1/8th oz round jighead with 5" pumpkin grub

I love topwaters when you can get them to hit them just because I love the visual, sound, and overall experience of any fish but especially a smallmouths agressiveness smacking the heck out of surface lures. As for numbers then I settle down to LC Pointers, white spinnerbaits if the conditions are right, hula grubs, and either a micro munch or eakins jig.

In the river in the heat of summer my favorite bait is the Zara Puppy!!  Nothing funner than top water smallies!

A 3 inch mann's stingray grub, smoke w/an 1/8th oz. jighead

Also a 3 inch brown tube on an 1/8th oz insider head

I would have to say a Mizmo 3.5 tube followe by a 4 inch wacky senko type.

My favorite is a Raplal Skitter Walk in bluegill.

My go to is GYCB 5" cut tails in smoke, t-rigged.

A sand colered twin tailed grub dragged through eddies at the Buffalo River.

In the river a small 1/4 oz buzzbait in any color as long as it is white ;D

j-7 or j-9 silver and black jointed Rapala

for rivers a zoom pumpkinseed lizard or jitterbug

Green pumpkin candy.

First, i use different baits depending on the size fish i am seeking.  For avg smallies, i have had best success with tubes/hula grub, but for bigger sizes i prefer the following:

#1 Drop Shot

#2 Split shot rig with Lizard

#3 Hula

#4 Yums Crawbug

#5 Spnnier bait - modified hand tied hair

Original floating Rapala silver or blue for top water,,  yum Green Pumpkin Vibratubes for bottom fishing ,wackey rigged senko for suspending fish

I like the Jack's Worm from Case Plastics and a Zoom Tab Tail grub.

1) 6-8" swimbait

2) Brown/orange round rubber jig

3) Lucky Craft Staycee 90

4) Spook

5) Lucky Craft LV-500

Zara spook

I like chompers!!! ;D

Welcome aboard!

My preferred artificial lures are jerkbaits, but I think grubs, Hula Grubs, Fat Ika and tubes are more productive.

My favorite smallie bait of all time has got to be the pig'n'jig. I tie my own jigs with deer hair. my favorite tiein color is black with a little chartuese on the bottom. I add a chunk of black pork, uncle josh 101a. The jig's overall weight is a 1/4 ounce. this jig is not that big I believe it doesn't take a big bait to catch big fish. This is a proven fact I saw a smallie caught out of the potomac that was 22 inches and 6lbs. I think that is enough proof to make me a believer.

Ice out -     Slider

                Whirley Bee

Pre Spawn- Slider

                Susp Jerk Xrap or Strike King

                Tube

                Grub

                Crig lizard

Spawn     - Tube

                Grub

                Hula Grub

                Senko

                Spinner Bait

                Cranks

Post spawn through Summer-All the above with more time on crigs. Colors to suit farage in the lakes I'm fishing but always some crawdad colors.

Lake

1. homemade eakins jig (brown & blue, brown)

2. wiggle warts

3. rogues & pointers

Creek & river

1. zoom fluke

2. hula grub

3. mad man craw tubes

4. deep tiny n's and little rebel crankbaits

Favorite Bait;

Baby Torpedo with a Yum tube to follow if he misses.

River:    Live crawfish, Yum 2.5 crawdad

Lake Eire:    Tubes and plastic goby on football jig