I have never gone fishing before, I am going fishing this weekend in a small river and I believe the fish are smallmouth bass. I got an ugly stik gx2 rod but I don't know which lure to get. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Where are you so we can figure out at what stage of the season the smallmouth are ???

I would get some 3" or 4" curly tail grubs and some 1/8oz ball jigheads.  Easy to use, first lure I ever learned, good in rivers and smallmouths love them. 

 

 

Ned rigs, tubes, grubs smallies in rivers really tend to like bottom

bouncing.

Thanks for the recommendations! I live in the northwestern corner of Illinois.

Mepps inline spinner #3 gold

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

I would get some 3" or 4" curly tail grubs and some 1/8oz ball jigheads.  Easy to use, first lure I ever learned, good in rivers and smallmouths love them. 

 

 

^^^ THIS^^^ Get some 1/4oz jigheads also. Super easy to use, and smallies love 'em spring through fall. 

Rage Tail Menace, 1/8 oz bullet weight, #3 Gamakatsu EWG fished on spinning tackle 

with #6 Tatsu.

 

5" senko worm in green pumpkin with black flake.

Pick up some "offset worm hooks"  or use EWG hooks and a little bag of split shot

 

Hard to snag and easy to use. 

I would take a square bill crankbait, top water, and a jerkbait.  It those three were not working I would start dragging tube and Ned rigs.  
 

With smallmouth bass it is best to get them on a top water cause it is fun!!

Good old Wacky Worm 

8 hours ago, cyclone88 said:

Thanks for the recommendations! I live in the northwestern corner of Illinois.

I would go 1/8 oz with a small kahlins or zoom grub in 3 or 4”. We just got a bunch of rain so rivers are up around here. I would go with orange, yellow or white. Look for current seams. They are spots in the river where an obstruction causes part of the river to flow backwards.

Two baits I recommend for beginners; A BeetleSpin and a wacky rigged worm. The first will catch them when they're aggressively feeding and the second will get them anytime, but really shines when they aren't aggressive.

Small shallow rivers I almost always have the best luck with a whopper plopper. 

I second the Mepps suggestion, but my all-time number one lure is an F13 Rapala twitched on the surface with 6 lb. mono. That light line lets you cast it a long ways and I caught 90% of my smallies on the first three twitches. I have caught thousands of smallies that way. 

My small river approach is two fold:

1) a topwater, wakebait, or other shallow running crank - my personal favorite is the storm subwart

2) a follow up lure such as a tube, wacky, or other small plastic - I prefer a tube

 

I am using number 1 probably 90% of the time.  When the fish swipes and misses, I follow up with number 2 in the same spot and quite often I catch the very same fish that just missed.

 

 

In a new spot this time of year I would probably slow roll a paddletail and then follow that up with a ned/tube.

Texas Rigged: Craw, Lizard.

On 4/3/2024 at 7:47 AM, gimruis said:

My small river approach is two fold:

1) a topwater, wakebait, or other shallow running crank - my personal favorite is the storm subwart

2) a follow up lure such as a tube, wacky, or other small plastic - I prefer a tube

 

I am using number 1 probably 90% of the time.  When the fish swipes and misses, I follow up with number 2 in the same spot and quite often I catch the very same fish that just missed.

 

 

Same here.  I probably don't throw a tube as much as I should but just got some new ones so will probably throw them more.  I like a shallow jerkbait and in some rivers I like the smallest chatterbait.

For lures, I recommend getting a pack of senkos and texas rigging them. Try a bullet sinker and a texas rigged soft plastic worm like a senko. For a beginner, I'd recommend a slow, steady retrieve with some random pauses thrown in. Besides senkos, I'd recommend Z-Man's finesse TRD with a finesse ShroomZ jighead (ned rig). I like a 1/15 oz ShroomZ jighead. I also like swimbaits like the keitech fat swing impact. I like the bluegill color if you can find it. I also like the Strike King Rage Swimmer swimbait. I usually fish either a keitech or rage swimmer on a 1/4 oz ball jig. 

 

I know you were asking specifically about lures, but since you've never been fishing before, maybe a bobber and a worm would be worth a try? Just put a worm on a hook with a split shot and bobber and you never know what can happen. 

 

Also, a minnow under a bobber can work well for smallmouth. If you want to try this, I recommend getting 1-2 dozen fathead minnows at a bait shop (you'll want to get a bucket). I recommend using a #6 aberdeen or baitholder hook, a bb sized split shot or two, and a bobber. I like Leland Lure's EZ trout float bobbers. They usually have them at Walmart. Good luck!

I would always have a Tube or two close by for smallies, depending on river current will effect the weight of the tube head you choose. 

Ok…. I’m going throw in my 2 cents. Zoom finesse worm, green pumpkin, Texas rigged/ bullet weight, the least amount of weight you get away with. 

@GRiver, that’s money in the bank. A black worm can also slay them