If you could only use 1 artificial lure for SMB all year, what would it be, what color, and what different techniques?

Topwater

Green pumpkin tube 3.5-4.0 inches .

Rebel crawdad in Louisiana craw. Just cast and reel in the current. I only get to fish for smallies in the rivers around my house in Arkansas though.

Keitech 4.4 in any color you like.  Fished at any depth.

Green pumpkin tube 3.5 - 4 inches.  Dragged along bottom and lightly twitched.  Close second is a Z-Man TRD 3in worm on mushroom head jig, again in green pumpkin.  3rd choice is KVD dreamshot on dropshot rig, green pumpkin again.

Zman TRD green pumpkin/orange on a 1/16oz head. 

I've caught more Smallmouth drifting with 1/4 oz Green Pumpkin Tubes, than any other lure in my repertoire. 

Dannnnnnnnng.....tough question.  Tube....grub....tube....grub....gimmie a 4 inch Dry Creek green pumpkin grub...or..or maybe a chocolate one.  1/8 ounce head....six lb line.

Rage Tail Menace

 

A 3.5" tube in green pumpkin. You can fish it T-rigged with a 1/0 tube hook, you can fish it with an inside jig head from 1/16oz up to 3/8oz, Caroline Rig it or even rig it weightless and fish it like a soft jerkbait or a topwater. While there are other baits I prefer for certain situations and other colors for different conditions, if I could only have 1 then this would be it.

Jerkbait 

A-Jay

I just ordered what Ajay posted above, so maybe that becomes my new favorite... 

 

...but over the past 5 years hands down has been a 5 inch wacky worm for smb.  I use Kalin’s WAC-O-Worm in baby bass color, or Berkley Maxscent General in Copper/Orange or June bug.  If I could have only one lure, any of those would be hard to beat...

2 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I just ordered what Ajay posted above, so maybe that becomes my new favorite... 

 

...but over the past 5 years hands down has been a 5 inch wacky worm for smb.  I use Kalin’s WAC-O-Worm in baby bass color, or Berkley Maxscent General in Copper/Orange or June bug.  If I could have only one lure, any of those would be hard to beat...

Sweet ! 

Be careful  . . . .

Might get your arm broke.

A-Jay

I don't get to fish for smallies often...but when I do...

 

On a drop shot.

Every year this is asked. Even the threads since the beginning. 

 

It's cool to see what everyone is using throughout all the years. 

 

Some of the people have been posting for a long time and it's interesting to see them answer it year after year. Most often its different ?

Last year I would've said Shakey head.. this year however, round ball jig with a small paddletail. Fish it fast, slow, shallow, deep, vertical, swimmig So versatile and it can catch some Biggins! 

A very close second for me would be Caffeine Shad on Owner Twistlock light 3/32 oz hook.  Had such good luck skipping this under docks last year, biggest fish of the year easily.

Yamamoto Hula Grub in 176 all day long. Drag, hop, swim it on a football head. Fish it from three to forty feet. 

Love all the different options....

 

My go to has been the  3.8 swimbait in sungill.  I can drag it across the bottom to mimic a gobie or slow roll it over sand grass, or count it down and fish the pelagic summer bass, suspended fish.  

 

My back up is the obvious tube in various shades of green and browns, depending on the color of the water.  In Green bay the darker shades, especially brown with some orange, worked best, but in the gin color water of TC area, the lighter shades of green were the hot colors, as A-Jay described above.

90% of the time I fish for smallmouth is in a creek and usually only even bring a pack of senkos, wacky rigged. Gonna go with that. 

If I could only have one, it would be a 3" curly tail on 1/8 th. oz. ball head jig. Chartreuse in the pattern is a necessity. Have caught tons of smallies on this simple, but highly effective presentation, over the last 4 decades.

 

I must prefer variety in my presentations. Makes it more fun and interesting.

Nose hooked 3-4" stickbait of your choice in some green hue.  A close second are confidence baits finesse jogs or their dragging heads with a craw bait of some sort in green or blue.  

Texas rigged 4" green pumpkin soft plastic worm with 1/4 oz bullet weight. Fish it anywhere from mid to bottom.