Top 5 Baits To Catch BIG Smallmouth Bass!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 тра 2021
- Which baits catch the BIGGEST fish? That's what we all really want to know! When it comes to smallmouth (as well as spotted bass and largemouth) there are a handful of baits that really stand out from the rest. We've narrowed it down through countless hours on the water to a few key baits that can be fished in unique ways when you really want to catch a big one.
During the prespawn you want to cover water quickly. Smallmouth school together, leaving huge parts of the lake virtually barren. The baits we use not only catch big bass, they help you find them quickly. After that the baits begin to fit niches. Swimbaits cover a ton of water, jerkbaits draw a core feed response, and the tube can elicit a strike from the wariest clear water bass.
Below you'll find links to all the baits, rods, and equipment Matt discussed in the video. We've included his favorite colors, hooks, etc... to really help you dial in your gear. All the links go directly to Tackle Warehouse where you can see detailed photos and descriptions of each item.
A-Rig...
-Hog Farmer Tactical Bladed Flex Rig: bit.ly/38xd1es
-Hog Farmer Tactical Non-Bladed Flex Rig: bit.ly/3vhpSez
Tube Baits...
-Netbait STH Tube: bit.ly/3aU0oeU
Colors- Dark Melon Gold Purple, Juvenile Goby, Ten Point
-Big Bite Tour Tube: bit.ly/32e23VR
Colors- Green Pumpkin Blue, Green Pumpkin Purple Copper
-Savage Gear 3D Goby Tube: bit.ly/33QGXzy
Colors- Brown Purple Copper, Goby, Light Pumpkin
Tube Heads...
-Blade Runner Inhaler Jighead: bit.ly/2NX7nYr
2.5" Tube- 1/8 oz with 1/0
Standard Tubes- 1/8 - 1/4 oz with 2/0
Hair Jigs...
-Andy's Custom Maribou: bit.ly/3uYqDsw
-Outkast Feider Fly: bit.ly/2G7TBwj
Sizes: 3/32 - 1/8 oz
Color: Black
Swimbaits...
Bait- Megabass Dark Sleeper: bit.ly/2TyR1GT
Colors- Wakasagi, Donko, Haze
Sizes- 3" 1/2 oz and 3" 3/4 oz
Bait- Keitech Fat Swing Impact (3.8"): bit.ly/2ab7s8v
Colors- Smallmouth Magic, Green Pumpkin Fire, Electric Bluegill
Head- Tactical Finesse (3/8 oz): bit.ly/2Pqrq3n
Bait- Keitech 4" Easy Shiner: bit.ly/2bxJK6H
Colors- Crystal Shad, Dark Sculpin, Electric Bluegill
Head- Dirty Jigs Guppy Head 1/8 oz: bit.ly/2nyUJRS
Jerkbaits...
-Megabass Vision 110:
Colors- Matte Skeleton Shad, Matte Pro Blue, Matte Shad
-Megabass Vision 110 Jr: bit.ly/2OeAFBf
Colors- GP Pro Blue 2, Elegy Bone, Ito Clear Laker
Matt's Hair Jig Combo...
Rod- Megabass P5 Spinning (Baby Plugging): bit.ly/31Pt839
Reel- Shimano Vanford 1000: bit.ly/2PDlKlB
Alternate Reel- Shimano Twin Power FD 1000: bit.ly/3df3hX5
Line- Sunline 5 lb Fluorocarbon: bit.ly/2p7fxju
Tube Jig Combo...
Rod- G Loomis NRX+ 872S JWR (Pre-Order Available): bit.ly/3y0Ss5m
Reel- Shimano Twin Power 2500 FD: bit.ly/3df3hX5
Line- Sunline SX1 Braid 12 lb: bit.ly/2tn8EzQ
Leader- Sunline Fluorocarbon 7 lb: bit.ly/2p7fxju
Keitech/Dark Sleeper Rods...
High End- Megabass P5 Dark Sleeper: bit.ly/30GcHqb
Mid Range- Shimano Expride 6'10" Medium: bit.ly/2nTq9FL
Budget- Shimano SLX 6'10" Medium: bit.ly/2L3wppO
Keitech/Dark Sleeper Reels...
High End- Shimano Aldebaran MGL (HG): bit.ly/2uQ4oH8
Mid Range- Shimano Curado 70 MGL (HG): bit.ly/3jdrMqa
Budget- Shimano SLX 70 MGL (HG): bit.ly/3gIUCgJ
Want TacticalBassin Gear?
We have a variety of apparel items and custom lure designs available! Everything from hats, to hoodies, to crankbaits! Its all available direct through Tackle Warehouse with fast shipping. See it here...
TacticalBassin Apparel and Lure Designs: bit.ly/38YpPIz
_________________________________________________________________
Major Equipment We Use Daily...
Trolling Motor- Minn Kota Ultrex 112: bit.ly/2vFQypW
Electronics- Humminbird Solix 15: bit.ly/35HuPRY
Anchors- Minn Kota Talons: bit.ly/2F0QBSP
Net- Frabill Conservation PLD 2612: bit.ly/3kdZ3kA
Camera- GoPro Hero 9: bit.ly/2KQ0VEI
Favorite Tools and Gear…
Favorite Storage Box: bit.ly/3kngvEG
Favorite sunglasses: bit.ly/3cLH0kl
Favorite Pliers: bit.ly/2MpUBEr
Favorite life jacket: bit.ly/2odXXIP
Favorite Scale: bit.ly/2f7QgQ9
Favorite Lure Retriever: bit.ly/2TLTJc6
Favorite Braid Cutters: bit.ly/2NQ2jbH
Favorite Split Ring Pliers: bit.ly/2fT4Qw0
________________________________________________________________
If you plan to do any shopping, using our links before doing your shopping at Tackle Warehouse is the single greatest way to support us! You won't be able to even see a difference but they'll know you're one of us!
#Smallmouth #bassfishing #finessefishing - Спорт
I caught a 5 pound smallmouth last summer in the Connecticut river here in New Hampshire! It was the first fish I caught after 15 years without fishing, and let me tell you I was so excited I was shaking! I released it right after a few pictures and a quick video. What a fish!
I live in MI. Thanks for telling people to not live well them to long and let them go. It takes years to get that big. Awesome tips. Love the video.
This could be one of my most favorite tactical bassin videos of all time. I love the topic of chasing large smallmouth and the tactics used to catching them. Well done Matt.
Thank you Matt for encouraging the handling our Michigan smallies with care. Great video.
I look forward to these Michigan videos all year!! Absolutely love it!
as a michigan boi. I relate.
@@outpostjared7835 I really want to chase smallies in Michigan at some point. We grow some decent ones here in Pennsylvania but Michigan is just the mecca of smallmouth fishing.
@@frankh2213 oh man! I was in the UP last week and dumped a 6lb class Smallie trying to flip it😅. They are crawling up here! Gotta make a trip
@@outpostjared7835 Ugh. I can't even imagine.
Yall absolutely need to do a southern smallmouth video. Pickwick, Wilson, and wheeler are so different than any other fishery. Plus the fish are freaking GIANT
Add Table Rock Lake to that too.
Yes to that! Much different world
@@jtharden1935 Just came home from a visit to N.C. Arkansas...those lakes are completely different from my home lakes in the Carolinas. I bought 10 acres and a cabin there and fully intend to retire there...what a special area!
Wisconsinite here and I will add my thank you as well. Very important to treat these fish with respect and care, so thank you for mentioning it, Matt.
I thoroughly enjoy watching you "Get geeked out" on gear. You can't hide that passion.
It's contagious
I live in Michigan, and I absolutely love the smallmouth fishing here.
Just the way you explain things get me excited to fish it's just the energy when you talk about baits and how to use them and what to use and when I love this channel very informative.
Perfect timing!!! Just finished my senior year of hs and the smallmouth are going crazy up shallow. I was slamming them on a wacky rig last weekend and it was an absolute blast!
Just got my grey and copper Eye Surrender glasses from Tactical Warehouse. Can" t wait to try them out. Love my amber.
One of my favorite videos you have done. Nothing quite like northern smallies
I can’t thank you guys enough!!!! I caught the two largest smallmouth of my life, 21” male, next cast...got the female...24”!!! Don’t know what she weighed but I have pictures. I was using a bait that’s not talked about in this video that you guys turned me on to, S-Waver 168 in lite trout. Caught them right here in Southeast Tennessee.
Which lake? Or river... I get to fish there every once in a while so I’d love a good bass recommendation.
Awesome video, Matt! Thanks so much for all the great information and enjoy the rest of your trip up North. Hopefully you find some true giants!
Love the video! I'm glad you mentioned the age thing with them. I'm from PA and a ton of people don't understand that catching a 4lb or 5lb bass is a big deal. Some of those fish are over 10 years old.
Ain't that the truth. I seen a guy one day that I know, he had a livewell full of fish, small mouth, large mouth, catfish, and a walleye. He was fishing with live bait, and had 3 small mouth that were all 4 plus pounds. I said what you going to do with those bass? "I'm gonna clean em and eat em??? Why?" I said dude them small mouth are 7 to 10 years old please don't kill em, I'll give you bags of crappie striper trout whatever you want, don't kill those small mouth. He got an attitude and did the whole " piece of paper in my wallet says I can eat em if I want to deal" oh well.
@@treyferguson2965 yeah it does suck...ik they're aloud to but wish they understood what it does to the population and how hard it actually is to come across them sometimes.
I'm in NJ and sometimes CT and we don't have gobies, but that dark sleeper is still amazing. I think the bait represents much much more than a goby. At a glance you see the resemblance to a sculpin, darter, and perch. Love this video like all of your videos.
You guys are the best! Enjoy all your videos...keep em coming!
Great stuff Matt! Solid info. Thanks
Love your Videos TB! Thank you for bringing up the treatment on these old Fish up here. They need to be treated way different after you catch them. A 20 year old Fish needs special care! Thank you Matt for your awesome breakdown's. Tight Lines!
Welcome to Michigan brother!! We're happy to have ya.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 I’m gonna be doing some smallie hunting on lake st. Clair. Gotta luv those Michigan Smallies
I'm going this Monday
Fricken Love you Matt. Love what you guys do keep at it. Thanks for the Awesome Vids brother!
As a Canadian I appreciate your advice at the end of the video on age and handling of fish. Thank you Matt!
Welcome to Michigan again. Great video! Enjoy your visit. Jeff from Dewitt, Michigan
Good stuff! Great to here ya inform people about the difference in lifespan of the Northern big smallmouth opposed to your Southern Largemouth
Smallmouth fishing has been awesome lately. That dark sleeper and the screw heads with spark shad are awesome when everyone else is throwing keitechs. Glidebaits, squarebill, and of course ole ned have been KILLER
Just got back from Mille Lacs, having caught multiple big smallies off a dock using a big green tube. Of course it made the list! These are all great picks.
Great video, thanks for the fish care at the end
Is that an extension cord coming out of the window of the house to charge your boat? We’ve all been there. 🤣
Hey if it works, just do it!!!!! I either have to hook 2 or 3 together, or go to end room on my house, and run it out window. Lol oh well
One day, one day, one day, I WILL, have a shop with 2 bays I can drive through, pull boat in on one end, drive out other end. Never back up, leave the rig hooked up a work bench and wall of tackle on one side, with a nice wall out let I can hook a 10 ft cord to to charge my batteries lol. And same set up on other side in case I hit it rich, then I can have the tin rig on one side, and the Ranger on the other!!!! Gotta have goals right??? Lol
@@treyferguson2965 n
Nicely Done Sir ~ Northern Michigan Brown Bass ARE my addiction ~ It's a Fire I Just can't Put Out ~ ! Fish Hard & Stay Safe
Thank you for telling everyone to take care of the fish. I live in NJ the smallies are biting and i like brown sugar. Lol great video very good baits.
Thanks Matt God Bless you and the family.
This is great for me cause I live in Nova Scotia and smallmouth are all we got besides small trout and invasive chain pickerel which aren’t that big around here not even a pound and the smallmouth are the funnest thing to catch here even tho they are pretty small 90% of the time not even a pound
That’s some great information as usual guys.
Heading up to Michigan nxt month, this was a huge help. Thanks!
Everyone likes a big smallmouth. So much fun to catch! Love them such a beautiful fish.
As an Ontario guy with easy access to arguably some of the best Tiger Tuna waters like Erie, St Claire, Lake Ontario, St Lawrence and Lake Simcoe. I really appreciate you addressing proper handling of these fish. It truly is a special fishery out here.
What a great way to start of the day
I've been fishing for Smallies up north for more than 40 years and never met a fisherman with the A rig,,tubes and jerk baits rule up north and the search bait for most is the caffeine shad....
Btw the hair jig is the best kept secret Matt !! Lol
Was needin this video!
Some great "small" talk! Like always great video!
You win this comment section, hands down. You're killing me smalls!!!
I can absolutely approve of the dark sleeper. These things are AMAZING
I fish smallmouth in northern Wisconsin and it’s hilarious to see the southern bass guys come up here and fail. All these baits are 100% and the info is spot on. Please stop giving out our secrets.
Long time supporter of y’all’s channel! Love you guys, you guys should do a video on how to prepare for a lake before you have even seen it, I do kayak tournaments and I don’t have time to pre fish like you would want to, so I try to do some research beforehand. Would love to hear y’all’s thoughts on what I should be doing!
Best video of the month 🔥🔥🔥
Absolutely love smallmouth fishing
Just wanted to add...i have been having lot of success with Vmc finesse rugby jig with a craw style trailer .Its a great technique for me to get quantity and quality fish !
26:00 100% agreed!!!!
God bless you guys !!! ✌
Matt, you gotta come up north and fish the St. Lawrence and Lake St. Clair. Pretty much the Mecca for monster smallmouth in numbers!
Heading to St.Clair on Monday.. unexpected trips are the best!!!! Probably putting in at 9mile
*mille lacs
I watch all your guys videos, and thank you for all the info. I went to lake james nc 2days ago for some smallmouth and they were jumping all around me and i vould not get them to bite. I tried popper, riser, ned, etc, and finally caught one on a 4inch Yamamoto wacky rig and it was a large mouth, lol. I would love to go out with you guys one day. Add it to my bucket list.
My a rigs came in the mail yesterday. Can't wait to give them a go
Yes! That's great to hear!
This is exactly what I needed. I'm going on a 4 day smallmouth trip first week of June. Going after my PB.
Good luck. Just got done with three weeks off hunting for mine, lots of 4+ and tied my best bag but didn't manage to break my PB (5.6).
@@horaiyo My pb Largemouth is just at 10lbs but my smallie is only 2.5lbs maybe. Hoping for a 4lb+ where I'm going.
@@bassinbilliards6279 Definitely the right time of year for it. Spring is when I get most of my 4+ smallies for the year.
Man that savage gear goby tube has been putting in work for me in the south west. The other ned minnows they offer are great too!
I already tie tiny Marabou hair jigs for eagle lake trout in Lassen Co with short tails like the one you had on your rod. Now I’ll tie them for smallmouth & try then on Spots in Shasta & Oroville. Kidd you guys ever fish Almanor for smallies before moving east? Great video. The Dark sleeper is becoming one of my go-to baits in almost any season and clarity. Thanks for all your amazing content guys. “We appreciate ya!” 😁👍🏼
Caught a 6lb smallmouth that was 21inches long in mid 2019 on Glendale lake up here in PA, it was sooo fun
I looked it up, a fish like that was over 20+ years old! That's crazy
I was literally about to search for a vid like this!!,
I’ve been fishing a really good local smallmouth lake with a very healthy population. I’ve been smashing them in the afternoons on 3.8 inch Keitechs and a 1/4 oz tactical head, but in the calm mornings am having a tougher time. Definitely going to try the guppy and slimmer Keitech if it’s calm again in the mornings.
love it. my favorite video.
Wish we had smallies out here! miss catching them...
The 26-minute mark of this video is the most important thing Matt or Tim have ever said in a video. I can't thank you enough for saying what you did. Great video! One question: Will tubes work for Largies and do you have a link to a video if you've already covered that?
I am in Ohio, tubes work for largies here too.
Absolutely! Next time you are fishing a point a cast or so off the bank, use your imaging and look for rock about one cast in the other direction (behind you). If you don’t have imaging, just cast out away from shore 5 or 6 times and search for rock on the bottom. If you find some deeper rock off those points(or ditch intersections) dragging a tube through them often produces some largies. Good luck and have fun.
Got to fish the st Lawrence river for bass for the first time in my lifetime this year with the new season (Ontario side catch and release only from January to may 10) once we found them we crushed them, was catching giants but couldn’t scale them, scaled one towards the end of the season and it was 6.5 and I definitely caught bigger. 8 that was over 5 I’m sure, all on a jack hammer or dropshotting flat worms and x zone slammers
Matt, the tackle junkie in us appreciate the tackle junkie in you...we don't mind the tangents, Really!
Smallies rock. Tube jigs and curly tail jigs just keep working year after year for me. Colors can be tricky, but they usually pattern predictably enough.
Went and fished at the harbor this morning... didn't catch anything but a big smallie stared me down and said peace out! Haha. Love dragging them right in front of them and crack!
This year has been weird, I took three weeks off late April/early May and already found two waves of bed fish. I don't even know if we had a prespawn bite.
Welcome to Michigan guys!
My pb smallmouth was caught on a whopper plopper 90
Not able to start targeting smallmouth here until the 4th saturday of june. But I love a lot of these baits and never leave home without a bag of tubes.
I need to add some hair jigs to the arsenal though, that's one I didn't think about. Though rooster tails produce pretty well here too. Basically anything weird that the hundreds of people that fish locally aren't throwing produces fish for me. Thanks for the tips.
On your way home stop by and fish Indiana! Brookville,Monroe, or Patoka or Cagle Mills.
Thanks for the video, excellent info.
Good luck guys.
We might just do that... we filmed a day on Patoka 2 years ago 👍
@@tacticalbassin i think you guys would love Brookville or even Cagle mills it is a hidden gem. I'm by Monroe but fishing just isn't that great there. Brookville has some monster smallies, walleye, striper (if you know what your doing, I dont) and largemouth. Cagle mills has some monster crappie and decent lmb and some walleye.
Hope to see you guys out there sometime!
No No !!! Clear lake in Fremont Indiana just off 69 and toll road..... then wawasee in Syracuse 😉
These videos are great at making me want to buy more tackle!😂 KEEP IT UP!
That's the whole intension don't be fooled all about the$$$$$$$
@@mikeantes9597 but its worth every cent, never bought a bad product from these guys.
@@kohlhillhouse2973 not saying they have or recommend bad products just saying they are salesmen who happen to love to fish
I live up north and the only baits I've been able to catch them this year is a Vision 110 and a dropshoted easy shiner
Hopefully you guys will be putting out a video(s) of your days on the water from this trip.
Would love to see that tactical A-rig in a 2 hook option. We need love in AZ too!
Y’all need to get on the cast and crank podcast!!
Matt I think you need to throw the A rig in western New York between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie… even try the Erie Canal. Ohh boy.
Perch color in NY for smallies is great too
I'm doing a tournament on Champlain. If I can get huge smallies its game over
The dark sleeper in chartreuse or pink is a killer on smallmouth as well.
You oughta come down just across the border to Indiana. Pigeon River has smallies galore. More of a creek than a river though lol.
The STH boys know northern smallmouth baits for sure
Mantull pakdee joss 👍👍
I fish clear water reservoir with largemouth, smallmouth and stripers. I haven't been able to get the larger smallmouth to bite. I think I will try the Dark Sleepers. I have tried fishing for snakeheads. They put up a really good fight and taste good.
I got bite in the winter with that color dark sleeper wagasaki
Good to hear the plug for treating the fish with respect. Nothing worse than seeing guys abuse their fish.
Also like a few other guys mentioned, would love to see a video for southern smallies. I live in Oklahoma, we have a few lakes with smallmouth, but it’s a different world
I'll be hitting opener this weekend in MN for Smallies. Early in the morning...should I be throwing the jerkbait or the dark sleeper? This is a big lake too.... and most likely we'll be fishing deeper like 15-20ft. Any input will be helpful and great. thanks.
my Lil girl said they are called minnows out loud while I was watching this video didn't know she was listening to ya also lol
Not a fan of finesse fishing till mid day! Nothing beats a RICO or Yellow Magic bone or white popper at first light! 💥
Love smallmouth fishing. Living in northern indiana we have some great waterways that get big ones from Michigan. I realized you didn't link a jerkbait combo. I'm currently using St. Croix bassx 7'1 M fast with a 6.8.1 lews speed spool lfs. I would like a more dedicated rod that is jerkbaits specific around the $250-$300 total range.
Come to Minnesota!
Idk if you've tried it but green pumpkin fire keitech fat on a bluegill\gold blade coolbaits was gettin em for me last year.
Thanks. If I had to request one thing, many of us live near water that is usually not very clear or only 5-10' vis at best. Can you also recommend in each line for future videos what works best for those conditions?
Have you guys ever fished for smallmouth on Fort Peck Lake in Montana? There are some tanks out there
Those tubes … the 4 inchers
Hammered a handful of 4 pounders with them for a few years
15 years ago
Hey Matt, just wondering if you use a Spy Bait to catch smallmouth up north? I'm even further north than you are fishing, in Ontario Canada and I tryed them last year and they did well at catching smallmouth for me.
Thank for the videos they are informative and entertaining cheers. 🎣😎
The dark sleeper is killing it over where I am
When using the spinning reels up north you using leader line or straight floro?
Oh... buddy not sure how foar north yours is.. but I'm heading to St.Clair on Monday but from Ft.Wayne IN. Its north for me... unless your talking really north like ........ 🔥sKegmog or Torch🔥
Im a fly fisherman as well as a gear fisherman and I love cant wait to tie, and use some hair higs
Hey Matt, what rod/reel type are you using for the 110 jerkbaits?
Matt, now that you’re a TN angler, you may know that Center Hill lake holds some big smallmouth. Would you say these 5 baits are your top 5? If not, do you mind sharing what baits you recommend? I keep my boat at Pates Ford marina which is at the far end of lake but it’s still a tricky body of water to fish considering the depth. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I'm watching even though there are no fish in my area lol
What’s the weight of the tactical flex rig on its own? I seem to remember Tim saying he was throwing on a medium heavy rod