Best winter river tactic or bait??

[Gavin]

I’ve seen some underwater video of winter smallmouth resting with their bellies in contact with the bottom of northern lakes. Allot of winter fish have dirty bellies so I figure that they probably do that here too.

[Al Agnew]

There are PLENTY of lures that work for winter smallmouth.  As Wrench said, they aren't smart.  And as several have said, finding them is the key.  95% of the fish are in 5% of the water in the winter.  

However, the other problem is that, more so than in warm weather, even if you find them they may not be active.  I've fished pools where I SAW the fish, hundreds of them, and couldn't get them to bite anything.  So if you're just trying to find them, you might have found them and not even know it, which can be frustrating.  

I THINK I know what to look for in holding areas for winter smallmouth, yet there are pools that I just KNOW should be good where I've never caught much of anything.  It's not an exact science.

The only ways you figure them out are by going out and trying, or having somebody who knows where to fish for them show you.  

Getting back to lures...my winter tackle box consists of a bunch of my homemade hair jigs, a bunch of swimbaits, some deep diving crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, HD Craws, a few other soft plastics meant to be fished on the bottom (but not Ned Rigs, I refuse to fish them), and even a handful of topwater lures.  I've caught winter fish well on every one of them.

[snagged in outlet 3]

6 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

There are PLENTY of lures that work for winter smallmouth.  As Wrench said, they aren't smart.  And as several have said, finding them is the key.  95% of the fish are in 5% of the water in the winter.  

However, the other problem is that, more so than in warm weather, even if you find them they may not be active.  I've fished pools where I SAW the fish, hundreds of them, and couldn't get them to bite anything.  So if you're just trying to find them, you might have found them and not even know it, which can be frustrating.  

I THINK I know what to look for in holding areas for winter smallmouth, yet there are pools that I just KNOW should be good where I've never caught much of anything.  It's not an exact science.

The only ways you figure them out are by going out and trying, or having somebody who knows where to fish for them show you.  

Getting back to lures...my winter tackle box consists of a bunch of my homemade hair jigs, a bunch of swimbaits, some deep diving crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, HD Craws, a few other soft plastics meant to be fished on the bottom (but not Ned Rigs, I refuse to fish them), and even a handful of topwater lures.  I've caught winter fish well on every one of them.

That’s what I’ve been throwing.   5 trips without a fish.  I still enjoy going. It was cold and misty today.  Water and air both 47 degrees.   I THINK I’m in the right areas relative to where I’ve caught them in past winters.   But no joy this year.  So far.  

[jdmidwest]

Silent front went thru last night.  May have jacked them up.

[snagged in outlet 3]

10 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

Silent front went thru last night.  May have jacked them up.

Yep.   Might try again tomorrow.   I’ll decide in the morning.  

[gotmuddy]

I am certainly no winter fishing guru, but I always have a wiggle wart tied on in a craw pattern, always have a jerkbait tied on, and most always have either a ned rig or zigjig tied on when I go to the 11pt.  90% of the time I throw the first two, just because I like them the most.

[snagged in outlet 3]

26 minutes ago, gotmuddy said:

I am certainly no winter fishing guru, but I always have a wiggle wart tied on in a craw pattern, always have a jerkbait tied on, and most always have either a ned rig or zigjig tied on when I go to the 11pt.  90% of the time I throw the first two, just because I like them the most.

Me too.   Those are my go to.   Last year you couldn’t keep them off a crank.   This year I’ve caught more walleye on cranks than Smallies.  Except in winter I throw a stick worm a lot.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

It’s 60 degrees, I have the day off and I think about all the trips I’ve gone and caught fish and get excited.   Then I think about the last five trips and my head drops in disappointment.  Not sure if it’s even worth the gas money. 

[gotmuddy]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

It’s 60 degrees, I have the day off and I think about all the trips I’ve gone and caught fish and get excited.   Then I think about the last five trips and my head drops in disappointment.  Not sure if it’s even worth the gas money. 

its still great to be on the water

[snagged in outlet 3]

6 hours ago, gotmuddy said:

its still great to be on the water

Well it was a great day to be on the water.  Air temp 61 water 51.  I went way upstream from where i was yesterday.  Water was warmer, fish were not.  I had one small one follow a jerker to the boat and had one flopping on the crank for 20 seconds or so.  Otherwise....nada again.  

I talked to a guy working on his bulkhead and he said when they were out gigging they saw very few fish at all.  Not just suckers but any kind of fish.  It was their worst season ever and his family had that place for the last 25 years.  He said they think it's the heavier than normal boat traffic since Covid.  

I guess I'll got trout fishing.....