fall Smallmouth bass fishing lure preferences

Hey folks,

For the bass guys out there especially in the Va's and Carolinas (but all regional preferences welcome). What would you say is your best/favorite early fall lure/types for smallmouth bass ??

Planning a Lake moomaw, Va. trip. Haven't fished it before and only have 2 days, so I wanna maximize my chances with a couple hopefully successful lure choices.

The manmade lake's in the western Va. mountains, has some varied topography, deep structures, and some good steep drop offs as well. Also has some deep water "big browns" trolling potential.

Thanks,

O



sorry meant smallmouth.

I was big into bass fishing when I lived down south. My go to lure was a reaper. Either drop-shotting or a carolina rig. Tube jigs were my second go to lure. Mojo or Maniac reapers were the brand of choice. I've even picked up trout on the drop shot rigs. My $.02. GL and post a TR later!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hartzejr

I was big into bass fishing when I lived down south. My go to lure was a reaper. Either drop-shotting or a carolina rig. Tube jigs were my second go to lure. Mojo or Maniac reapers were the brand of choice. I've even picked up trout on the drop shot rigs. My $.02. GL and post a TR later!

---

Carolina rig has always been my tried and true, go to when nothing else seemed to work lure.

Add a rapala husky jerk to the above suggestions. Jerk and pause retrieve. Most hits will be on the pause. Tubes work everywhere.

Spring and fall Smallie fishing means jerk bait fishing. Berkeley X rap 10 or mega bass Vision 110 are my jerk baits of choice. Color choice is dependent on forage as well as sky conditions.
Drop shot: Berkley max scent hit worm, flat worm, robo worm; aaron’s magic color, senko, fluke, all colors according to area and sky conditions.
Tube baits: colors according to area.
Paddle tail swim baits: Keitech are my favorites. Colors according to bait fish.
Square bill cranks, colors according to bait fish.
Swing head with a strike king structure bug.
Glide baits.
Poppers and walking baits for topwater.
Thats just scratching the surface.
Smashed smallies up here the last four days and it’s just going to get better.
Average fish caught up here that had a 7” kokanee in its mouth, mostly digested. Hungry bugger.
Attachment 340917

damn, that's a nice one 2Funky.

I exclusively flyfish for smallies now, but i rod and reeled for years before that and my go to was an 1/8 ounce jig head with a 3 inch Fat Albert pumpkinseed grub. Note that I fished streams much more frequently than lakes, but i did use that in lakes from time to time with plenty of success.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mr. Mike

damn, that's a nice one 2Funky.

I exclusively flyfish for smallies now, but i rod and reeled for years before that and my go to was an 1/8 ounce jig head with a 3 inch Fat Albert pumpkinseed grub. Note that I fished streams much more frequently than lakes, but i did use that in lakes from time to time with plenty of success.

---

Thanks man, about 3.5lbs, we caught a few that pushed 5lbs that day. I don’t take many pics unless they are really special or something cool like this.
The grub is a great smallie bait. I mainly use 5” Kalins in colors to “match the hatch”.

I would recomend Heddon Super Spook Jr. lure for fall smallmouth bass fishing. The smaller “Junior” version is often smallie anglers’ first choice, but don’t hesitate to go to the five-incher, especially in wind and waves where you need to make a ruckus to grab their attention. It’s worth noting this isn’t just one of the best topwater lures for smallmouth bass, it’s also one of the best bass lures of all time.

They'll get up there shallow and start cruising around, so if you're moving slowly, you can spot the smallmouth, throw to them and catch them. The ideal conditions for this would a sunny and calm day. That allows me to move around and see the fish clearly.

Jigs and tube baits are top choices for smallmouth when the fish are deeper than 25 feet along the channel swings. Position your boat a slight distance from the channel swing and cast your lure to the structure. Let the lure fall to the bottom and slowly move it along the lake's floor.

Solid one year bumb….lol

Seriously. Nice fish, A!

Ned Rig (worms, grub tails and creature baits all work) or Wacky Worm/Rig belong on the list too.

Thanks man. We get some tanks up here.
My homie.
Attachment 394656
Yours truly.
Attachment 394657
Pike as well.
Attachment 394658

Those units have been eating good.

Damn, those are some pigs!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Though the question originated in 2009, I'm guessing replies are still welcome?

^user name checks out