| Chasing Late Summer Smallies By Glenn Walker Many anglers think once July and August roll around, the only bassin’ action taking place is for largemouth in the weeds. But in my eyes, some of the most exciting bass fishing an angler can do during these hot days is to go catch smallmouth. To effectively chase these “brown fish” as many anglers refer to them as, I am going to talk about five lures that will help you catch these fish and also look at key situations that they should be used.Topwater plugs not only allow you to mimic baitfish on the surface, but they also put you in the position to have some fun when a behemoth smallie explodes up through the water to attack your lure. |
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The two style of baits I will use in this situation includes poppers and walk-the-dog style baits. When I tie on a popper, 98 percent of the time it will be a Storm Chug Bug or a Pop-R. Both work very well and it is up to you to determine which one you like the best, and in most cases the fish will tell you which one they want. A key situation in which topwater plugs shine is when smallmouth are feeding on baitfish. They could be feeding on a point, sandbar or rock pile. Regardless if the cover is wood, rock or weeds, a smallmouth won’t pass up a topwater plug when they are feeding. Depending on how active they are when feeding, will dictate how much action to put into your plug. A pop-and-stop retrieve can be used, or a very aggressive constant chugging can be very successful. Having a dressed treble hook at the rear of your bait will help attract these fish even more. Many baits come with a dressed treble, but if not, Eagle Claw has come out with a very sharp dressed treble hook that will add color and enticement to any bait. When I use a walk-the-dog style plug, I like to use the new Yo-Zuri Sashimi topwater pencil. I go to this lure if a bass needs to be coaxed a little into coming up to hit my topwater lure. I can slowly walk it across the surface of the water; this just drives monster smallmouth wild! A key piece to my equipment is the new Wright & McGill Skeet Reese Tessera series topwater rod. This rod is 6’8” and is specifically designed for these styles of baits, and allows me to get the most action out of them. I also want to point out that using a monofilament line here is important because fluorocarbon lines sink, which will hinder the action of your bait. Crankbaits are a great lure because you can cover a lot of water very quickly, and you can effectively mimic several things that a smallmouth may be feeding on, such as shad or crawdads. Crankbaits come in a wide variety of colors that resemble these tasty morsels. Another color crankbait that smallmouth like is one that has chartreuse in it. This may resemble a panfish or not, but a hungry smallmouth doesn’t like to see a chartreuse lure go by its face. Some top crankbait brands to look at are Bandit, Rapala and Bomber. They are all good and will work for you. Covering a shoreline, weedline or point is very easy to do with a crankbait. These are also good choices in the same areas you were fishing when the smallies were feeding, but have momentarily stopped. A crankbait fished through an inactive school of smallmouth may help turn those fish back on to feeding. A Carolina rig is something that some anglers won’t touch with a 10-foot pole, while others rely on it day in and day out. I began to experiment with this technique late last summer and had good success with it. The important thing to remember is to use the lightest weight you can get by with to maintain bottom contact, and that your leader length depends greatly on the water clarity. Since I fish the Mississippi River mostly, a 14- to 18-inch Seaguar fluorocarbon leader with a 3/8-ounce brass weight is what I use for the most part. What you use for a plastic on your Carolina rig is up to you. A small creature bait works well for me the majority of the summer, as do flukes and lizards. Experimenting with each bait until the fish tell you what they are keying in on is key. Like the two other lures mentioned, the Carolina rig allows you cover water quickly. This is key for summer smallmouth fishing because they do move frequently, depending on baitfish and current. Dragging this rig over sand bars, rock humps and along a breakline all work very well and can put some very nice fish in your boat. Tubes are a great go-to bait when fishing for smallmouth. As we have all seen from Lake Erie, tubes can catch some huge smallies, just by simply dragging them across rock piles and off-shore humps. They also work well when drug along weedlines or when pitched to visible riprap or wingdams on a river. Every company that makes plastic baits makes a tube, and every angler has his preference of size and color. If you are just starting out fishing tubes, a four-inch tube is a good standard. Natural colors that represent crawfish work well, but don’t be afraid to try some bright colors if the water is stained, or natural colors if the water is clear. If I am flipping a tube around cover, I will use a Eagle Claw HP Tube Hook, because its unique wire keeper will keep my tube in place, even if smallies are just swiping at the bait. Keeping a small profile is very crucial when fishing for finicky smallmouth, so using a 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten worm weight is key because you can get the desired weight you want, but the profile is smaller than a lead weight in the same size. Weightless plastics have become extremely popular, not just on the tournament scene, but for recreational anglers as well, over the past
five years. Just by simply casting out these plastic baits and allowing them to slowly sink, tempts a smallmouth into biting. My two favorite
baits and ways to fish them are a soft plastic stick baits, such as Senko wacky-rigged and a fluke fished very slowly. A stick bait
wacky-rigged on a 1/0 TroKar drop-shot hook is what I use when casting to stubborn smallmouth. This lure is a very natural presentation that
works well when the fish are holding tight to cover or are suspended.The same goes for a fluke—a 4/0 TroKar extra-wide gap hook will increase By knowing where to use these five baits, you to can take advantage of some phenomenal smallmouth fishing as the summer days begin to dwindle down! |
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