I've been fishing smallmouth for some years now in the river. I don't know it all for sure but I have learned a few things along the way and fumbled on a few things that work for me. I can still remember the 1st time I threw artificial craw and felt the bite and actually landed a smallmouth. I thought it the weirdest thing that you could catch a Bass on fake food. From that day on I was the one hooked.
I've tried so many artificial craws for smallmouth and tubes. Can't say any of them are not good. I can't think of a soft plastic that I've tried and put to work on the river that didn't eventually work. Sometimes I think we over complicate our prey. But after so many attempts at it you have to eliminate some for one reason or another and land on a presentation that works and you have complete confidence in. Everyone needs to find there way to that place. The good news is the entire process is darn right fun.
My go to for the longest time was a 1/8th bullet weight on a 1/0 offset EWG hook with whatever the cheapest craw imitation was I could find. I would stick a toothpick at the end of the bullet weight so the weight wouldn't ride up the line and wrap rocks under the water. This WORKS! From there I continued to experiment. If you never move past this presentation or a simple tube with exposed jig head hook you will still slay the bass!
But of course I continued to try and improve certain aspects of the presentation. Three things I continued to work on. 1.) Less snagging on bottom 2.) less time to put together or assemble. 3.) the perfect weight
This all led me to what I currently use and love that solved my three concerns. This is what I use and what I have confidence in. Maybe it will help a few of ya get to your own perfect combination.
1.) Less snagging on bottom: This has moved me away from bullet weights. Bullet weights are cheaper and they work and are a perfect place to start and even stay but for me didn't address my 3 concerns. The bullet shape is simply prone to snagging. It's flaw is its shape. It's narrow nose will find the 1st crack between two river rocks and pegg itself there permanently. So out the door with bullet sinkers for me.
Then there is the tube. Most people fish this with an exposed hook... again snags so I've wonder far from them as well. I tex-pose all my soft plastic presentation in the river, craw imitations included. Tex-pose is simply a Texas Rig where the hook is not buried in the plastic but rather just slightly poked under the very top thin layer of the plastic as to hide the sharp point only by a little.
2.) less time to put together or assemble: less to carry less to put together. This has moved me away from hook and weight terminal tackle housed separately. So now I fish a weight hook (jig) combo.
3.) The perfect weight: To light and river current will just keep ur lure off the bottom and out of your target area. Too heavy and your lure will fall to the bottom with too much weight finding every crevice the river bottom offers and quickly so and often. So for me the perfect weight to balance this all out was the magical 3/16th.
If you research any thing about big smallmouth behavior you'll find they prefer a smaller crayfish. Over time I've down sized my imitation craw quite a bit. This also helps keep the drag of the river from keeping ur bait off the bottom.
My go to setup is a 3/16 oz Biffle Football HardHead jig. It has a 3/0 hook and matches up with my favorite 3" green pumpkin Cover Craw by Jackell. You may have seen me refer to this combination as the CrawTube.
This is my goldy lox combination for smallmouth river fishing. It is jusssst right for my fishing style. Perfect weight to put the lure where I want. Perfect size for pig smallmouth. Perfect hook size. Perfect profile... the football jig head rarely snags and it's easy to carry around and put together quickly.
Hopefully someone finds the info helpful on thier journey to the perfect craw presentation.
What's your favorite craw combo and how do you get a pig smallmouth to take it?
I've tried so many artificial craws for smallmouth and tubes. Can't say any of them are not good. I can't think of a soft plastic that I've tried and put to work on the river that didn't eventually work. Sometimes I think we over complicate our prey. But after so many attempts at it you have to eliminate some for one reason or another and land on a presentation that works and you have complete confidence in. Everyone needs to find there way to that place. The good news is the entire process is darn right fun.
My go to for the longest time was a 1/8th bullet weight on a 1/0 offset EWG hook with whatever the cheapest craw imitation was I could find. I would stick a toothpick at the end of the bullet weight so the weight wouldn't ride up the line and wrap rocks under the water. This WORKS! From there I continued to experiment. If you never move past this presentation or a simple tube with exposed jig head hook you will still slay the bass!
But of course I continued to try and improve certain aspects of the presentation. Three things I continued to work on. 1.) Less snagging on bottom 2.) less time to put together or assemble. 3.) the perfect weight
This all led me to what I currently use and love that solved my three concerns. This is what I use and what I have confidence in. Maybe it will help a few of ya get to your own perfect combination.
1.) Less snagging on bottom: This has moved me away from bullet weights. Bullet weights are cheaper and they work and are a perfect place to start and even stay but for me didn't address my 3 concerns. The bullet shape is simply prone to snagging. It's flaw is its shape. It's narrow nose will find the 1st crack between two river rocks and pegg itself there permanently. So out the door with bullet sinkers for me.
Then there is the tube. Most people fish this with an exposed hook... again snags so I've wonder far from them as well. I tex-pose all my soft plastic presentation in the river, craw imitations included. Tex-pose is simply a Texas Rig where the hook is not buried in the plastic but rather just slightly poked under the very top thin layer of the plastic as to hide the sharp point only by a little.
2.) less time to put together or assemble: less to carry less to put together. This has moved me away from hook and weight terminal tackle housed separately. So now I fish a weight hook (jig) combo.
3.) The perfect weight: To light and river current will just keep ur lure off the bottom and out of your target area. Too heavy and your lure will fall to the bottom with too much weight finding every crevice the river bottom offers and quickly so and often. So for me the perfect weight to balance this all out was the magical 3/16th.
If you research any thing about big smallmouth behavior you'll find they prefer a smaller crayfish. Over time I've down sized my imitation craw quite a bit. This also helps keep the drag of the river from keeping ur bait off the bottom.
My go to setup is a 3/16 oz Biffle Football HardHead jig. It has a 3/0 hook and matches up with my favorite 3" green pumpkin Cover Craw by Jackell. You may have seen me refer to this combination as the CrawTube.
This is my goldy lox combination for smallmouth river fishing. It is jusssst right for my fishing style. Perfect weight to put the lure where I want. Perfect size for pig smallmouth. Perfect hook size. Perfect profile... the football jig head rarely snags and it's easy to carry around and put together quickly.
Hopefully someone finds the info helpful on thier journey to the perfect craw presentation.
What's your favorite craw combo and how do you get a pig smallmouth to take it?