Ok I do all of my fishing from shore and it is usually in sub-division ponds where all I catch are largemouth bass. A short walk from my house is a river that I know has smallies in it. My question is can I use the same things to catch both species. I was thinking a skirted grub or tubes but I would like to know what everyone else uses or would use. Also we have had some pretty decent rains here and the river is close to flooding. Would this sudden rush of water do anything to change their feeding patterns?

First of all, if it's flooding DON"T GO DOWN THERE!

When things calm down, spend some time looking around. Search for anything that diverts the current: pools, humps, boulders, rockpiles, gravel flats, etc. If smallmouth have a choice, you will not find them in still water with a mud bottom. Try fishing a tube, T-rigged, weedless and skin hooked so you don't get hung up as much. Cast UPSTREAM and maintain contact with your lure as it comes to you.

Good luck!

What RW said.

Do exactly what RW said, but if that isn't working or you are having trouble with keeping in contact with your bait in the current then try an original rapala. Just cast it out across the river and retrieve it slowly back to you. It's a sure bet when you wanna catch a few.