Late summer smallmouth

[Jig Man]

A friend has invited me to go to a highland reservoir in Northern Arkansas.  I fished with him there in late winter.  We had some good days with swim baits.  We’ve been having a tough time lately on Table Rock and yesterday he suggested that we go back to Beaver and search for smallmouth.

 

This is a 30,000 acre lake over 450 miles of shoreline.  The water is very clear and surface temps in area lakes has been in the mid to upper 80s.  Since we have been finding spotted bass in 30+ feet of water I assume smallmouth might be as deep or deeper.  
 

There is little to no vegetation.  There are lots of rocks and standing timber.  There are a few gravel areas.  There are lots of boat docks.

 

You guys with smallmouth experience, what would you look for this time of the year?

[TnRiver46]

Smallies chasing shad on top from sunrise til 9 or so is what I look for. We have several lakes that sounds just like that, Norris Douglas and Cherokee 

 

after the sun is high I fish vertical bluffs down deep  with a tube or small fluke 

[Jig Man]

What is down deep to you?

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

What is down deep to you?

I just cast at the cliff and let it tumble down, not exactly sure how far it goes. The highland lakes are usually over 100’ when there’s a cliff 

[gimruis]

The lake smallies here are out deep too this time of year.  They are on offshore structure or suspended chasing bait fish.  Most anglers are sitting on the offshore structure staring at their screens with a drop shot in 20-30 feet of water.

 

The river smallmouth are near swift current which provides more oxygen than the stagnant areas.  Water temps are at their peak.  I observed 80-81 degrees last weekend.  Its bathtub warm for this area.  These river smallmouth are far more aggressive and can be caught on moving lures, if you can access them.  We're in a bad drought again so many of those areas just aren't accessible.

 

If the river was higher, I'd be all over it.  Lake smallmouth fishing here now is not my thing.  In September and October they will move shallower again and I can target them with a more aggressive pattern.

[Jig Man]

So is the 20-30’ dropshot the way to go?

[gimruis]

17 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

So is the 20-30’ dropshot the way to go?

Probably.  I would personally just wait until there was a better way to target them, but that's just me.  Drop shotting is on par with watching paint dry as far as I'm concerned but if the shoe fits, wear it.

[Jig Man]

I’m being invited so I don’t have the wait option.  I don’t drop shot so I will be looking for other suggestions.

[Reel]

Try a ''deep'' Ned rig.  A quarter once head and a TRD and a lot of patience.

[Jig Man]

We do that a lot in the winter and early spring.  I hadn’t even considered it.  Thanks

[PaulVE64]

I'd try jigging a 1/2 oz spoon in a baitfish colour on that stone bluff

[MassBass]

Troll walleye crankbaits

[Jig Man]

I’ve been going through my stuff and have decided to take jigs, Neds, hula grubs, beavers, baby brush hogs, swim baits, jigging spoons, a few top waters and a couple of glide baits.  Now I have to decide how many and which setups to take.

 

Thanks you all of the suggestions.