with surface temps htting mid to upper 70's, the smallies in my areas reservoirs are roaming deep chasing baitfish schools. I recently went out and had some success long lining cranks and sticks. What are some of your reliabe open water rigs?

Welcome aboard!

I think you can fish soft platics deep: 3 1/2" tube, grubs and GYCB Single Tail Gula Grubs.

I've had good luck with t-rigged and weighted senkos and skirted grubs on main-lake breaks, points and flats adjacent to deep water. When fish are breaking surface in the morning and evening, I've used soft jerkbaits, X-Raps and 1/2 double-willow spinnerbaits with increasing success.

Welcome aboard!

I think you can fish soft platics deep: 3 1/2" tube, grubs and GYCB Single Tail Gula Grubs.

Are you fishing your tubes weightless or not.  I use a round jig with the grubs but go weightless w/ the tubes.  What style of jigs would you recommend for tubes and what weight.  I like tubes weightless but to git er down to the appropriate depth.  hmmmmmm

Thanks,

Well, you really can't fish tubes deep very well without weight. In relatively open water, 1/8- 1/4 oz inserted jig head, exposed hook. Otherwise, T-rigged, barrel or bullet weight with a bead, unpegged, Texposed and skin hooked.

I've tied the tubes and grubs, but the problem is that these fish are not holding off of structure. They are constantly on the move, making it hard to cast or drift the schools accuratly. a quick troll with either long lines or three way rigs seems to help stay on top of them. I catch a lot of them when I'm trolling for walleye.

I recently have been having success with weightless senkos and Strike King Bisty jig w/trailer.

I was shocked this past weekend when my mother wanted to go fishing with myself and my son.

I told her that most of the smallmouth are probably back down into Lake Erie because the Catt Creeks temps are too high and the holes are not that deep. But I said we could probably land some suckers or what not.

We ended up just using nightcrawlers with a split shot 12" up.

We ended up landing three smallies in a half hour with numerous bites where my mother was missing them. So I guess they still can live in water that is 8 foot deep in some spots when the temps are up in the 70s. I was shocked. I thought they might move back down into Lake Erie. Going to pick up some more crawlers this weekend and give it a whirl up in my favorite holes in the Catt. Nice to know that there still sticking around in August.

Dude, RW failed to explain this to you. At the end of May a big Black Tanker truck with guys in black suits and sunglasses goes around to each river and lake and takes out all the big smallies. They return them around the first two weeks of October. Gheessh, I thought everyone knew that!!! I even thought about writing a letter to my congressman about those rat bast***s Right RW? ;D

Dude, RW failed to explain this to you. At the end of May a big Black Tanker truck with guys in black suits and sunglasses goes around to each river and lake and takes out all the big smallies. They return them around the first two weeks of October. Gheessh, I thought everyone knew that!!! Right RW? ;D

I thought that's how it worked everwhere? Where do you guys think all those Lake Erie fish come from?

Just release the smallmouth you catch, we want them back!

Yea, what RW said. Erie must be a big holding tank. I have been there a dozen times and you can't tell me that those 5, 6 and somethimes 7 pound fish live there all year long, what you think I am stupid?, don't answer that,lol.