Top Picks for River Smallies

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I caught my first smallmouth when I was about 10 years old on a small creek in Central Indiana’s farmland. Since that time, I’ve tangled with smallmouth all across the Midwest and into Canada. In my outings there has been one constant; wading for smallmouth is the most enjoyable fishing I have experienced. Nothing compares to actually being in the water on a hot summer day with the fish you are targeting. You get to experience the same current, structure, and water temperatures as the fish putting you more in tune with the fish and their environment. You will learn subtleties to the water and realize just how minor of a change in the bottom or current can affect these incredible fish. If that doesn’t entice you enough, just wait until you are waist deep in the river and you have to look up to the smallmouth that just launched to the sky with your bait. It will ruin you for life.

In this article, I would like to share with you my top six summer baits for shallow river and creek smallmouth, but first here are a few considerations that contributed to the selection of these baits. When wading for river smallmouth, the amount of gear and tackle you can bring is limited. As far as gear is concerned, one rod is usually all you can handle. My rod of choice for this hot time of the year is the St. Croix Legend Elite 6’3” MXF. Therefore, all of the baits that I have chosen for my summertime top six can be fished on this rod or a similar rod of your choice. If you are like me, it’s all too easy to overload your vest with excessive amounts of tackle, so I like to stick to my pick six for summer smallmouth. There are always a few other baits that find their way in to my vest, but those baits will change depending upon the water I’m fishing that day.

Here are my top six summer smallmouth baits for shallow rivers and creeks in no particular order:

• Inline Spinner
That’s right everyone, an inline spinner, preferably the Mepps XD. I can’t begin to tell you how many fish I’ve caught on this bait. The spinner is usually the first bait I’ll tie on for rookie river fisherman due to its fish catching ability and ease of use. To fish this bait, find a current edge or break, and fish it fast. I have fished other spinners, but the Mepps XD just catches more river fish than any other spinner I have tried. I’m not sure if it’s the smaller size or the different vibration this type of blade puts out, but it draws aggressive strikes. I have had multiple 20 inch plus smallmouth fall victim to this underutilized and often forgotten style of bait. When it comes to color, I usually keep gold/yellow and silver/white packed in my vest. I know this is a bait that most of you may not try, but trust me, it’s your loss.

• 3in Soft Stick Bait
To clarify, I typically fish the Yamamoto Senkos, but I’ve caught plenty of fish on Yum Dingers too. Anyway, I think everyone knows the Senko will catch fish almost anywhere, and the river is no exception.  As far as the size of the bait, the 3 inch Senko will get the nod more often than not, but make sure you keep a pack or two of 4 inch watermelon and smoke Senkos with you. You just never know when that bigger size will out produce its diminutive counterpart.

My tried and true method for fishing this bait in every season is to fish the Senko weightless. Often times this means fishing the Fat Senko to maintain a downstream drift that ticks along the bottom in a very natural manner. Another productive way to fish this bait is with a small split shot located 12 to 18 inches above the Senko. This will allow the Senko to be fished in faster current, or to stay in one place fluttering around until an opportunist smallmouth, wanting an easy meal, crosses its path. Regardless of how it is fished, it is an absolute must for my pick six arsenal.

• Soft Jerk Bait
I have had success fishing full size flukes for largemouth and smallmouth, but it took a good butt whooping by my cousin Lt. Dan to truly appreciate the merits of the Zoom Super Fluke Jr. This bait can be fished as a drift bait, active darting bait, or a subtle gliding/twitching bait. I’m not quite sure if there is a wrong way to fish it. It is the most versatile bait in the pick six. I rig the Super Fluke Jr on a Gamakatsu 1/0 EWG hook. As far as color, keep it simple. White pearl, aurora black or albino, and baby bass covers almost every situation I have encountered, but Zoom makes a lot of other great colors that may work better for you on the waters you fish. One thing is for sure, no matter how you fish it or what color you choose, this bait flat out catches smallies.  In my opinion, it is a must for any serious river smallmouth angler.

• Tube
The tube is a bait that can represent a lot of different things to a smallmouth by changing the color, the way it is rigged, or the way it is fished. It is for this reason, and the fact that smallmouth eat them like candy on Halloween, that the tube would probably be on any of my top baits for smallmouth lists.

When it comes to shallow rivers and creeks, my favorite way to fish a tube is with an insider tube weight. The Venom 3 inch Finesse Tube, because of its thin walls, is my preferred tube for this style of fishing. Tubes with thicker walls are more durable, but the hook up ratio on my river rod was much worse. If you can’t find the Venom tube, Zoom and Berkley both make a similar tube as well as other companies. When fishing this bait, use a 1/16oz or 1/8oz insider weight and a Gamakatsu 1/0 EWG hook and slowly drag or hop the tube along the bottom. In faster current situations, simply cast upstream and let the bait drift downstream while ticking the bottom and popping it free if it stops. As an added benefit, I fish this bait and the Zoom Super Fluke Jr on the same hook.  This means you can change from one bait to the other without retying.

• Crankbait
Although crankbaits see the least amount of water out of my pick six during the summer, you just can’t leave them out. On some rivers they will certainly be your “go to” bait. If the water has a little color or is dirty, crankbaits give off vibration and will ricochet off the cover that the smallmouth uses to ambush their prey. The Strike King mini cranks and small rattle baits are usually my first choice. More expensive baits work well too, but retrieving all your snags in a roaring river may be tough task. I’d rather risk losing a $5 bait instead of a $15 bait. When I get to bring a canoe along on the river, I am able to bring additional rods. On those days, I have had a lot of success with Bandit crankbaits too.

• Topwater Walking Bait
When topwater walking baits are on fire, it’s incredible the way river smallmouth will viciously attack it and the amount of fish you can catch. Just this summer, I have had two 50 plus fish days just on topwater.  I usually fish the Lucky Craft Sammy 65 or the Heddon Zara Puppy as both of these baits are easily fished on my river rod. The Sammy 65 is a phenomenal little bait that has rattles and a more erratic action than the silent Puppy. Let the fish tell you what they want, but if I had to choose one, I’m taking the Sammy. When I have the opportunity to take a canoe and additional rods, I’ll definitely bring bigger walking baits, but don’t be surprised on the days when the smaller bait is producing better results. During the summer, a lot of the minnows the smallmouth are chasing may be small.

Now that I’ve told you about my top six summer baits, here are my honorable mentions that will find their way into my vest this summer depending where I’m heading out to fish- poppers, Reaction Innovations Smallie Beavers, Poor Boys Erie Darters, Strike King Bitsy Tubes, 1/8oz buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, curl tail grubs, Zoom Super Fluke (white pearl), and finesse jigs. Hey, I’ll use whatever catches the most or the biggest fish for the given circumstances, but my pick six will be the first baits tied on this summer on creeks and shallow rivers. With these six baits, I can cover the entire water column and address every mood of the fish.

- Greg Baacke

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