Snapping a Tube Finds Aggressive Smallmouth
By: Joe Balog
Use jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits and big spinnerbaits to land a prize smallmouth. (Photo courtesy of In-Fisherman.com)
Given the chance, I think most bass fishermen would rather catch big smallmouths than big largemouths. No surprise, you say, because smallmouths typically fight harder and jump higher than their cousins. But I think there's more to it than that.
Smallmouths are the fish of memories, the home runs of bass fishing. Any angler who's come upon an aggressive school of them knows what I mean. Their aggressiveness is what we live for. It seems that no retrieve is too fast, and nothing can stop them from devouring their prey. I see it in the eyes of anglers at my seminars. They want so badly to experience that excitement again, and the feeling that the school of fish they just found is nearly limitless in size.
My recommendations for those in quest of a memory-maker? Pick lures that can cover water quickly and efficiently, ones that can be cast far, get to operating depth quickly, can be retrieved fast, and can tweak the aggressive tendency of smallmouth bass. It's no surprise that jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits and big spinnerbaits fill this category.
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