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By William Milheim
What bait do I use? That’s the question I get asked most often. I can understand why it’s asked. We as fisherman are bombarded with television shows, magazines, seminars and books, all promoting new baits. Each year I wait to see how they will better themselves from the year before. Promotion and marketing keeps the fisherman interested in our sport, the sum of which is a fisherman armed to the teeth with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic, and so on. I’m fine with that all of that. It’s a huge industry giving the fisherman the cutting edge.
In previous articles we’ve looked at weather, water temperature, dissolved oxygen levels and lunar tables, now we’re ready to select bait. As a smallmouth guide, I use these factors for selecting bait: size and weight, available color, color patterns, action and price.
Smallmouths prefer smaller sized artificial baits for the most part. Big flashy noise making baits will scare a smallmouth in clear water conditions. They also tend to strike bait that is moving slow, completely different from their close relative the largemouth bass. Smallmouth will look bait over and size it up, unlike the huge reaction strikes of a largemouth. Smallmouth will follow bait awaiting the right time to strike. When I select spinnerbaits I purchase the micro size. The big willow or Colorado blades on the larger size spinnerbaits are too much when river fishing. But, there are exceptions to size. I’ve found that four or five inch crankbaits are more productive than the two inch sizes. This is very true, as it relates to plastic baits. I’ve caught more smallmouth on five inch wacky worms than the shorter sizes. Same is true with jigs and tubes – the magnum size seems to be the best bet. I will start with a smaller size and gradually move to larger sizes while I’m prospecting for a strike.
We as river fisherman have many issues to address before our first cast. One of them is current speed and high water. Automatically our mindset is to throw heavier bait. That’s not the best rule to follow. The heavier the bait, the harder it is to control. As a rule I try to keep my artificial bait around a 1/8th ounce. Heavier baits work too fast in high and stained water conditions. When water is moving at normal speeds I will try to use as light of an artificial bait as possible.
Color is a huge factor when selecting bait. I always keep this phrase in mind when I’m fishing, which helps me when I’m purchasing bait: dark day use a dark color, bright day use a bright color. So, when I find bait which appeals to the smallmouth fisherman in me, I make sure the bait comes in both dark and light colors. If you have a go-to bait which works most of the time, try to purchase it in other colors. Smallmouth can be very color sensitive; being armed with a rainbow of color is your best bet.
We know now that color is a big factor; color patterns are just as important. While one color gets the smallmouth’s attention, the others within the pattern might not be as palatable. It’s hit or miss when selecting color patterns. I feel that artificial baits catch more fishermen than fish. If it looks good to you, it might not to a bronze back. Trying to match the natural bait via color and color patterns works some of the time. Really outrageous colors and patterns that would look good on a race car, but have no business on bait work great other times. Don’t be afraid to try outrageous color patterns.
Action is the way the bait moves through the water. Action will mimic a wounded aquatic animal or erratic swimming creature. There are several types of action on bait. There is tail action, body action, and spinning action. All will attract the attention of a small jaw. There are fast action and slow action baits, all are effective.
Finally, it will boil down to price. I don’t know about you, but if I lose a nine dollar crank bait I’m upset. Some manufactures are proud of their baits and the price reflects it. Don’t get me wrong – nothing beats quality, but there are cheaper manufacturers out there, so shop around.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty cheap; frugal might be a better word. I fish more than most, so I’m purchasing bait all the time. Before I’ll buy a bait in several different colors, I’ll purchase just one to decide how the weight and action are, then if it’s a successful bait I’ll purchase it in different colors. Take it from a frugal fisherman, I’ve got bags of bait that don’t work and never will. Try the bait before you buy in bulk.
Oh, by the way, the bait I use on the river ninety nine percent of the time is plastic. I use grubs, tubes, and wacky worms. They come in a million different colors, sizes, and weights. They have great action and can be fished fast or slow, and are relatively inexpensive.
Next month we’ll look into live or natural bait, what’s good, how to catch and keep them and put them on a hook.
Bill Milheim has been fishing and guiding the North Brach of the Susquehanna River for over 25 years.
