Florida Bass Fishing Forum
Smallmouth, Largemouth, We're All About Bass!

What bait would you recomend for smallmouth bass?

I've been using simple earthworms and they have been okay but is their anything better?

Public Comments

1. rubber tube jigs

2. crayfish. those are bass candy. for both largemouth and smallmouth. if you're fishing in a river, hellgramites/dobsonfly larvae work well also.
for artificials, use the tubes already mentioned.

3. I'm a big believer in plastic. If you're fishing in a lake and can find large underwater boulders you could be in hawg heaven. I prefer a plastic crawdad worked like a plastic worm. Keep and eye on your line. You'll see more hits than you'll ever feel. Good luck.

4. Mid to late summer I like to use small surface baits. Hula Poppers, Rebel Pop-R's etc. There's nothing like seeing what looks like a foot ball launch itself from under the water 5 ft straight up into the air with your plug in it's mouth.

5. I use to use spinner baits like a Mepps or a Rooster Tail in rivers. In a pond or lake I used a Rapala bait fish. Always "match the hatch". Figure out what the bait fish in the area look like and buy a lure that is similar to color, size, and floats or sinks at the same depth level your smallies are swiming at.

6. whatever is in their enviorment like plactic crawdads 3 and 4 inch senkos watermelon colar tubes are very versatile and produce fish and small jerk baits work great to hope this helps good luck and good fishing

7. the wormist is right but my advice to you is, use live bait. with all bait exept j-plugs live bait has ALWAYS worked the best i have never had luck with artificial bait and i always for som reason catch big fish with small minows and rarely catch anything with big minnows and if i do its not very big.

8. Crayfish

Nightcrawlers

Hellgrammites

9. leeches make em go crazy, big ones too

10. Crawfish. Anything that resembles crawfish. red shad will even do. but if you can get some REBEL brand crawdads or softplastic crawdads there goin crazy over crawdads. Hope i helped!

11. Try 3 inch gulp minnows and a jig.