Smallmouth Question

[Rippin Traps]

I fish for smallmouth bass in NW Wisconsin, and we had similar conditions yesterday and due to a cold front, the previous day, the smallmouth bass would only slap at our faster reaction lures like 1/4oz OSP High Pitcher spinnerbaits, LC 1.0DD DRS shallow crankbaits, and Megabass Karashi finesse topwater lures.

After discovering this lower activity level, we backed off from the deep weed edge of 6-8' into deeper water (12-14ft) and presented "finesse" Megabass X-Nanahan jerkbaits which dives down to ~4ft, perpendicular to the weed edge and while I could see the fish approach the jerkbait from underneath on my Lowrance Active Target, they were unwilling to come up and hit the lure.

Next, I then switched to the Megabass X-Nanahan+1 which dives to ~6ft in the Ito Kinari color (bright chartreuse back with transparent body and bright orange belly) and I saw three fish come up from the weed edge and approach the lure, but again none of them would bite it.

Finally, I switched out to the same lure but in the Wagin Hasu P1 color which is an excellent shad/minnow imitator and this time, the same three fish came up and one of them hit the lure. Once we figured out the correct lure/pattern, we were able to catch 55 smallmouth bass including a couple of larger fish that were in the 3-4# range before we called it a day at noon due to the incoming heat and high humidity.

It has been my experience in 32-years of smallmouth bass fishing, that anytime the smallmouth bass only slap at or follow faster reaction lures, it's a cue to present slower more methodical presentations. In this case, we would have progressed next to a DUO realis Spinbait 80 or 60 spybait, and then to a finesse soft plastic presentation if the jerkbait had not worked in helping us catch the smallmouth bass we could see on the Lowrance Ghost 360 and Active Target that were relating to the deep weed edge on this specific body of water.

I am not advocating that you suddenly go out and order a ton of really expensive JDM lures and fishing tackle, but if you are serious about smallmouth bass fishing, it does require a more nuanced set of techniques and lures (typically smaller version of lures) than largemouth bass on days when they are not actively hitting reaction baits and presentations.

Good luck on your smallmouth bass fishing journey and please have a great day!

Excellent post sir. Love reading breakdowns like this.

[dwtaylor]

I fish for smallmouth bass in NW Wisconsin, and we had similar conditions yesterday and due to a cold front, the previous day, the smallmouth bass would only slap at our faster reaction lures like 1/4oz OSP High Pitcher spinnerbaits, LC 1.0DD DRS shallow crankbaits, and Megabass Karashi finesse topwater lures.

After discovering this lower activity level, we backed off from the deep weed edge of 6-8' into deeper water (12-14ft) and presented "finesse" Megabass X-Nanahan jerkbaits which dives down to ~4ft, perpendicular to the weed edge and while I could see the fish approach the jerkbait from underneath on my Lowrance Active Target, they were unwilling to come up and hit the lure.

Next, I then switched to the Megabass X-Nanahan+1 which dives to ~6ft in the Ito Kinari color (bright chartreuse back with transparent body and bright orange belly) and I saw three fish come up from the weed edge and approach the lure, but again none of them would bite it.

Finally, I switched out to the same lure but in the Wagin Hasu P1 color which is an excellent shad/minnow imitator and this time, the same three fish came up and one of them hit the lure. Once we figured out the correct lure/pattern, we were able to catch 55 smallmouth bass including a couple of larger fish that were in the 3-4# range before we called it a day at noon due to the incoming heat and high humidity.

It has been my experience in 32-years of smallmouth bass fishing, that anytime the smallmouth bass only slap at or follow faster reaction lures, it's a cue to present slower more methodical presentations. In this case, we would have progressed next to a DUO realis Spinbait 80 or 60 spybait, and then to a finesse soft plastic presentation if the jerkbait had not worked in helping us catch the smallmouth bass we could see on the Lowrance Ghost 360 and Active Target that were relating to the deep weed edge on this specific body of water.

I am not advocating that you suddenly go out and order a ton of really expensive JDM lures and fishing tackle, but if you are serious about smallmouth bass fishing, it does require a more nuanced set of techniques and lures (typically smaller version of lures) than largemouth bass on days when they are not actively hitting reaction baits and presentations.

Good luck on your smallmouth bass fishing journey and please have a great day!

Very good breakdown! I think overall the key thing in clear water (especially in clear calm water) is LONG casts. If they see you, back off of them.

I bought livescope for situations like this in patterning smallmouth better. I know they are there, but seeing how they react to my presentation is critical so I can dial in my presentation better and faster.

FWIW, I cannot think of another brand that is more of a pike magnet than megabass. Its like the dang things know what brand it is and what you paid for the sole intention of ruining your day!