Baits

In this section we will talk both natural and artifical baits for smallmouths in streams and rivers.

Fish

This group of baits include a wide varity of minnows, stonerollers, chubs, shiners and dace species.Lots of what a smallmouths diet consists of is fish.The best minnow baits depends on the species found in the water you fish.In cold water its hard to beat live minnows for smallies.I say try a wide "legal" varity and see what works best on your water.Be sure to check your Dept. Of Natural Resources to see if any are protected.In Ohio i know species of the Darter family are protected, so i dont use any darters for fishing.Best way to know is to learn what the species are by reading books on minnows in your area and get familiar with what they look like.When using lures, try to imatate the minnows in the stream your fishing as best you can.the saying "match the hatch" applies when you fish lures for smallies.

Crayfish

Crayfish make up another big percent of a smallmouths diet.Crayfish are found in clear rocky streams and smallies feed heavly on them at night.A lot of bait stores sell "soft craws" which is a crayfish that has kicked out of its outter shell to grow.If left in the water for 24 hours the new shell will harden up like the old one.If just kept moist they will stay soft for a long time.If you can figure out what times of the month crayfish "kick" out of there shells, you can find many species including smallies feeding on crayfish at night and during the day.If using lures to imatate crayfish, again "match the hatch" .Find out what colors the crayfish in the area your fishing are and what size the avg. is to increase your lures success.

Hellgramite(Dobsonfly larva)

Another great natural food for smallmouths is the Hellgramite.This larva form of a Dobsonfly, is a meal most smallies wont pass up.Again if using lures to match Hellgies, the above rules apply to maxamise your success.