The best baits for smallmouth are smaller crankbaits.  Makes sense, we are talking about “small mouths”.  My choice is the Rebel Wee-R.  Work them around wing dams on the river or rocky humps or points.  Crankbaits work best when use in a reaction scenario, which requires current.  On natural lakes, this means fishing the windy areas.  Wind will move water, creating turbulence and thus current.  Rivers have natural current due to water moving down stream.

When working a crankbait for smallmouth, cast out and reel straight in.  Smallies typically don’t like erratic retrieves.  This goes for zara spooks and Senko retrieves as well.  If you see the smallies chasing the bait, but not eating it, switch to a different color crankbait. 

One of the best early morning baits is the Zara Spook.  If you have never worked on, I suggest you try one out the next time your on the water.  Top water baits are best when worked early in the morning with water temperatures at or greater than 50 degrees.  The method to work this bait is called walking the dog.

To walk the dog, cast the spook out as far as possible.  This method works best when using a baitcasting rod/reel with a rod that is between 6 to 6’6” long.  Cast the spook out as far as possible.  Let the bait settle on the water until the ring disappears.  Many times bass will hit the bait before you start.  When ready, have some slack in the line and make a short jerk down on the rod tip.  Reel in some slack.  Perform this in rhythm, so you jerk the rod tip down while reeling in some slack.  Continue to do this all the way into the boat. 

If you get a bite, let it wait for about 3 seconds.  With every topwater, it’s best to wait before setting the hook.  This will increase your chance of catching the bass.  After waiting 3 seconds, count it if needed, set the hook.  If the bass made a swirl at your bait, but failed to even eat your bait, reel in fast.  Set that rod down, if you have a 2^nd rod ready with a Senko, cast it out to the exact spot you had the bite.  Let it sit.  This is called a follow up bait.  Follow up baits are great for top water.

Some of my top methods for fishing a Senko include:

Skipping under docks:  Nothing beats a senko under a dock.  See my other post for more details on skipping them under a dock.

Pre-Spawn & Spawn:  Find a shallow cover springtime, when bass are spawning, and move the boat very slow and methodically so as not to spook the fish.  Cast a Senko out and dead stick it as long as possible.  Watch the line for any sign of a fish biting at it.  If the water is clear enough and you can see fish, cast in the direction of the bass at least 5 feet in front.  Wait for the bass to swim at it.  If you wait long enough, the bass will come back.

Summer:  Find a deep weedline in 8 to 12 ft.  The best weedlines are ones that come to a point, are near a hump, and or have rocks in them.  Position the boat at the edge of the weedline and cast the Senko along the weedline.  If you have a good depth finder, this can help tell exactly where the weedline ends.  Dead stick the senko up to a minute and the cast back out.  This method can pull some large bass in behind others fishing the same spot.

Fall:  In the fall, find the greenest weeds possible and work a senko around the inside edges.  Once again, dead sticking is one of the top methods.

General:  During any season, skipping a Senko under a dock is a great presentation.  When picking a color, I like to match the color to the watercolor and to the predominate baitfish in the lake.  In Darker water, I prefer black.  Clearwater, watermelon or pumpkinseed work well.  In general, the top method for working a senko is deadsticking it.  Where you cast it out and let it sit for up to 1 minute with out moving it.

My favorite plastic worms include the Berkley 4” Power Worm, Berkley 10” worm, Zoom Centipede, Yamamoto Senko, and Zoom Brush Hog.  These 5 baits can cover every fishing situation all year long. 

The Yamamoto Senko is versatile bait that I have blog about much already.  It can be used all year around.  One of the top seasons to use it is during the spawning season.  Dead stick it around wood, stumps, and docks for huge bass.

The Berkley 4” Power Worm works best during the post spawn as a jig worm in depths of 8 to 12 feet along weedlines.  Cast it out and slowly drag it along the top of the weeds using a 3/32 mushroom head jig.  If the weeds are to thick, try a Texas rigging it with a 2/0 hook and a 1/8 oz worm. 

The Berkley 10” worm works wonders in the fall when flipped to shallow cover.  Use it around boat docks, lily pads, trees, or reeds.  It’s best to Florida rig this bait, or the worm might get hung up on the cover.

The Zoom Brush Hog are spectacular in the heat of summer worked in the heaviest cover you can find.  Fish it around floating bogs, hydrilla, or lily pads, the ticker the better when it comes to a brush hog.  Pick a weight that will allow you to penetrate though the cover you are fishing.

Zoom Centipede shines during pre-spawn.  Work this bait on a 2/0 hook with no weight and let it slowly float to the bottom before reeling in.  The longer you can wait to reel in, the better.

All these baits can be used any time of year, with the same methods listed.  But the best areas and times to use them are as listed.

For beginners, the best baits to skip under docks long, round, solid baits.  The two best baits that come to mind are

Bass love to hide under docks

Yamamato Senko or Zoom Centipede.  I would suggest staring with the 5” Senko.  These weight slightly less, yet have enough weight to skip well.  If you pick a centipede, either use a 3/0 to 5/0 hook to give a little more weight, use a pinch on weight, or press a small nail into the tip to add weight.  Don’t add to much weight, as this will nullify the skipping ability.  Also, don’t use a Texas rig.  Either no weight at all or very light weight, less than 1/16 oz, Florida or peg to weight.