The pre spawn movement is difficult for me right now because I'm without my boat. From the bank which of these is easier to target and what key features do I want to look out for?

For pre-spawn, focus on flats that have deep water close by. The bass may/may not be on these spawning flats, but I'll guarantee they are not far from them. Difficult fishing any kind of jerkbait or crank when fishing from the bank. If I'm bank walking, I'm carrying jigs and soft plastics.

 

Remember your polaroid sunglasses. Walk softly. Keep low. Make long casts. Big females will be cruising in & out of these flats all day long. You just have to present them something they can't resist....like a 7" Senko!

Not to many ponds around here with SM, and I don't do any river fishing, but in the lakes I fish, reaching pre-spawn SM is almost impossible. They just don't get close enough. They will stage in 10-20' FOW, and only move in shallow once they are actually spawning (for the most part).  I have yet to see a massive amount of SM cruising the shallows here in the pre-spawn time to make me think any different, loners or small groups yes, but unlike LM, they just prefer to stay out deeper.

Thanks guys. Crestliner what kind of jigs and soft plastics and how would you rig and fish our senko also what color?

One of my favorites for smallies (this time of the year) would be a 5" SK Shadalicious paddle-tail swimbait on a 5/8 oz. weighted swimbait hook. Again, long casts and slow rolled along the bottom. Just make sure the head and tail are acting properly. You do that by looking at it in shallow water to determine proper speed.

 

Another good producing (jig style) bait is the Chatterbait (I prefer white) with a 4" fluke-type plastic on it's behind. Senkos work - period. Color is of little concern to me. Green Pumkin and/or Watermelon will represent just about anything in the aquatic world. Sometimes I Texas rig (unweighted always!); sometimes wacky rigged. Depends on the mood of the bass. But know this, bass will eat it one way or the other - SM or LM.

Yeah I do the swimbait thing but I use keel weighted gamakatsu 5/0 super line and a bass assassin in albino shad my best producer I walk the dog mid depth it's killer. How do u swim the chatter bait. I have a couple white ones thought those were more a fall bait

I fish a chatterbait like a spinnerbait, slow roll to burning and everything in between. They also excel fished as a jig with a lift and drop. I'll use a chatter when others are using Colorado bladed spinnerbaits different rhythm but still effective.they are a very versatile bait, as far as trailers I'll use everything from grubs, flukes, craws etc.

This time of year I walk the banks of the river well I used to I have a kayak now but I used to drag tubes up the bank or grubs, spinner baits, mini chatter baits, strike king bitsy jigs, shaky heads with craw, shallow cranks. In the past years iv always bank fished the river but like I said this year iv got the kayak and I'm fishing slightly deeper water 10' is the deepest so far and I'm catching quality fish but not high numbers but its still early. I look for downed trees in the water or submerged logs big rocks that form like a little whirl pool also usually hold fish for me I can toss a tube or grub into the calmer water behind the rock or just in front and let it drift and almost always call the hit before the lure touches the water but iv been fishing this river since I was in diapers so I know it like the back my hand and where all the fish are.

Clayton what river are u referring to?

Iv been fishing Johnson's creek in WNY