Rootbeer curly-tail grub on a jighead (max 1/4-oz). Never fails.

Thanks for the advice guys! It really helped me out! Thanks, Will W.

My top 3 go to smallmouth lures would have to be 1) tube 2) jerk bait 3) drop shot .... If they aren't biting those three I head for the ramp!

If I am targeting them specifically, seems like a 4" senko on a wacky jig head always gets me a few.

Go to bait? Tubes, flukes, and grubs. Other baits I like are jerks, wacky rigs,  and shad wraps. If you want proof tubes produce I invite everyone to check out some of the fish they have produced and will continue to produce. Thanks ahead of time for stopping by! 

Thanks for the advice, Will W.

Over 40 years of fishing rivers and lakes, I've never found anything more reliable than a 3" curly tailed grub, on a 1/8 oz. plain jig head. This one offering has probably accounted for 70% of all the smallmouths I've caught (and released). Next would undoubtedly be the 5" Senko wacky rigged. Finally, if I'm fishing deep, off-shore structures, it's hard to beat the standard drop shot, with any kind of plastic you can imagine. The biggest hurtle you have to overcome is finding them! 

Frogs

Thanks for all the great feedback, Will W.

Tubes or 3" grub sixteenth or eight ounce weight

Over 40 years of fishing rivers and lakes, I've never found anything more reliable than a 3" curly tailed grub, on a 1/8 oz. plain jig head. This one offering has probably accounted for 70% of all the smallmouths I've caught (and released). Next would undoubtedly be the 5" Senko wacky rigged. Finally, if I'm fishing deep, off-shore structures, it's hard to beat the standard drop shot, with any kind of plastic you can imagine. The biggest hurtle you have to overcome is finding them! 

This, with the 1st option being a lipless crank

Thanks for the great ideas,Will W.

These are my top producers:

 

Fat Ika

Rage Tail Baby Craw

LC Pointer & Smithwick Rogue

Sworming Hornet/ LFT Live Magic Shad

Berkley Hollow Belly

Bandit 200

Wiggle Wart

 

 

I grew up fishing the New and Greenbrier rivers for sheer numbers nothing beats a 4" curly trail grub smoke with black flake, max 1/8oz plain jig head, on those rivers. If you want more quality then craw imitators, bitsy bug jig with trailer. I find lake smallies more challenging.

No one has said beatle spins.......................... they are setting you up for failure! Seriously beatle spins in black or yellow

 

This has always worked for me when all else fails.

 

I always have lucky dragging a tube jig (I like poor boys 3.5 inch tube the best) or swimming a 5inch grub. I stick to really basic natural colors(pumpkin pepper, dark melon with purple,blue or copper flake, most variations of green pumpkin)

Another vote for tubes here

Tube, grn pumpkin or white, hop it, drag it, skip it, it doesn't matter just keep it in the water.

Tubes. I'm going to add a little blade above the tube to my line this year to see how well it works. If I were a betting man I'd say that I will try it for maybe three tubes until it becomes a pita when I start to run into snags and don't feel like putting another blade inline when I have to tie a new tube on. I figure a little flash wont hurt.

As much as I love tubes and Hula Grubs, I have to agree with A-Jay. The drop shot with a Robo Finesse Worm or Fat Goby is as reliable a bait and set up as there is out there. It's good for small schoolers and big fish alike. All three are tied on though. "Find em with a crankbait and catch them with plastics" is what my buddy taught me.

Cashed a lot of checks out west on the Columbia River with a football jig, tube, and a 3" Yum dinger on a drop shot. One of those was alwas money.

Rage craw on a rage or a fluke really produce in the river systems.

not as much 1 lure specifically but for river smallies nothing beats craw style cranks that range from 1'-4' just behind shallow rapids where it starts to drop off. gonna use megastrike craw for the first time this year and im excited to see the results.

white double tail grub on a char jighead, first lure i ever learned to use and still the one i always know will catch SM everyday i go