Up A Smallmouth Creek
Fishing Without A Paddle

If the river is running strong, why not try some smallmouth creek fishing until the current slows down a little and the water settles?

The creeks will clear out way before the main rivers do, so take a crack at it before you decide to chalk it up and head home without your dose of freshwater fishing.

Of course you should be able to catch a few smaller smallmouth bass, but the big bronzebacks hang out in those feeder creeks too.

Have a look through these smallmouth bass creek fishing tips, techniques and tactics for catching those fun shaker fish, as well as hooking into the bigger smallies. I think you'll find this a little unique and quite useful.

Smallmouth Creek Fishing Tips

Smallmouth Bass Tackle For Creek Fishing

Creeks are normally small so you really won't need to go overboard. Light to ultra-light tackle should be perfect. Because creeks are usually narrow, I recommend a short fishing rod in the 4'6" to 5'6" range.

Match the rod up with an extra light fishing reel rigged with 4 pound test monofilament fishing line. Trout style lures should work fantastically, such as inline spinners and even nymphs or flies.

I understand that this may sound a little awkward to some of you to use fly fishing lures on spinning tackle, but it works. Every now and then it's cool to think out of the box - to go against the common rules of what "regular" fishermen normally do.

We basically have a set up which consists of a fishing rod and reel for panfish, lures that are commonly considered for trout, and we'll target hard fighting smallmouth bass.

Are you ready?

Let's do it.

Smallmouth Creek Fishing Techniques

Start out by making a few short casts close around you to pick off any fish that might be hanging out near you. Then begin casting further out across the stream. Each time, allow the lure to swing out and drift with the current down stream.

The end of the drift is when most of the bites happen. This is a nice fun way to catch a lot of the smaller smallmouth bass in these creeks. But what about the bigger smallmouths?

Big Smallmouth Bass Creek Fishing Tactics

To find larger smallmouth bass in a creek, look for deeper and wider pools. Smallmouth bass like to habitat deeper waters with open areas, and this is where the big smallies will be found.

Begin a little upstream at about 25 feet and then work your way down. Continue casting in various spots in and around the pool - high, low, short, long. After you have worked that area well enough, you can consider switching out your lure. Maybe tie on a nymph, and experiment with crimping a split shot for added weight to present a different look.