Presentations
Jigs
When jigging, you can fish practically any type of environment -- weedy, rocky, deep, fast-flowing, or slowmoving. By virtue of its design a jig goes straight to the bottom and stays there until the angler lifts it with his rod tip. A jig enables you to follow exactly the contours of the structure you're fishing but it lacks speed. Jigs must be fished relatively slowly, so they're not good for fish-finding, that is, rapidly eliminating unproductive water and quickly putting the angler in touch with active fish. Once fish have been located with a fastermoving lure, jigs are then often the correct choice to work the area over thoroughly and tease less active fish into striking. In cold-water periods and under tough conditions a properly presented jig is at its best.
Jigging spoons
Jigging spoons are a favorite autumn choice of many smallmouth anglers. They are designed to be fished vertically, allowing a slow, methodical approach to inactive fish. Their weight makes them ideal for deep water and heavy current situations. The large exposed hook limits their use in other than very open water, although it makes for easy hook sets. The slow presentation of these lures limits tools for locating fish quickly.
Spinner baits
The spinner bait can be fished anywhere from open water to the heaviest cover. Any depth can be probed. A spinner bait can be buzzed along the surface or retrieved slowly along the bottom. As mentioned before, this lure appeals to the fish's sense of sight and sound, but if you add a pork frog, you'll add to its texture and taste appeal as well. Pork also slows down the bait for cold-water presentations or inactive fish.
With this lure you should start with a slow, steady retrieve about halfway between surface and bottom. Most of the time if the fish are going to hit a spinner bait they'll do it on this retrieve. Yo-yoing a spinner bait or lifting it off bottom and letting it helicopter back down is a good bet for less active fish. The yo-yo also works really well at night in some clear-water situations. Clear-water fish are sometimes more aggressive during hours of darkness. Wrap some lead wire around the hook shank to increase the weight of a spinner in heavy current. A three-eighths-ounce bait is more practical in heavy wind or other adverse conditions.
On days when the fish are striking short and just nipping the skirt, use a stinger hook added to the shank of the main one. You'll hook more fish with only minimum reduction in the snagless quality of the lure. A small piece of surgical tubing holds the stinger in position.
Crank baits
To fish a crank bait, cast it and crank it down hard to the desired depth, then back off on your retrieve. The lure will hold this depth through most of the cast. Although crank baits are designed to run straight through the water, they don't always do so. The stress of smashing into structure, fighting a fish, or improper factory adjustment may cause them to run on their side thus losing their effective abilities as fish catchers. To correct performance failure, simply bend the eye of the lure slightly towards the side which is running lowest in the water. During testing, keep playing with the eye until the lure runs satisfactorily. This process, by the way, is referred to as "tuning a crank bait."
The importance of making contact with structure can't be overstated when dealing with crank baits. Run these lures into anything. Bounce them off boulders or dig them down a rocky shoal. Be sure to choose a lip size large enough to promote bottom contact in the depth of water you're fishing. The floating nature of the lure helps to avoid snags in cover such as rock and wood. Rounded lips work best in rocks, while square lips an be fished more easily through timber. Weeds can be more frustratng. With some practice you'll be able to power this bait under the edge of a pad bed or within inches of a weedine. If weeds are contacted, let the ure float up a little, then rip it through hard. Sometimes this action is just what's needed to trigger a reflex strike.
Its cousin, the free-swimming crank bait, can be fished in the same type of areas as traditional crank baits, with the exception of heavy timber. Making contact is usually not necessary with these models -- just throw them out and crank them in with enough speed to maintain proper lure action. Splitting the difference between surface and bottom is often the most effective depth.
