I’m fairly new to fishing and I would like advice regarding searchbait. I fish mostly rivers for smallmouth and I have been doing pretty good on the ned rig, tube, and Neko rig. However, none of these lures cover water really well. What searchbaits do you guys recommend. I’m open to try anything

1/4 to 5/16 oz finesse buzz bait or spinnerbait.

Tom

Spinner bait is what I usually throw..

A spinnerbait, walking bait, or jerkbait are some of my favorite smallmouth search baits.

What type of river are you fishing? A big, quiet, flat river? Or a river with fast moving water, rocks, whitewater? Generally, a spinnerbait would be productive just about anywhere, as well as small soft-plastic swimbaits. I've always fished a whitewater river for smallies, where swimbaits, squarebills, and small spinnerbaits were the usual tools for the job. Regardless of where you're fishing, look for current seams, eddies, and objects that obstruct the current. Focusing on those areas will certainly help narrow down your "search".

Square bill, inline spinner, jerk bait, jig/grub

5/16ths War Eagle finesse spinnerbaits 

BooYah Pond Magic Spinnerbait - 3/16ths.

 

https://www.booyahbaits.com/booyah-pond-magic