Shallow River Smallies?

Bassboss · 10-12-10, 05:53 PM

Hey guys, the neighbors boy was in town last weekend and showed us a few fishing spots. One a part of the jump river.

It's got pretty storng current, tons of rocks, and crawdads. I've been using shallow craw canks with nothing (I caught either a 6 incher or 6 pounde btw.. can't remember which though!

). Since the shallow canks ain't workin I was thinking jig just heavy enough to hold still would work. But I'm not really sure if it would work, and a be able to flair out with all the current. Anyone use them?

Also any kinda tips for fall shallow river smallies would be great!

Thanks!

IowaBasser · 10-12-10, 06:41 PM

I read a little bit about the jump river here. It sounds a lot like the Upper Iowa River in NE Iowa that I grew up fishing, only maybe deeper. The portion of the Upper Iowa that I fish doesn't have many holes over 4 feet deep. When you find a deep hole it is chuck full of small mouth, especially in the fall!

My all-time favorite lure for river small mouth is a Mepps Aglia in-line spinner. It must be the red and white version, and it must have the hair on the hook. Also I've had better luck with the one that has black and white hair on the hook. (Not as much success with the black and brown hair on the hook.) If you're used to fishing for large mouth, you really have to down-size. I have the best luck with a size 1; a size 2 is alright, but that's as large as I would ever use for smallmouth. Basically you need spinning gear to throw it; a bait caster simply won't do. It's great in shallow water with a rocky bottom; and by shallow water I mean 1 to 2-1/2 feet (think thigh-deep if you are wading.) In deeper water (3 to 4 feet) slow your retrieve as much as possible while still feeling the blade turn. Even 4 feet with a little current is probably too deep for this lure. You can put 1 or 2 small split shot about 20 inches infront of the spinner to get it a little deeper, but I usually switch to something else if I'm having trouble getting this lure deep enough. I use this lure 99% of the time while in the canoe, or wading on the move; honestly the only time I take it off is when we stop to fish a deeper hole. It's so versatile for all the different kinds of shallow water you encounter as you move from deep hole to deep hole. It works great along rocky bluffs and always cast near basketball-size or larger rocks, small eddies, or any obstruction that creates a current break. Also, don't over-look the waters right ABOVE riffles where the current begins to speed up. Smallies like to hang out there even if there's only 18" of water and feed on whatever the current brings them.

The Blue Fox Vibrax Flash spinner is better in current and runs deeper. Again, the hair is important for smallies. The body of these are all lead, making it retrieve a little deeper. I use the larger size because it's heavier, and I only use this lure when I'm trying to fish deeper. I haven't found one color out perform the other colors, but yellow is an alright choice. I read somewhere that small mouth bass really like red; so much so that the author used to carry around a red sharpie and color parts of his lures red if they didn't come in red. I've thought about painting a few of my blue fox spinners red, to mimic the Meps color pattern. I found that article about the sharpie.

Plastic worms rigged texas style are also good choices, especially for deep holes. Use just a big enough bullet weight so you can feel the worm bouncing across the bottom in the current. I like purple if the water is muddy. If the water is clear, I prefer a motor-oil / pumpkin seed color; something that is a little more translucent.

Crawfish crank baits are also good choices. I fish them in 2 to 3 feet of water anywhere I can find rocks. My Dad likes to fish them in deeper water with a lindy sinker - basically carolina rigged. I like the F76 Rebel Wee-Crawfish (editted for size and color) try to find the color "Stream Crawfish." That color seems to work better than the similar colors like the Brown, Moss, Cajun, etc. The 2" (F76) seems to be the right size.

I never used to fish top-water lures, but I'm dying to try 2 specific top-waters for smallmouth. I've heard good things about the Heddon teeny torpedos. I think a smaller plastic frog like the Strike King Rage Tail Toad would be ir-restible to those bronze-backs!

Of course you can always fish with live-crawfish (or night-crawler) under a bobber. There's nothing more effective in a deep hole with slow moving current. For crawfish get a minnow net and look under rocks in 6 to 12 inches of water. There's something about the soft shell ones that the bass love. I'm not sure if they smell different or what, but a soft shell crawfish will out fish a hard-shell crawfish 3 to 1.

Here's an 18" smallie I caught in the Upper Iowa this fall on a rubber worm. He's probably only 2-1/2 pounds; but I'l guarentee that he fought harder in the current than most 4 pound large mouth from a lake!

walkeraviator · 10-12-10, 09:49 PM

T-Rig a reaction innovations smallie beaver... if they are feeding on craws... this is teh ticket...

IowaBasser · 10-12-10, 10:11 PM

The reaction innovations smallie beaver looks promising, I might have to give this one a try! When you say T-rig, I assume you're jigging, bouncing, dragging and twitching it across the bottom? There are several colors to choose from, do you have a favorite? I like the looks of the "Corndog," "Fried Watermelon," for clear water and the "Magic Craw Red" if the water is slightly stained. In my experience, truly murky water is terrible for smallmouth fishing in small rivers. Luckily the water in the Upper Iowa clears up within a day or 2 after a rain.

Thanks walkeraviator

walkeraviator · 10-13-10, 05:59 AM

Here in Kentucky, I use watermelon/red flake, green pumpkin, and if it gets real stained i just go straight to black...

I am usually fishing a stream so small it would be considered a creek... but there are days when i throw that bait that i pull fish in on 2/3 of my casts...

Ad for my retrieve... i drag a few inches then a quick pop to make it looik like a darting craw... but try to keep it on teh bottom a lot... on kentucky lake i had some success using this on a shakey head...oh, and be sure to split the paddle tail...

riverfisher · 10-13-10, 09:10 AM

All great info here on creek'en!! One thing I'v always used on my creek thats worked out great are them little spinner baits in the deep holes. Cast them out as far as you can count to ten and slowely reel in. Jigs/Curly tails, Baby Flukes, Inline Spinners, Shallow cranks and one bait that my uncle always brings to the creek which for him he always smokes'em with it is the Banjo Minnow. Does the creek also have walleye in it?

Flip some rocks and see if you can find some Helgramites they are the absolute best live bait for creek SMB!!

http://fishingforlife.wordpress.com/...t-helgramites/

IowaBasser · 10-13-10, 12:13 PM

I recently put a little red & white spinnerbait in my smallmouth tackle box, but have yet to try it. Yes, I have a dedicated smallmouth tackle box that fits in a fanny-pack with a minnow net for catching craw-fish that hangs from the belt. It's been several years since I've done much small mouth fishing, but over the last 5 or 6 years the quality of fish has really picked up in the Upper Iowa. I've also just started to fish flukes for large-mouth and plan to try those for small mouth as well. We never had walleye in the Upper Iowa when I was fishing it regularly, but about 5 years ago they started to stock Walleye in the Upper Iowa and we've caught a couple here and there. I think the fluke might be a good combo lure for smallies and walleye.

3dkicker · 10-13-10, 10:05 PM

Yamamoto 4" spider jigs were the baits of choice when I used to wade the upper Potomac for smallies. Rigged them on a ball jig and dragged them along. Caught smallies up to 3.5 lbs. Plenty of other brands work well too.

I've heard that tubes work real well for them too.....but I really wouldn't know which brand, color, or size that work that well.....

dave0943 · 10-14-10, 02:37 PM

Bassboss,

Well up up north of you and fish for smallies in the Menominee River. This river has sections that are fast and some areas that are slow. The bottom is all rock in the fast sections but produce some hefty Smallies. I love to fish fast shallow sections below a power dam. Fishing cranks and jigs in these areas can be frustrating and tricky. When fishing cranks, I use very shallow runners with small square bills. Cabelas dig it cranks work very good. They don't give to many problems. I use craw and bluegill type colors.

Jigs are even more frustrating and get hung up in the rocks often. The ones that work the best have SMALL round heads. I tip them with gulp minnows or double tail grubs. I find if I keep the jig moving, by lifting higher in the water, they provide good bites.

Now, the the bait that KILLS THEM. I use a money crawl rigged Texas style. I try to use weightless and let them ride the current or I will use a 3/0 4/0 weghted hook. This is a Small mouth killer. I also toss Horny Toads all year long. Fast current, rocks, shallow water can make you talk to yourself, but there are huge fish that dwell there.

Dave

Bassboss · 10-18-10, 06:06 PM

Thanks for the info, I got some grubs that I almost caught a better smallie on the Flambeau. IB, I got the same craw cank in the same color the other day before I even read this!

I also got a red/white spinner, not sure the brand though, I'll give it shot! I think I'll be using my spinning rod lots more.. I may need to up-grade? I'll definitely give them sweet beavers a whirl. Ace has got some of them I know.

Thanks again.

walkeraviator · 10-19-10, 06:24 AM

Make sure you get the Smallie Beavers.. the Sweet Beavers are huge...

WTL · 10-20-10, 11:06 AM

One thing about rivers and creeks I have noticed as I get more experience on different bodies of water is, they can be very localized in what works. For instance, my home smallie creeks you just cleaned up with senkos. But on other rivers I've been to, certain crankbaits are the ticket. I've heard of some streams also being jig or tube territory. You are going to have to experiment some to find the right combo, time on the water is unbeatable for getting info and with you in a new state there will be a learning curve. Just enjoy the scenery and dont fall through the ice.

TN_Bassin · 10-20-10, 02:54 PM

Well when I go wading or yakkin I take with me 2 baits everytime. Zoom pearl super fluke and a Ribbit frog. I don't like to throw a jig or a shaky head because where I wade and yak at are stuffed with red eye and you can catch em (red eye) every cast with a jig or anything else that mimics a crawfish. So to catch the smallies around here I stick with a fluke or some form of topwater. Spook or sammy does well also.

10-12-10, 05:53 PM	#1
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Shallow River Smallies? Hey guys, the neighbors boy was in town last weekend and showed us a few fishing spots. One a part of the jump river. It's got pretty storng current, tons of rocks, and crawdads. I've been using shallow craw canks with nothing (I caught either a 6 incher or 6 pounde btw.. can't remember which though! ). Since the shallow canks ain't workin I was thinking jig just heavy enough to hold still would work. But I'm not really sure if it would work, and a be able to flair out with all the current. Anyone use them? Also any kinda tips for fall shallow river smallies would be great! Thanks! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

10-12-10, 06:41 PM	#2
IowaBasser BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ames, Iowa Posts: 360	I read a little bit about the jump river here. It sounds a lot like the Upper Iowa River in NE Iowa that I grew up fishing, only maybe deeper. The portion of the Upper Iowa that I fish doesn't have many holes over 4 feet deep. When you find a deep hole it is chuck full of small mouth, especially in the fall! My all-time favorite lure for river small mouth is a Mepps Aglia in-line spinner. It must be the red and white version, and it must have the hair on the hook. Also I've had better luck with the one that has black and white hair on the hook. (Not as much success with the black and brown hair on the hook.) If you're used to fishing for large mouth, you really have to down-size. I have the best luck with a size 1; a size 2 is alright, but that's as large as I would ever use for smallmouth. Basically you need spinning gear to throw it; a bait caster simply won't do. It's great in shallow water with a rocky bottom; and by shallow water I mean 1 to 2-1/2 feet (think thigh-deep if you are wading.) In deeper water (3 to 4 feet) slow your retrieve as much as possible while still feeling the blade turn. Even 4 feet with a little current is probably too deep for this lure. You can put 1 or 2 small split shot about 20 inches infront of the spinner to get it a little deeper, but I usually switch to something else if I'm having trouble getting this lure deep enough. I use this lure 99% of the time while in the canoe, or wading on the move; honestly the only time I take it off is when we stop to fish a deeper hole. It's so versatile for all the different kinds of shallow water you encounter as you move from deep hole to deep hole. It works great along rocky bluffs and always cast near basketball-size or larger rocks, small eddies, or any obstruction that creates a current break. Also, don't over-look the waters right ABOVE riffles where the current begins to speed up. Smallies like to hang out there even if there's only 18" of water and feed on whatever the current brings them. The Blue Fox Vibrax Flash spinner is better in current and runs deeper. Again, the hair is important for smallies. The body of these are all lead, making it retrieve a little deeper. I use the larger size because it's heavier, and I only use this lure when I'm trying to fish deeper. I haven't found one color out perform the other colors, but yellow is an alright choice. I read somewhere that small mouth bass really like red; so much so that the author used to carry around a red sharpie and color parts of his lures red if they didn't come in red. I've thought about painting a few of my blue fox spinners red, to mimic the Meps color pattern. I found that article about the sharpie. Plastic worms rigged texas style are also good choices, especially for deep holes. Use just a big enough bullet weight so you can feel the worm bouncing across the bottom in the current. I like purple if the water is muddy. If the water is clear, I prefer a motor-oil / pumpkin seed color; something that is a little more translucent. Crawfish crank baits are also good choices. I fish them in 2 to 3 feet of water anywhere I can find rocks. My Dad likes to fish them in deeper water with a lindy sinker - basically carolina rigged. I like the F76 Rebel Wee-Crawfish (editted for size and color) try to find the color "Stream Crawfish." That color seems to work better than the similar colors like the Brown, Moss, Cajun, etc. The 2" (F76) seems to be the right size. I never used to fish top-water lures, but I'm dying to try 2 specific top-waters for smallmouth. I've heard good things about the Heddon teeny torpedos. I think a smaller plastic frog like the Strike King Rage Tail Toad would be ir-restible to those bronze-backs! Of course you can always fish with live-crawfish (or night-crawler) under a bobber. There's nothing more effective in a deep hole with slow moving current. For crawfish get a minnow net and look under rocks in 6 to 12 inches of water. There's something about the soft shell ones that the bass love. I'm not sure if they smell different or what, but a soft shell crawfish will out fish a hard-shell crawfish 3 to 1. Here's an 18" smallie I caught in the Upper Iowa this fall on a rubber worm. He's probably only 2-1/2 pounds; but I'l guarentee that he fought harder in the current than most 4 pound large mouth from a lake! Last edited by IowaBasser; 10-13-10 at 12:19 PM.

10-12-10, 10:11 PM	#4
IowaBasser BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ames, Iowa Posts: 360	The reaction innovations smallie beaver looks promising, I might have to give this one a try! When you say T-rig, I assume you're jigging, bouncing, dragging and twitching it across the bottom? There are several colors to choose from, do you have a favorite? I like the looks of the "Corndog," "Fried Watermelon," for clear water and the "Magic Craw Red" if the water is slightly stained. In my experience, truly murky water is terrible for smallmouth fishing in small rivers. Luckily the water in the Upper Iowa clears up within a day or 2 after a rain. Thanks walkeraviator Last edited by IowaBasser; 10-12-10 at 10:20 PM.

10-13-10, 10:05 PM	#8
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	Yamamoto 4" spider jigs were the baits of choice when I used to wade the upper Potomac for smallies. Rigged them on a ball jig and dragged them along. Caught smallies up to 3.5 lbs. Plenty of other brands work well too. I've heard that tubes work real well for them too.....but I really wouldn't know which brand, color, or size that work that well..... __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com

10-18-10, 06:06 PM	#10
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Thanks for the info, I got some grubs that I almost caught a better smallie on the Flambeau. IB, I got the same craw cank in the same color the other day before I even read this! I also got a red/white spinner, not sure the brand though, I'll give it shot! I think I'll be using my spinning rod lots more.. I may need to up-grade? I'll definitely give them sweet beavers a whirl. Ace has got some of them I know. Thanks again. __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

10-12-10, 09:49 PM	#3
walkeraviator BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 1,119	T-Rig a reaction innovations smallie beaver... if they are feeding on craws... this is teh ticket...

10-13-10, 05:59 AM	#5
walkeraviator BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 1,119	Here in Kentucky, I use watermelon/red flake, green pumpkin, and if it gets real stained i just go straight to black... I am usually fishing a stream so small it would be considered a creek... but there are days when i throw that bait that i pull fish in on 2/3 of my casts... Ad for my retrieve... i drag a few inches then a quick pop to make it looik like a darting craw... but try to keep it on teh bottom a lot... on kentucky lake i had some success using this on a shakey head...oh, and be sure to split the paddle tail...

10-13-10, 09:10 AM	#6
riverfisher BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Charlton, New York Posts: 92	All great info here on creek'en!! One thing I'v always used on my creek thats worked out great are them little spinner baits in the deep holes. Cast them out as far as you can count to ten and slowely reel in. Jigs/Curly tails, Baby Flukes, Inline Spinners, Shallow cranks and one bait that my uncle always brings to the creek which for him he always smokes'em with it is the Banjo Minnow. Does the creek also have walleye in it? Flip some rocks and see if you can find some Helgramites they are the absolute best live bait for creek SMB!! http://fishingforlife.wordpress.com/...t-helgramites/

10-13-10, 12:13 PM	#7
IowaBasser BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ames, Iowa Posts: 360	I recently put a little red & white spinnerbait in my smallmouth tackle box, but have yet to try it. Yes, I have a dedicated smallmouth tackle box that fits in a fanny-pack with a minnow net for catching craw-fish that hangs from the belt. It's been several years since I've done much small mouth fishing, but over the last 5 or 6 years the quality of fish has really picked up in the Upper Iowa. I've also just started to fish flukes for large-mouth and plan to try those for small mouth as well. We never had walleye in the Upper Iowa when I was fishing it regularly, but about 5 years ago they started to stock Walleye in the Upper Iowa and we've caught a couple here and there. I think the fluke might be a good combo lure for smallies and walleye.

10-14-10, 02:37 PM	#9
dave0943 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Iron Mountain, MI Posts: 174	Bassboss, Well up up north of you and fish for smallies in the Menominee River. This river has sections that are fast and some areas that are slow. The bottom is all rock in the fast sections but produce some hefty Smallies. I love to fish fast shallow sections below a power dam. Fishing cranks and jigs in these areas can be frustrating and tricky. When fishing cranks, I use very shallow runners with small square bills. Cabelas dig it cranks work very good. They don't give to many problems. I use craw and bluegill type colors. Jigs are even more frustrating and get hung up in the rocks often. The ones that work the best have SMALL round heads. I tip them with gulp minnows or double tail grubs. I find if I keep the jig moving, by lifting higher in the water, they provide good bites. Now, the the bait that KILLS THEM. I use a money crawl rigged Texas style. I try to use weightless and let them ride the current or I will use a 3/0 4/0 weghted hook. This is a Small mouth killer. I also toss Horny Toads all year long. Fast current, rocks, shallow water can make you talk to yourself, but there are huge fish that dwell there. Dave

10-19-10, 06:24 AM	#11
walkeraviator BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 1,119	Make sure you get the Smallie Beavers.. the Sweet Beavers are huge...

10-20-10, 11:06 AM	#12
WTL BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Huntsville, Al Posts: 7,466	One thing about rivers and creeks I have noticed as I get more experience on different bodies of water is, they can be very localized in what works. For instance, my home smallie creeks you just cleaned up with senkos. But on other rivers I've been to, certain crankbaits are the ticket. I've heard of some streams also being jig or tube territory. You are going to have to experiment some to find the right combo, time on the water is unbeatable for getting info and with you in a new state there will be a learning curve. Just enjoy the scenery and dont fall through the ice.

10-20-10, 02:54 PM	#13
TN_Bassin BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bon Aqua,TN Posts: 1,013	Well when I go wading or yakkin I take with me 2 baits everytime. Zoom pearl super fluke and a Ribbit frog. I don't like to throw a jig or a shaky head because where I wade and yak at are stuffed with red eye and you can catch em (red eye) every cast with a jig or anything else that mimics a crawfish. So to catch the smallies around here I stick with a fluke or some form of topwater. Spook or sammy does well also. __________________ Other anglers are tough, but the fish are the real competition.

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