Well, this weekend im going out for cats on the Fox River in Elgin, Il, the water is still cold, and I know people catch smallies there in spring summer and fall. I was thinking I would try to grab a smallie or two while I am out. Its going to be 55 degrees or so, and Im not sure of the water temp. Is it likely, or possible to catch smallies in this northern climate this time of year, and what type of lure would be recomended? I will ASSUME that it needs to be a SLOW presentaion. Any tips would be greatly appriciated. Thank you.  Oh yeah, I am typically a LM fisherman, very little experience with Bronzebacks.

I'm in the same boat with you, man. I am just gearing up to start fishing for smallies in the Great Miami River in Dayton, OH. Same conditions you are facing we have here. I went down to the water yesterday and it was probably still in the 30s (water temp, it was 18 outside).

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/hair_jigs.html

Yes it is popssible to catch smallies this time of year!

Slooowwly dragging a tube through slack water areas of the river, like backwashes, large coves, and deep shoreline eddies - the more wood cover, the better- is a good way to start. Hair jigs are also a good bet.

They're most likely still wintering there, so don't expect to set the world on fire.

But if you find a wintering hole and are patient, you can catch some Bronze no problem!  

Thanks guys, ill give tubes and hair jigs a try.

Don't over look the in-line spinners.  

Try some big LC pointers, I'm partial to the huge 128 size but 100s are excellent too. With the cold water, you need to wait a long time between jerks. Usually from 15-30 seconds but sometimes as much as a minute. Trust me, it works. I was fishing big pointers in a tournament yesterday and I got a bad backlash. I had been working on picking it out for over a minute when a bass struck and doubled my rod over. I managed to get her in and she measured 20" and a little over 5lbs. Make sure you're patient, 30 seconds can feel like a long time between jerks so count it in your head.   8-)