Best Topwater Baits For River Smallmouth

That s a lesson i learned from kevin turner owner of river pro boats a fine line of jet boats.

Best topwater baits for river smallmouth.

The 7 best lures for smallmouth bass in rivers. My personal best smallie was caught on a large walking style lure and when i landed her i found an 8 inch. Let s get one thing straight right off the bat smallmouth bass can be caught on big topwater plugs. Rig them on a 1 16 to 1 8 ounce round jighead or carolina style on a size 4 8 hook 18 to 24 inches behind a split shot and swivel.

When smallmouth are hovering on or near the river bed few lures can top a soft plastics rigged with enough weight to crawl over the rocks and ledges. 1 4 ounce is a good all round size though anglers can drop down to 1 8 ounce if the water is low and clear. When aggressive tactics fail to produce slow down and present finesse style baits to finicky bass. In fact big topwater lures are often the most effective way to catch bigger smallies.

Some varieties include hollow body frogs walkers poppers spooks and pencil poppers. If you re hitting the water for bronzebacks this summer you ll want to fill your tacklebox with these go to baits. It is 7 on the list of the best 7 river smallmouth fishing lures. Again there are many different topwater lures to choose from.

I can cite my own experience as an example. Buzzbaits are the ultimate river reaction bait for smallmouth. Summertime smallmouth fishing makes having a drop shot or two on the deck pretty essential and the top pros in the tackle warehouse title presented by toyota on sturgeon bay basically all relied on the versatile finesse rig to get the job done. Silver blades and a 2 white green rootbeer or black grub work well in most rivers.

Topwater smallmouth fishing isn t just exciting but early summer smallmouth bass are suckers for surface baits. Worm jigs in the 1 8 to 3 16 ounce range couple well with the craw tube and. There are a variety of topwaters and greatly varying fishing conditions so offering the fish the right lure the right way is essential for consistent success. Topwater lures are the most effective when the bass are aggressive.

Buzz baits for smallmouth bass. Grubs work best of all. Other popular top water baits include the popper baits and the exciting to fish buzz bait.