RIVER SMALLIES

The beginning of September brings with it the year’s last hot days. While it can be tempting to organize your tackle for next year, clean out the boat, or even get a head start on some of those fall chores, you’d be missing out on some awesome smallmouth fishing!

With hot blue sky days and low water levels, the formula is perfect for terrorizing trophy smallies. The Mississippi River is my favorite spot for smallmouth action. No matter what part of the river you might search, you should be able to find them.

I fish almost exclusively with topwater baits on these last hot days. Prop baits, such as the Heddon Torpedo or Rapala Skitter Prop, work great. I always have walk-the-dog baits like Rapala’s X-walk and Skitter-Walk available as well. I like to use a 6’6’’ medium action rod and a spinning reel spooled with 12-14 pound Fireline. This allows me to make accurate casts and also provides an awesome fight when I hook up! I strongly recommend directly tying your lure to the line, a swivel or leader can really hinder the lure’s action.

Once you are all setup, just look for common smallie holding spots. I love to fish rock shoreline, submerged timber and island points. Try to make as long of a cast as you can right to the shoreline or over the island point. I like to work the bait slowly with frequent pauses. The pauses are where most strikes happen. A key thing to remember is that if you find one smallie, you will almost always find more. In fact, if you are fishing with a partner, I would encourage you to have an extra rod setup rigged with a tube. Many times when I’m reeling in a smallie, another one is swimming right by it, my buddy will pitch the tube, and 9 times out of 10, the fish will crush it.