Smallmouth in creek

[firepoggy]

#1485563

When the water was down I found a pool full of catfish. By the time I got around to fishing it the water had risen. Much to my surprise several smallmouth are now occupying the area. I keep getting good strikes but these boogers are quick to spit the lure. Any suggestions as I have thrown everything I can think of at them. I did manage to get one to swallow a mister twisty good enough for a hook set.

• This topic was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by .

[maxx]

#1561855

I was going to say a jig and a twister tail. Rattle traps are really good small mouth lures also but they may be hard to throw in that shallow of water.

[HEUY]

#1561848

Live bait on a Circle hook. Not too hard to release a fish and sometimes better than a treble hook.

[Kent T]

#1561840

2 3/4″ floating Rapala in silver. Reel it in on a steady medium retrieve just below the surface.

[stick500]

#1561839

Late in the season I’ve run into many pools with a whole group of really fussy smallmouths- I think they’ve all been caught a couple of times or something. And they of course see me since the water is so low and clear (as well as my dog).

I throw everything at them and I even tried the live minnow on a circle hook when I had a bucket of them in the car- no dice!

Then I’ll move up or down the creek and find some in the current that are feeding and can’t see me and then I get that great smallmouth aggressiveness where they pound just about anything that moves.

Weird!

[stick500]

#1561145

I imagine smallie fishing in small streams is pretty much over with for the year at this time, right?

Don’t they pretty much head to big rivers to overwinter?

[speng5]

#1561144

I like the shallowest running Flicker Shads you can buy and a stop and go retrieve. Sometimes they will hit it on the pauses. Make it irregular, 2-3 cranks, let it set a couple seconds. Give maybe 5-6 cranks, let it set a second. 3-4 more cranks, you get the picture. With 2 treble hooks these do a pretty decent job of hooking fish.

[Runngun675]

#1561128

Z man t.r.d is leathal on smallies. Cant gurantee you size, but just trying to get them hooked its tough to beat. If they wont hit a t.r.d on a little shroom head your in trouble.

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