Catch More Smallmouth Bass With These Lures

The lures you need to catch smallmouth bass are much simpler than you might think. Smallies can be tricky fish, but the techniques that consistently get it done are genuinely easy — and most of them are finesse. This guide covers the handful of lures that actually matter, how smallmouth behavior differs from largemouth and spotted bass, and exactly where and how to fish each one.

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Smallmouth Lure Quick Reference

The main behavioral difference comes down to water conditions. Smallmouth thrive in cold, clear, and especially moving water — they can tolerate warm and still water, but they love current. Largemouth are the opposite: they thrive in still, shallow water and merely tolerate moving water. Spotted bass split the difference — I've caught spots in two feet of quiet water on Lake Smith and in the flowing Coosa River in Alabama.

You can read this straight off the map. Rivers, creeks, streams, and big windswept lakes with offshore structure — think the St. Lawrence — are where smallmouth thrive. Almost every residential pond and shallow grassy lake is largemouth water. So if a lake holds smallmouth, you already know where to start: the dam, the spillway, and offshore areas where wind pushes the water around.

The drop shot is the single best rigging for smallmouth bass anywhere in the world, and it's the one lure I tie on every single time I go. The go-to plastic is a shad-shaped soft plastic — a Strike King Baby Z-Too, a Dreamshot, or any 2.5-to-5-inch minnow or small-worm profile. It works because it matches the size of the baitfish smallmouth actually eat: small minnows, small perch, and gobies sitting just above the bottom.

The Big-Bait Exception

Don't get locked into small, though. On lakes with big perch — like Lake St. Clair — the biggest smallmouth key on the biggest forage. Jordan Lee won a Major League Fishing event throwing a 7-inch fluke-style plastic while other anglers caught fish (but not the winning ones) on small shad shapes. I saw the same thing on a Minnesota honey hole: I caught a smallmouth that spit up a big perch, switched to a brown-and-gold football jig that mimicked it, and started catching the biggest fish of the day by working it through the column.

I've even caught smallmouth on a Strike King Filler worm — a straight-tail finesse worm I'd only ever thought of as a largemouth bait. The logic is simple: if they'll eat a small worm, why won't they eat one that's two inches longer? They will. So don't overthink it — anything from a 2-inch shad shape up to a 6-or-7-inch filler worm can catch smallmouth on a drop shot.

When the drop shot isn't producing, the Ned rig is the next thing I reach for — specifically when the bass are feeding on the bottom instead of up in the column. It's another small bait, and it likely imitates a crawfish that's lost its claws (Berkeley lab testing years ago suggested bass are more likely to hit a clawless craw). Throw it in the exact same spots as a drop shot — deep rock, steep shorelines, anything around moving water — but keep it on the bottom.

Unlike the drop shot, which you hop back slowly and shake, the Ned rig is forgiving: drag it, hop it, do whatever — just make sure it's getting all the way to the bottom. Fish it around rock, not grass; the "weedless" versions aren't as weedless as advertised. A finesse jig in the 3/16-to-3/8-ounce range fits the exact same role — my pick is my own Outkast Tackle Pond Finesse Jig.

If the drop shot and Ned rig are the slow finesse baits, the suspending jerkbait is the moving bait that still fishes finesse — and it's a match made in heaven for smallmouth. It excels in the exact conditions smallies love: deep, clear, and cold water. Work it slowly (twitch-twitch-pause) in cold water, or rip it aggressively in warm water — both catch big smallmouth.

My confidence color is a three-tone pattern most brands make: a purple or blue back, a clear middle, and a chartreuse or green belly. It may not match any specific forage, but the contrast of three colors flashing gets a smallmouth's attention. And attention matters: smallmouth are far more curious than largemouth or spots — they'll shoot up to inspect a lure before committing, so a jerkbait that suspends in their face draws the eat.

The jerkbait rewards a little extra know-how — it's not as dummy-proof as the drop shot or Ned rig. For the full breakdown on gear, cadence, and pause timing, my suspending jerkbait masterclass covers everything.

Smallmouth are an exciting fish, and they eat exciting lures — none more fun than topwater. I group poppers and walking baits together (pop a popper or walk it slow, they're one and the same), but my favorite smallmouth topwater is the plopper, especially for river and kayak fishing. Go no bigger than the 110 size — the 90 and even the 70 work great — and plop it past shady pockets, laydown logs, and rocks near the bank. Poppers and walkers, meanwhile, can draw curious smallmouth all the way up from deep water.

Among the generic moving baits (spinnerbait vs. chatterbait), the spinnerbait just edges out the vibrating jig for smallmouth. Curious, aggressive fish key on its flash, water displacement, and bigger presence — it has the drawing power to pull a smallmouth in from a distance. Match the blades to clarity: double willow in clear water, and a double Indiana or an Indiana-Colorado-willow mix in stained-to-dirty water.

For smallmouth specifically, I add a skinny paddle-tail trailer (my pick is the Strike King Swimming Shiner, often cut down a little). It gives the fish more to suck in and naturally slows your retrieve — and a slow-rolled spinnerbait tends to out-fish a burned one for smallmouth.

Recent smallmouth tournaments on Lake Champlain and around New York have been won on the dice and urchin (Coike) category. Fish an urchin single-rigged — I run a Berkeley MEBA in a smaller size on a wacky hook with a Reneau Tackle weight on the bottom, rigged so the hook can't slide down. And don't forget the dice: a standard Strike King Tumbleweed (or the new Magnum) just gets bit on some smallmouth waters — often on a drop shot, sometimes a Neko or single rig — better than shad shapes or worms, for reasons nobody can fully explain. When the bite gets tough, it's worth having tied on. For the full rundown on riggings and retrieves, see my urchin masterclass.

What About Crankbaits, Chatterbaits, Frogs?

Smallmouth absolutely eat crankbaits — from a square bill to a 6XD — but the treble hooks are the catch: I lose more smallmouth on crankbaits than almost any other lure (topwater trebles seem to stay pinned better). They'll also eat a frog, a hair jig, and a fluke. All of these work, they're just not the most productive options. If you stick to the first three — drop shot, Ned rig, and suspending jerkbait — and add a topwater here and there, you'll have huge success.

Final Thoughts

Smallmouth fishing looks intimidating, but the lineup is short and finesse-driven. Find the moving, clear, rocky water they live in, tie on a drop shot first, drop to a Ned rig when they go to the bottom, and keep a suspending jerkbait and a topwater ready for when they want something moving. Master those and you'll catch smallmouth just about anywhere. To go deeper, my drop shot masterclass is the natural next step — it's the most effective smallmouth technique there is — and my Pond Finesse Jig covers the finesse-jig side of the Ned-rig role.

Source: Based on video content from TylersReelFishing — “Catch More Smallmouth Bass With THESE Lures!” · youtube.com/@tylersreelfishing