Jeff Little's Top 5 Summer River Smallmouth Lures
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Here they are:
5. Whopper Plopper (but which one?)
4. Finesse Jig (who makes it?)
3. Deadsticked Soft Plastic Jerkbait (will you actually let it sit?)
2. Gold Jackhammer (what kind of customization did I do?)
1. Crawfish Crankbait (what if I can't find any more of the old discontinued LiveTarget ones?)
Watch this video to get an overview, then search through my smallmouth playlist to get even more detail on each presentation.
Coach Conner here Rockville Razorbacks great video
Hey Coach! Glad you found my channel. You did a great job with us back then!
Have you ever tried the miniMAX chatterbait on river smallies preferably in green pumpkin. With a spunk 4.5” spunk shad bit down to 4” I like goby bite and electric shad w a TINY dabble of chartreuse . I’m on the Mohawk River and they absolutely hammer it 5/1 over the jackhammer. We have a ton of goby I do well with GP, purple hues colors, black, and white/spot remover. The bite is viscous man. Try it out. Give me a shout out if you have success. I’m telling you, that blade starts up faster than any chatterbait and bouncing it off the bottom or burning it and letting it pendulum gets absolutely smoked by big aggressive river smallies
I’ll pick up a few and try them out! Thanks!
Awesome video Jeff. 5 good ones for sure
Thanks. I’m going to expand upon the crankbait presentation specifics when I go up on Friday.
I've done well with the rebel craw crankbaits. And they're available in more than just red.
It’s a classic and I need to revisit it, particularly the deep diver.
@@TheLittleStuff I like the wide range of sizes available.
I always have at least two of em in the smaller size on me when fishing for smallmouth, specifically in the light brown variation...they always get curious once it starts bouncing off of rocks lol
Loved the video especially the dead sticking stuff. Ever fish the Allegheny or west of the divide in PA? Would you use the same 5 or switch it up any?
In muddy water do you stick with the chatter bait?
I’ve done some Allegheny floats. Muddy water chatterbaits work on any flow.
So I followed your advice and watched the video on dead sticking. In that video you suggested buying a good pair of polarized sunglasses. I would like to do so. Do you have advise or a video about choosing a good pair? I don"t have a lot of extra cash so I want to get it right the first time. I was looking at the Leupold Payload with bronze mirror lenses. I camp at and fish the Susquehanna River in Halifax, just north of where you do some of your videos. What do you think?
The bronze lens is the right choice for our waters. I’m 100% happy with the Leupold Switchbacks I got earlier this year.
You're not the only one that stocked up on Live Target craws. If I lose a few more, I'll be down to just red ones. How would you recommend I re-color them to get them more brown/green?
Go look under my live videos on this channel. I cover that exactly.
@@TheLittleStuff Have you checked out the Megabass Mat Craw II color? I'm too cheap to buy it to throw in the rocks... maybe if I had a motor to aid in retrieval.
It works for like 2 weeks in the spring... that's all I ever argue Jeffrey. Furthermore... I'm not a fan of this video lol
You don’t like it because it makes your tournament competition better. Go figure out some stuff that I have not. Earn your own unfair advantage. It’s out there buddy. I own no monopoly on what works out there!
By the way, try a scrounger with something big wiggling along behind it. That might end up displacing one of these five!
@@TheLittleStuff I know I know 😂
I don't hate it... just a strong dislike 😂
@@TheLittleStuff Don't tell Jake to use the scrounger, City Island won't have any fish without big holes in their lips.
@@wisnerfishing6872 I made sure that the last 5 without holes, got em this morning. I should really start branding those fish whenever I catch them
Awesome video Jeff!!! I think it would equally as good to do a video on the rod,reel,line setup(length rod,power rod,size reel,reel speed, all that jazz) for each one of those setups. Just a thought.
I’ll do that with the #1 on that list, as I want to explain that I carry and rotate through three different depth divers as I move around the river.
So, have any of these been bumped by something else?
The crankbait has been improved by the spin hook. The Evergreen Shower Blow is a contender for this list. It’s a big fish bait, but they have to be “on” for it to work.
Good ol' Rebel crayfish slays this time of year!
For sure!
This video was shot two minutes from my house in water I know well. Thankful for your insight…I’ll put it to good use!
You’re lucky to live there!
Great advice Jeff. I'm always curious about what your camera setup is. doesn't look like the typical GoPro setup, like it. Tight lines.
You gotta dig into the channel. I cover it! I use a hand held Sony Handicam and a GoPro Hero 9, sometimes on a 3BR Powersports X-PWR-H9 atop a YakAttack Panfish Portrait Pro, and sometimes in a dome made for the Hero 9.
Great summer list. I’ll add a straight ned rig setup for my summer list. Green pumpkin if I could pick one color.
These are just so effective in clear to slightly murky conditions.
Bigger deeper rivers with heavy current they lose some effectiveness, but small to mid size they are unmatched.
Your finesse jig is fancier version of this 😂 and the jerk shadz is similar as well. Basically a small plastic on a 1/10oz or less jig is mandatory summer equipment.
Thanks Eric! The Jerk ShadZ is actually more of my summer go-to finesse than the finesse jig, mostly because of the heft of it. It casts like a bullet!
Great video and lure info on catching Smallies! I just caught my first last week and Im hooked! Looking to fish this area so i'll be heading to Google earth!
Lots of mountain crossings here. Each of those features creates ledges and trenches. Whitewater is a great place to power fish!
@@TheLittleStuff thanks for the tips!
Good deal
I should do a top three for winter. ❄️
@@TheLittleStuff micro jig,jerk bait, Black Ned.
Excellent, I am a new subscriber, recommend by a friend! Love what your doing! 🔨🔨🔨
Glad you found the channel Mark. Check out the “September” playlist. It should prepare you for some upcoming patterns.
@@TheLittleStuff thank you man! Tight lines
When you’re fishing these five set ups does it matter throwing them with current or against ? BTW I’m really enjoying your videos, and I’m now a new subscriber
I can move that crank in any direction in relation to current direction. The soft plastics that I fish on bottom usually are fished by dragging downstream. It can be fished upstream of cross stream, but only in areas with lower current.
@@TheLittleStuff thank you for the info, I’ll be trying these out for sure
Absolutely fantastic! Chuck full of knowledge nuggets!
Thanks Aaron!
Where is a good access point to put in my kayak? I always wanted to fish by the little statue of liberty.
Josh, there are so many. Do yourself a favor. Go to Blue Mountain Outfitters in Marysville. They have a ton of water trail maps to help you explore.
@@TheLittleStuff I will do that, Thanks!
I live in Central PA below Harrisburg and recognized this river just by the mountains in the background.
good stuff!
Thank you!
You are right, smaller presentation and darker colors are key. I do well with small 3" Yum dingers, love them things. For topwater I use an all black mini buzz bait. I am in Missouri though but location should not matter much
That Strike King Mini Pro Buzz is a classic!
Great video. New subscriber. One question , I wade in about a 1/4 of a mile upriver from the narrows/Harrisburg's version of Ellis Island. I work down river and hit rock ledges but like fishing grass beds as well. I do great on the grassy points of the islands there but only a few of them available. I can see my spot in the distance at the beginning when ur showing grass beds/plopper casts. How far up river from above mentioned spot do you start seeing grass beds?
Side note, when fishing river, I swap out plopper stock trebles with VMC red trebles. Doubles hook up ratio immediately imo.
Good intel on the hook swap out Steven! From the Narrows up to the first grass beds is a short distance - maybe 500 yards. There’s a lot more as you move up, especially on the West side. Walk up the West Bank, get a high vantage point and check em out! Also the Fort Hunter pool is full of them!
I’ve been kayak fishing for about five years off and on. I have been blindly putting time on water from here to there, and between your videos and podcasts that you have been on with Drew, I have learned so much. Obviously budget is a huge proponent of lure and tackle choices for most people, and I fall in that bracket as well. Have you ever used the cheaper Amazon whopper ploppers? Just wanted to see if you had experienced those. Keep up the awesome videos. We’re heading to the Clarion this weekend hopefully to get on some fish.
Eric, I’ve not fished the off brand Ploppers, but the Berkeley Choppo gets a lot of attention in the kayak fishing tournament scene. The Clarion is one of the PA rivers that I haven’t been on yet. I would love to float it some day!
Where are you fishing the susquehanna at? Its my my primary spot up in montoursville.
Usually between Harrisburg and Selinsgrove, but the week before last I tried the West Branch.
Thanks for sharing
Well.....I've been fishing in that "area" and I've had some success but you have really narrowed it down for me. As usual great info and between you and Jake, you've both helped me alot. I've been getting alot of the smaller fish but have lost "contact" with the bigger ones. Any suggestions??
Look immediately upstream of objects like grass beds and ledge rocks. Upstream this time of year.
Wow. I see that you do not use a swivel on your whopper plopper. How do you keep the bait from "turn over" or getting line twist???
Yo Jeff, hijacking your thread but...
I frequently tell the story of you and me on the Rapidan at flood, and seeing two kids in a (likely 'borrowed') canoe going down stream like a bat out of hell, using a shovel for a paddle. Then recovering their overturned canoe downstream of a strainer. (Apparently they made it to shore.) Then you rescuing me at the confluence with the Rappahannock. Thought I had lost the boat, and your good rod, but you and some Buds went back in a jet drive and recovered everything. Believe it or not, good memories.
I was new to kayak fishing, and I think you were new to guiding/instructing. I think it was probably a valuable experience for both of us.
I am in SoCal. I miss Virginia more than I can say; and miss those smallies; but I have found spotted bay bass which remind me of smallies in appearance and ferocity. Not in size tho. A 16 incher is "big"; but great fun on a ML rig. BTW, when I started out here and didn't know better, I was catching them on a Coffee Tube. Then i got hooked on stuff. Still throw the coffee tube occasionally. Celebrated my 87th last month and so blessed that I can still get the yak out to the bay from time to time. I pay a price, of course, but worth it.
Couldn't resist a shout out Jeff. You are a quintessential fisherman/sportsman and gentlemen. It was good fortune that brought me into contact with you. All the best.
That was a wild trip Bob. Jeff Kelble helped me pull your kayak out of that pinning. The dry bag stayed in there for three days and everything was dry inside. Glad you’re still fishing!
It was a wild trip, but a good memory. Glad you were there. It took some expertise and a strong back to get me out of that mess. Tight lines, Jeff.
Btw, I have missed that particular boat often on the bay. But, I do pedal instead of paddle now.
I know a lot of guys throw chatterbaits and cranks solely on casting setups, but I noticed you were throwing the chatterbait and crank on a spinning rod. Is there any particular reason you choose to throw these on spinning setups? Great video
Yep. Distance.
Here come the proud “I can cast a baitcaster further than you can cast a spinning set up” comments.
The ability to skip a bait deeeeep up into overhanging branches.
Here come the proud comments, “I can skip a baitcaster into the next county!”
Good. I can’t. You know why? I got good at distance and skipping without all the pain of learning both with all those birds nests. I got good at feathering the line flying off the spinning reel so the arc of a long cast would flatten out and avoid some overhead obstruction.
@@TheLittleStuff so it’s still fine if I do use a baitcasters? I use a baitcaster more effectively than I use a spinning rod.
Excellent video Jeff!
Thanks Christie!
Hey Jeff, why choose offsets paddle instead straight ?
The blades are even with each other. I choose a bent shaft because I can one hand the paddle by grabbing it in the center and brace my elbow in the curve.
@@TheLittleStuff That make sense. I have straight graphite and was curious about yours. I finally bought Crescent and Torqeedo last week and just finish ready to go. Plus already got it registered. Still scare Game warden will looking for excuse.
@@TheLittleStuff BTW, who sell a solid aluminum steering? I agree that plastic may snap in the future.
Where do you get your skirt material to tie jigs?
Lure parts online is one place. Barlows, Jann’s Netcraft, Do-It Molds are a few others.
Thank you Jeff 👍🏼