surefire baits for smallies?

[Mitch f]

24 minutes ago, Micropterus said:

Surprised no-one has written about an ultra-vibe speed craw for smallies.  That's one of my favorite baits.

They are very good

[Brian Jones]

On 11/17/2016 at 8:36 PM, Micropterus said:

Surprised no-one has written about an ultra-vibe speed craw for smallies.  That's one of my favorite baits.

SHHHHHHH...................seriously?????????????

[drew03cmc]

6 hours ago, Brian Jones said:

SHHHHHHH...................seriously?????????????

Yeah, if I'm not throwing a Ned, it's a Zoom UV Speed Craw.

[fishinwrench]

That there is some solid proof that a Smallie will bite ANYTHING. 

I like the Super size Zoom craw, but that little one is a dud in the action department.  If you're good enough to get bit on that thing then it ain't the bait.... it's YOU that is awesome.  You could probably tie a chunk of snake weed to a jighead and convince a bunch of fish to eat it.  

[Old plug]

On June 4, 2015 at 11:16 AM, Al Agnew said:

 

 

 

In my opinion, the difference between the guy who always catches a bunch of them and the guy who often struggles is not the lures they use, but their presentation and efficiency. Pick a few lures that cover bottom, middle, and top, learn to fish them well, get efficient and accurate with handling your equipment and your watercraft, and/or wading stealthily and putting yourself in good positions from which to fish, and you'll catch a lot of fish.

On June 4, 2015 at 11:16 AM, Al Agnew said:

 

In my opinion, the difference between the guy who always catches a bunch of them and the guy who often struggles is not the lures they use, but their presentation and efficiency. Pick a few lures that cover bottom, middle, and top, learn to fish them well, get efficient and accurate with handling your equipment and your watercraft, and/or wading stealthily and putting yourself in good positions from which to fish, and you'll catch a lot of fish.

You said a mouthful that time. But a lot of these people on here cannot take the time from earning a living or raising a family to grasp full implications of what you just said. These thing can be lectured and taught but only with dedicated experience will anyone know them. 

[Al Agnew]

True, but the point is that no magic lure takes the place of time on the water...and attention to detail.  You can spend a lot of time on the water that isn't quality time, and not get any better.  But you can also be attentive to things, and when something works, pay attention not just to the lure you were using but also to how you were working it, and WHERE you were working it.

At the same time, way too many people don't maximize their opportunities because they get TOO wedded to one lure or one class of lure.  Witness the guys here that say they only throw one or two lures, or only use a few soft plastics.  Yep, if they know what they're doing they can catch a lot of fish on their chosen lures, but they could be doing even better a lot of times if they had a more "complete" suite of lures they were proficient with.  There are times when the fish are looking up and you can catch a lot more of them (and bigger ones) on surface or shallow running lures than you can scraping bottom...and vice versa.

I once knew a guy who fly fished for smallies, and ONLY used a five weight rod and smallish flies and streamers.  I think the biggest thing I ever saw him use was a streamer or a craw imitation that was about two inches long.  He caught a lot of fish wading small, clear streams, but put him on a larger, murkier river and he was basically lost.  Why?  Because in heavier, murkier current his little flies just weren't interesting to good fish, even if they could find them.

[Mitch f]

Very good points everyone. If I know where the fish are located, I can most always catch a few.  Finding the fish is a different story.

I remember in the mid 90's I fished 4" dark melon pepper Chompers so much, my friend called me Chomper dude. As Al says, you can't be a 3 lure guy if you want to consistently catch fish. 

But Lakes and rivers are very different to fish. Smalliebigs may disagree with me but Rivers are much easier to fish than reservoirs for me. You really don't need to deal with suspended fish on a river. With a jet boat, they are even easier. With a canoe or a kayak you are somewhat limited in the sense that you can't really go back and re-fish a spot like you can with a jet boat. But most jets can't run in some of the best stretches of the river.

[Old plug]

I agree with you Mitch. The shear expance of the water is enough in its own. Lets take water temperature as a example. In the rivers it is pretty much uniform. On lakes for what its worrh they are considered overiding reason by many of where and what to fish with.  Water temperatures on lake are not constant and even in one spot or bank can vary throughout the day. knowled of this and the things that effect those temperature variances will make all the differance in the world. 

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, I hate to admit it, but river bass fishing is easy compared to fishing larger lakes.  There are far fewer variables, and the smaller the stream is the easier it gets.  On the small rivers I float during the summer like upper Big River, there really aren't any variables that can make a huge difference other than water conditions.  Every pool and run holds fish.  They are almost always within sight and reach of your lures except in high, very murky water.  They are usually aggressive and will hit a lot of lures.  

Larger rivers like the middle Meramec can have a few more variables.  The good fish aren't everywhere, though they are somewhere in every pool and run in the warm weather seasons.  They might be keying a bit more on lures high, or low, in the water column.  In cool and cold seasons they aren't everywhere, but many of them are in specific spots that aren't all that difficult to find.

On the other hand, on big lakes there is a LOT of water that is devoid of bass.  They may be deep or shallow or somewhere in between, and if your lures don't get down to a specific depth, often within a foot or so of where they need to be, you won't get anything.  They may be tied to cover of various kinds.  They may be tied to structure of various kinds.  They may be roaming chasing shad.  They may be suspended.  They may want fast moving or slow moving lures.  They may be on banks with the wind blowing in (or out).  They may be more active on the north side of one part of the lake or the south side.  

And there is a lot more fishing pressure from knowledgeable anglers on the big lakes.  The fish can be more sophisticated.

[Old plug]

I am going to bend the subject a littlle bit. How important is the length of the light of day to fish biting. I am just wondering what you all think. Myself I am convinced daylight length is the most critical element of fish behavior.,