Whether it’s a crystal-clear glacial lake, a swift-moving river, one of the great lakes, or a desert reservoir, there is one species likely swimming in all of them — giant smallmouth. Otherwise known as “bronze backs,” smallmouth bass inhabit a large portion of our country’s waterways, and in most places, grow to substantial sizes. I think everyone has dreams of landing an oversized smallmouth. In many places around the country, it’s extremely possible.
But what works best to catch really big smallmouth? There are thousands of baits on the market today that are geared toward bass, but it can be hard to choose the right one for the job. Here are a few of the top baits to catch big smallmouth handpicked by some of the best smallmouth fishermen in the country. These anglers have spent countless hours chasing these brown beasts on some of the most coveted smallmouth waters in the nation.
Tubes
Just like bacon and eggs in the morning, one thing that goes hand in hand with big smallmouth is a tube paired to a great jighead. It must have lifelike action and mimic a multitude of different prey items crawling along the lake bottom. Tubes come in many different sizes, shapes and colors, so choosing the right tube on the market can be tricky.
If there’s one person that knows the ins and outs of fishing a tube, it’s Mark Zona. He’s the host of Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show and a former Bassmaster Elite Series commentator. If anyone has watched the show or seen his social media posts, he almost always has a tube tied on.
“There is no situation year-round where smallmouth won’t eat a tube,” he says. “Whether cold or warm water during all seasons, they will eat it.” His choice is a Strike King Coffee Tube, specifically in green pumpkin with purple flake.
“In a lot of our northern lakes, green-pumpkin is the best color to imitate a crayfish or a goby year round — they just flat out destroy that color,” says Zona. Depending on how shallow Zona is fishing, he points out that he can always adjust the weight of his tube head to cover deeper water with it.
Another proponent of a tube is Captain Joe Fonzi, owner of Thumbs Up Guide Service out of the eastern basin of Lake Erie. “Whether it’s my clients or myself, the tube is the number one big smallmouth producer in my boat,” says Fonzi. But, you can’t have a good tube without a quality jighead to go with it.
“Our fish on Erie are primarily goby-eating bass, so having a tube head with a large hunk of lead on it makes the bait look more like a goby,” says Fonzi. His favorite insert head for a tube is a Bite Me brand of jighead, as they have a roundish ball shape. When inserted into a tube, they bulge out the font of the bait causing it to imitate a goby. It’s a perfect match for a great lakes smallmouth which rely on a goby diet.
Paddle Tail Swimbaits
A paddle-tail swimbait is deadly on smallmouth from ice out to ice in. If I had to choose one bait to fish for smallmouth for the rest of my life, it would be a small swimbait. In every body of water across the nation that holds smallmouth, the hard-fighting bass usually eat some sort of baitfish. Whether it’s perch, bluegill, alewife, gobies, or something else in your lake, there’s a color and body style of swimbait that will match the hatch.
“Whether it’s on a dropshot, a ball head, Carolina rig, or a jig trailer, there are so many ways you can rig a swimbait to catch big smallmouth,” says former Elite Series pro and owner of Big Fat Bass Guide Service, Destin DeMarion. It can be one of the most versatile baits that you have in your tackle box.
DeMarion’s favorite way to rig a soft swimbait is on a Angler Tungsten Eclipse Ball Head Jig, which is a typical way to rig a paddle-tail bait. “What makes this jighead special besides it being a tungsten head is its screw lock bait keeper and distinct eyes on the head,” says DeMarion.” It gives the swimbait a little bit more of a realistic look and it’s something for them to key in on.”
There are plenty of swimbaits to choose from on the market, but our favorite has to be the Keitech brand of swimbait. Whether it’s the easy shiner, fat or original swing impact, Keitech makes a swimbait that covers every size, shape and color you might need on the water. We’re talking from ultra finesse to large baitfish. What makes them unique is the signature squid scent that is incorporated into all of their baits. It’s not something seen in the bass fishing market often.
Another great swimbait option that is a little out of the ordinary is the Megabass Dark Sleeper. If a tube and a normal paddle tail swimbait merged, this is the outcome. Its broad head design with a built in jighead, stout hook, and lifelike appearance make this paddle tail a true smallmouth snack.
“When I’m in a situation with pressured smallmouth, the dark sleeper is unique enough it will get bit when a tube or normal swimbait wouldn’t,” says MLF touring pro Alec Morrison. Morrison is no stranger to big smallmouth growing up on the banks of Lake Champlain. This bait has been tied on his rods since the beginning.
The Jighead-Minnow Combination
With forward-facing, live-view sonar taking the bass fishing world by storm, it’s hard not to incorporate this bait. While many anglers now associate this bait with FFS, this presentation has a past where it caught bass you didn’t see swimming on the screen. Often called “snap jigging” by walleye and saltwater anglers, using a minnow bait on a jighead triggers reaction strikes from smallmouth on rock reefs or sand flats.
Many anglers often overlook this technique. It incorporates a short spinning rod (generally 6 feet, 8 inches or less), a large arbor spinning reel, and braided line to a fluorocarbon leader. When your bait hits the bottom, snapping the bait up aggressively is the key to triggering the strike. The bait flies by the smallmouth’s face so fast they have no time to think — they just eat it!
Whether you hover the bait over the fish’s head on a livescope or snap it across their face, having the right jighead and bait combination is key for not only imitating the prey, but keeping the fish pinned. I’m a huge fan of a Strike King Z-Too Soft Jerkbait paired with a Northland Smeltinator Jighead. The jighead has a Gamakatsu hook molded into it with a 90-degree line tie to keep the bait horizontal. While the minnow bait is made with Elaztech to make it more durable and have incredible action in the water.
Football Jigs
There is no bait out there on the market that is responsible for catching more and bigger smallmouth than a football jig. Paired with the right trailer, it’s the best imitator of a crayfish available to anglers. Modify this bait to add extra detail to get more strikes. For example, consider the material the skirt is made from or how it’s trimmed.
For smallmouth, we aren’t talking about larger, long-shanked football jigs that are used in places such as the Tennessee River impoundments. We are talking about the smaller, more compact versions. Ones that usually come with a 3/0 or smaller size hook, sometimes no weed guard, and a small amount of skirt material. These smaller jigs swim through the structure a lot cleaner and imitate smaller prey items that big smallmouth like to feast on.
One of the premier jigs on the market that does this is the Beast Coast O.W. Sniper Football Jig. Its compact design, stout BKK hook and tungsten compound head makes this bait one of the premier jigs on the market. This jig was designed to be dragged on rock flats or any type of low lying structure. Pair this bait with a smaller craw trailer, ned-style bait, or a small soft swimbait and you’ve created a bait that giant smallmouth can’t resist.
Get Picky with Smallmouth Baits
In smallmouth fishing there are tons of baits that catch giant fish, but only a few stand out from the rest. The baits mentioned here have accounted for more big smallmouth caught in the last decade than many other styles of baits on the market. Now, before you go in the comments section and say we forgot to mention a few, I’ll admit we probably did. It’s just hard to put all of the best baits into one short article. Hopefully the recommendations listed help you narrow down your picks this year and land you a couple big smallmouth during the season.
