Browsing your local shelves or the internet for tackle is always an enjoyable and rewarding task, with no downsides. There’s no such thing as wasted money when it comes to fishing – at worst, you’re “eliminating water.” Still, it’s not bad to know what you really need for the given situation, and these days there are lots of good options.
Here are the essentials for successful smallmouth fishing in the North.
Thin the herd
For a touring pro, the trip north might be the easiest time of the year to pack. For locals, the addition of largemouth lakes or two-species fisheries complicates things, but, when you’re honed in on smallmouth, the boat is usually loaded pretty light. For tournament success in the North, finding the fish is the main key – from there, a limited array of baits can usually get the job done.
There are certainly times when a specific bait can be noticeably better than others, but, if you’re headed north for the first time, don’t think you need everything. A lot of seasoned northern anglers might carry only a couple of different drop-shot baits in two colors – well shy of the whole tackle store.
Drop-shots are still a thing
Despite 2024 being the year of the minnow, the boring ol’ drop-shot still catches a lot of bass up north. Super efficient, it can be presented to fish very well at almost all depths, and you can tweak the look or application easily with slight bait changes, weight changes, or hook choice.
The Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm is still a go-to, but there are some other options as well. The Berkley Gulp! Minnow is old-school and good, and the Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow is solid as well. Small swimbaits are also very good drop-shot baits, and the Megabass Hazedong Shad is top of the category. Especially on St. Clair, or, anywhere the fish are feeding on larger bait, the Z-Man Jerk ShadZ is a good choice as well.
Dice baits, or, fuzzy baits, have also been notably good lately. The OSP Dice Rubber is the OG, and very popular, but the Geecrack Cue Bomb is very similar and effective, and Strike King and Z-Man both offer versions. There are also an increasing number of other fuzzy options, and they could be worth your time as well.
Obviously, bring minnows
It’s the modern age, so you need a stock of minnows. Here, there’s a pretty good chance that whatever minnow is your favorite will work in the North. If you’re looking, the Z-Man Jerk ShadZ is a good place to start, and the Rapala CrushCity The Jerk comes in some gorgeous colors and works really well. Obviously, the Rapala Crush City Freeloader is good, and the Deps Sakamata Shad is a known quantity as well.
If you’re looking for a very small minnow, Great Lakes Finesse makes a couple good options in the Drop Minnow and Hover Minnow. The Drop Minnow is much more proven, but the Hover Minnow is a very interesting bait.
Be prepared to drag something
Fishing something on the bottom is key, as there are times the fish really want to feed on the bottom. These days, there are a few key categories – Ned rigs, finesse jigs and tubes. A lot of successful northern anglers don’t carry the whole genre – in theory, they all do somewhat similar things.
For a Ned rig, it’s pretty hard to top the Z-Man Finesse TRD – it’s a classic that lasts and lasts. The Rapala CrushCity Ned BLT is also a really nice worm. For a good smell, the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Lil’ General is a smallmouth killer.
On the tube side of things, the Great Lakes Finesse Juvy Craw works really well. Less realistic, but extremely effective and smelly, the 2.5-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Tube is a real winner when it comes to smallmouth.
Small, finesse football jigs are a burgeoning category these days, with several new entrants in the market. The Beast Coast OW Sniper is probably the best mass-market option, though it is not the only jig that fits the theory. The Sniper comes in tungsten, which is super nice, but also lead, which is more affordable and clutch when you might break off a lot of jigs. For the Sniper, MB sexy melon is the most popular color for a reason – it’s wicked good.
For the football jigs, a trailer of some sort is basically a given, and it’s usually a Ned bait. The Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Lil’ General has a huge following with good reason. For a smaller and more realistic trailer, the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Lil’ Trooper is a proven choice.
Swimmers aren’t totally out of fashion
Between swingle swimbaits and umbrella rigs, swimbaits are not out of fashion in the North.
Umbrella rigs can be good anywhere up north, but they seem to be especially effective around current and in the fall. For an umbrella rig, the YUM Yumbrella Flash Mob Jr. is good and very economical. Brown Dog Tackle makes a smallmouth-proof, heavy-duty rig that is very regionally popular as well, which could be worth tracking down if you’re so inclined.
For swimbaits, either solo or on an umbrella rig, the Keitech Swing Impact FAT is a longtime favorite, and the Rapala CrushCity The Mayor is a really fantastic swimmer as well. In the cold water months, be prepared to fish a swimbait low and slow. In the summer, a swimbait can be a great alternative to a minnow, or a good option for shallower fish.
Treble hooks have a place
I personally only catch one or two tournament smallmouth a year on a treble-hooked bait – usually on a popper at Oneida. On the other hand, Scott Dobson is one of the best smallmouth anglers to ever live, and he dotes on jerkbaits and spybaits. Between better hooks and forward-facing sonar, there are more reasons to use hard baits than ever, but, they’re still a somewhat risky play for smallmouths. That said, they can be extremely fun – maybe the most fun you can have with a brown bass.
Jerkbaits have a really strong pedigree, and, they have recently played huge in the Bass Pro Tour event at the St. Lawrence – a good sign they’re not out of style yet. The Megabass Vision 110 +1 is a great starting point (strongly consider changing the hooks), and a Lucky Craft Pointer has a good track record as well.
Spybaits are also a killer smallmouth bait, and the Duo Realis Spinbait is top tier. You want it in the 80 or 90 size. The Duo Realis Spinbait Alpha is also a pretty cool bait – it runs deeper and has a shorter body than the original, which means you can actually target things at depth with it, like a boulder or break line. New this year is the Great Lakes Finesse Stay-Pinned Spybait, which purports to solve the problem of lost fish, which is a general rule of spybait fishing.
Finally, there are times when you want a topwater, be it for fun or a tournament. Your favorite walking bait or popper will absolutely do the trick – this isn’t one that you need to overthink. But, I personally dote on a Lobina Rico in lime ice, and the Lucky Craft Gunfish 115 or a Strike King Sexy Dawg are great walking options.
The outliers
Beyond the standards, there are some other baits and rigs that you might want in the boat depending on your proclivities or the season.
If you’re planning on fishing shallow a lot, a marabou jig is a really good bait to have on hand. The Outkast Feider Fly is a good one in this case, as is the Beast Coast Superfly – a dark color is the standard, but don’t be afraid of a baitfish color as well.
On the other end of the spectrum, a Carolina rig is a mainstay in some places. Great for windy days or drifting deep water, a 3/4-ounce weight can keep you solidly on the bottom when it’s rolling. For a hook, the Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid is great. Key baits would include a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Craw, a Zoom Brush Hog in the size of your choice, and minnow imitations like a Z-Man Jerk ShadZ are good options as well.