Going freshwater fishing for the first time, fishing for small mouth bass?

rubber lizzards

use worms to try to get a really small fish, then go with the really small fish

Depends where you’re fishing. Small rat-l-traps and other smaller crankbaits, 1/4 oz. or 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits. Another popular method I’ve heard of lately for SMB is the “float-n-fly” method where you put a small fly about a foot or two under a bobber. Depends entirely on water clarity, forage, and vegetation though. If you gave me more info I could give you more advice.

-Jay

Hello LuckyDag,
you are lucky if you heading out fishing
In conventional fishing, smallmouth may be successfully caught on a wide range of natural and artificial baits or lures, including crankbaits, plastic jerkbaits (such as Rapala Husky Jerks or Rapala X-Raps), spinnerbaits, and all types of soft plastic lures including curly tail grubs or tubes with lead head jigs. They may also be caught with a fly rod using a dry or wet fly, nymphs, streamers, or imitations of larger aquatic creatures such as crawfish or leeches (see Artificial fly). Floating topwater popper fly patterns are also popular for smallmouth fishing.[9][10]

[edit] Bait

Smallmouth bass anglers may also use live bait to catch fish. Live nightcrawlers, minnows, hellgrammites and crawfish are usually the most productive live baits.

[edit] Fishing Tackle

For river fishing, spinning tackle or fly tackle have been the most popular angling tools for smallmouth in North America for many years. Many fisherman use a 5.5-6.5 foot, medium-fast action rod matched with 6-8 lb. test line. However, fly fishing for smallmouth bass has become increasingly popular in recent years, and most fly fishermen seeking river or stream smallmouth use a 7- to 9-foot fly rod in a #5, #6, #7, or #8-weight size with a floating or sink-tip fly line, depending upon the water to be fished (See Fly Fishing.[11][12] Fishermen seeking smallmouth in large lakes often use sinking lines of various densities, as smallmouth found in such waters often feed at greater depths. Smallmouth are not leader shy and will take larger lures and flies, though shallow streams and tight quarters may call for a shorter rod and lighter lines than are generally used for lakes or large rivers.

Want to know more, I learned this stuff from the guide in the source

Rattle traps are great lures, but sometimes you need a less aggressive approach. Try a jig & pig, or simply a soft plastic jig. Smallies also love leeches, so anything that looks like one of those critters will work. Sometimes topwater is the way to to, so have a Spook or two in your box….

I like rattle traps and have a variety of colors and sizes
A med diving crank bait works good too, I like crawdad looking ones because Small mouths seem to like them too. When Golden feather answers, he may have some other lures to offer, I would listen to him if I were you, because he is a small mouth expert.

We use a lot of flukes here in NW Pa fishing on the Allegheny River and my friends and i have had the greatest success with those.

Try a white “Rooster Tail”. Just the white one. Trust me on this one.

I have had slow days with experienced fishermen where it was the only lure to catch fish.

If they’re biting try the classic rubber tail swim lure, like the “Rubber Shad”. It works wonders on the smaller gamefish.

And if there are bigger ones, the small version of the “Deep Little N” works better than the “Rattle Trap” as far as crank baits go. I’ve used them both alot, and the “Deep Little N” has better action and luck. That thing is all hook, so watch out for snags. Go with the white stomached ones.

For cast and retrieve I prefer spinners such as Blue Fox (gold) or Panther Martins (black and yellow w/gold blade) as the strikes are truly spectacular, but small mouths will hit a variety of lures. I have done well with buck tail jigs, soft plastic curly tail jigs in rootbeer color or chartreuse, and a variety of small crank baits like the rattle trap, black and silver Rapala, silver or perch colored flatfish, or wiggle warts. Good Luck and I hope you catch plenty!

Topwater frogs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits. Rapalas, Rat L Traps, any jerk bait, crank bait….etc. There are FAR too may colors, styles and options out there. For smallies, I prefer anything in the white/pink/drk purple/blk/gold range. (However, some colors work better than others….all depends on where you are.)

If you take a look at BassPro.com, they have a great resource area for lots of techniques, general info, species specific…etc.

It really is difficult to assess your individual situation without further information on the area, water conditions, time of day, depth.

Tight Lines!

use a big rapala its spring time and they will knock the crap out of it crank baits

First and for most always keep in mind that a Smallmouth Bass is hard wired to kill and eat crawdads. He will attack them at any opportunity. I go with small jigs with a pork trailer. A plastic craw imitation Texas rigged works. Tubes also work very well too.
After that a minnow type jerk bait will also fill the bill. I do not use rattle traps as these bait can be thrown easily by Mr. Airborne Smallie. Use light line, Smallies are line sensitive. Have a great time.

I used 3 different brands of small crawdad crankbaits with rattles several times with great success.

rubber lizards 6″ and also little 4″ rubber craws