that bait and usually does very well with it. He has started to fish other lures like soft plastics and is building his confidence in those. Because no matter how confident you are in one lure you also need to have the courage to change when things aren't going well and even more courage to change when they are.

You need to build some confidence in some other lures so you can be versatile on the stream. Once you get there and are using the tactics that RS talks about, your quantity and most importantly your quality of fish will increase.

Read Randy's articles on his website. Especially the one about crank baits. I can't believe what has been said on here recently about crank baits. Don't overlook the crank baits, some of my biggest smallmouths have came off a crank bait.

[Al Agnew]

Lots of stuff go into catching bigger stream smallmouth besides just the lures you use, but there is an optimum size of lure that is most likely to catch both numbers and size. It varies with the lure, but as a general rule, if the profile of the lure is less than about 2.5 inches long by the width of your thumb, it's probably too small. It can be longer if it's that width, or wider if it's that short...or bigger both ways. You can also go too big...you'll catch the occasional big one with an oversize lure, but no more and probably fewer than you will with lures within the optimum range.

The size of lure also varies with water conditions...as does the type of lure you choose and the color as well.

Just to give you an idea, here are my "best" big smallmouth lures:

homemade shallow running crankbait with skirt. The body of this lure is about 2.75 inches long, and the skirt on the belly hook adds bulk and lengthens the lure's profile by a half-inch or so.

Homemade bucktail twin-spin. This lure has a hair body that's about 2.5 inches including the lead head, and I also add a curly tail grub to the hook that adds another 3-4 inches to the overall length.

Walk-the-dog topwater lures. My default size is that of the Sammy 100 (100 millimeters) or the Super Spook Jr. (about the same size, around 4 inches)

Zoom Superfluke. It's about 5 inches long.

3 inch and 3.5 inch tube baits.

Jig and plastic chunk. I usually go with a smaller silicone jig (which is still about 2 inches long from head to end of skirt) with a Zoom Superchunk Jr. added, which adds another couple inches.

Probably the smallest lure I regularly use is a Pop-R type popper, which is about 2.5 inches long.

I fish these lures in everything from the air-clear water of streams like Huzzah Creek to the murky water of the lower Meramec and Gasconade. If it's murky, I go to bigger sizes. If it's really clear, I may drop down to the Sammy 85 (85 millimeters) but no smaller.

[smallmouthjoe]

Read Randy's articles on his website. Especially the one about crank baits.

Great advice.

[Dan052]

well i loaded up my tackle box and am ready to go tomorrow....

I bought a grub kit...with various colored grubs, and sizes.

a couple mini-spinner baits....

taking some crawdad crankbaits. small to medium sized.

Some hula grubs, to try out later in the evening.

and to top it off, were taking an extra rod and a rod prop and throwing some chicken liver on a hook, to try and run into a big ol' cat.

If I don't catch anything tomorrow, i might just quit fishing. haha!

[shaker]

All great advice my best bait ever was a 1/8 oz black buzz bait with a 101 Uncle Josh pork frog. Next was a lure long gone, and have never seen another like it, but anyway it was a Cordel Big O in what looked like a baby bass pattern. It was about 2" long and a deep diver, I didn't even buy it but received it in a tackle pack for a subscription in one of the fishing rags. All the river bass loved it, brownnies, KT's and even LMB's.