I am wondering what is the best hard bait for small mouth in the spring, the reason I am asking is I am going on a trip to lake Maloney am I want to be prepared to catch them.

Hard to beat a suspending jerkbait 

1 hour ago, Finessegenics said:

Hard to beat a suspending jerkbait 

Hands down!

22 minutes ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

Hands down!

X2

I was going to say walking bait or popper but they probably wont be as good in early spring, so I’ll join the jerkbait crowd. 

In fact when hunting smallmouth, the jerkbait is what I throw first. Period. There is no better catch than having a smallie follow your JB to within feet of you, ya kill it, she stares it down, you twitch, she strikes. I go full-goofball, absolutely love it.

 

If you haven't yet read this, twice,  https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/108594-jerkbait-help-advice/

 

Next up, since where I fish is rocky. Is a crankbait that will get me on to the rocks and keep it there. Usually a craw pattern although a shad pattern slamming into rocks will also get them fired up also.

 

If those two fail I'll breakout my secrete weapon the jig.

 

But wait.. don't sleep on the blade bait!

The one time I did good catching smallies was using a red craw pattern squarebill. Banged it off a rip rap bank and any wood i could see and it worked!

Suspending jerkbaits until the water temps get above about 65 for me.

2 hours ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

In fact when hunting smallmouth, the jerkbait is what I throw first. Period. There is no better catch than having a smallie follow your JB to within feet of you, ya kill it, she stares it down, you twitch, she strikes. I go full-goofball, absolutely love it.

Same here if we’re talking specifically hard baits. I didn’t mention it in my first post but for me it’s a year round thing. Never subscribed to the idea that it was just a cold water bait. That being said I don’t throw a jerkbait enough as I love soft plastics and spinnerbaits too much.

17 hours ago, Swampdonkey fishing said:

 I am going on a trip to lake Maloney am I want to be prepared to catch them.

I would counsel you to ask someone who fishes Lake Maloney as lakes differ in what techniques are most effective.

 

oe

18 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

Hard to beat a suspending jerkbait 

X2, X3, X4, etc.

war eagle copper frame and blades, black skirt. I know, I know, sounds a little odd. I was skeptical too, till my buddy tore them up down at the local river (cloudy / clearwater conditions). Don't go to the river without one tied on now. 

Rapala DT's in Ike's Custom Ink "smash" are very good smallie lures.  For the spring, when jerks are working, slow down with the DT, stop it often.  I call it "nudging."  Also the regular color "live river shad."

I have had awesome success with a black whopper plopper with smallmouth, especially in creeks and small creek arms.

Anything you can work slow until the water warms up.  I fish rivers, and I prefer small crankbaits that suspend.  Sometimes spinners do the trick if you can crank them slow enough.  

 

I do have a secret weapon I've been working on though, just getting it perfected now.  It knocked them out last Summer and Fall, will see how they do in the Spring.

Jerkbaits are a spring and fall thing here.  For hard baits, a Rebel Deep Craw has produced more smallies than any other lure.

On 1/28/2021 at 6:17 AM, OkobojiEagle said:

I would counsel you to ask someone who fishes Lake Maloney as lakes differ in what techniques are most effective.

 

oe

You fish lake Maloney 

Just now, Swampdonkey fishing said:

You fish lake Maloney 

?????????

I haven't had a chance to go after smallmouth in the early spring, this will be my first early season chasing them, but I do know that last year the most productive hardbaits for me were the Topwater Popper, lipless crankbait, and the squarebill,  from a numbers standpoint the squarebill caught the most by a wide margin, fishing a large river from the bank, which is not exactly the situation you'll be dealing with I expect. 

15 hours ago, Sphynx said:

I haven't had a chance to go after smallmouth in the early spring, this will be my first early season chasing them, but I do know that last year the most productive hardbaits for me were the Topwater Popper, lipless crankbait, and the squarebill,  from a numbers standpoint the squarebill caught the most by a wide margin, fishing a large river from the bank, which is not exactly the situation you'll be dealing with I expect. 

I will be fishing a running inlet so it’s like a mini river.

Do spoons and blade baits count as hard baits? 

So many great hardbaits for spring. I find on the river the same hardbaits work from spring to fall, only changing the color of the baits. Everyones situation is a bit different I guess. Over the years my first smallie of the year has come on a rat-l-trap many times.  

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Do spoons and blade baits count as hard baits? 

Yeah I think.

Jerkbait, Red Eye Shad and Bandit 200

 

I've caught a lot of smallies on a F9 black and silver Rapala.  The river I fish for the most part is not deep so this bait works well for me.

For early spring I like to throw a blade bait. They seem to commit to it a lot quicker than a jerk-bait and prefer it over a lipless crank. I can cover/eliminate water quickly with one, too. If I get a few from the same spot, I may switch to a jerk-bait in an attempt to squeeze out one more from the spot.