Will an Elephant Eat a Peanut?

Post spawn tactics for tight lipped river smallmouth.

Last May on the Susquehanna, I took a break from teaching people how to kayak fish. A “me” day was badly needed. Actually, I took two. Reviewing my trip log book from those two days shows that I landed 21 smallmouth 18 inches or longer.

On both days, I watched multiple jet boats drift nearby. A floatilla of canoes came through at one point. Later a whitewater raft rigged for fishing passed by.

The river was whipped to a froth with spinnerbaits, crankbaits or quickly stripped streamers. A few anglers delivered sharp shooter casts with tubes to the same foam pockets I pulled fish after big fish from. I witnessed zero catches from the other boats.

What was the difference? What presentation did I make that they did not? I can tell you and you may still not do it: absolute deadsticking. Bronzeback go from the kind of frenzied aggression that bends and breaks spinnerbait wires to a post spawning ritual exhaustion that most anglers just can not downshift in order to capitalize upon.

When big, fast and loud are ignored, go small, quiet and still. My favorite bait for this time of year is the three inch soft stick bait. Hawg Head Baits makes a nice durable one. It casts well on a 7’6” medium light fast action St. Croix Premier spinning rod. Nose hook the small worm on a drop shot appropriate hook. Cast it to still foam pockets, let it drift to the bottom and watch your line intently.

You will not feel the bite, as they pick up things softly this time of year. I spool up with 10 pound test bright yellow braid in order to see the take. My buddy Chad Hoover, author of Kayak Bass Fishing taught me a trick that helps many of my kayak fishing students see bites that they would never feel.

Tie an eight-pound test seven-foot long fluorocarbon or monofilament leader to the braided line with an Albright knot. Cut the extra leader off flush with the knot. But when removing the extra length of braid, leave an inch. With nail clippers, pinch down loosely on the line near the knot, and strip it through the teeth of the clippers to fray it out. This poof of frayed braided line will float on the waters surface tension. It serves to show the angler when the bait is taken just as a strike indicator does for fly anglers.

Another trick involves intentionally piling up line on the surface of the water at the end of a cast. The goal is to deposit many curves of line so that you can easily see the curl at the end of your cast start to slowly straighten out when a fish moves with it. Try to position yourself such that the line flops onto an expansive pad of still water. Moving water will pull your line and your bait downstream, killing the absolute deadstick presentation.

With the lure about 10 feet from splashdown, pull back on your rod with the bail still open. The line will straighten out. Just before the lure hits the surface, throw your rod tip forward again. This will throw coils down onto the surface. It’s something that spooks fish with heavy fly line, but 10-pound braid lands softly.

I can usually predict if the fish is big or small by the way the line moves early in the take. You don’t have all day to set the hook, so make sure to sweep set as soon as you see any movement. Smaller fish will usually jolt the line, followed by a quick take off. The big ones will take it softly and slowly, so keep your eye focused on that little poof of frayed braid.

Another small soft plastic that works this time of year is the Hawg Head Baits Sow Tail. This small creature bait is a great profile match to the many small crawfish that inhabit the bottom of our Mid-Atlantic rivers.

I prefer to rip off the larger flappy appendages to make the bait even smaller and more crawfish like. Tail hook the bait with the same small Octopus hook on the same rod, and let it sit under foam until you see the line move off. Nail weights or short brads run shallowly under the skin of one side of the bait will cause it to fall horizontally. This also keeps the small Octopus hook turned upward, out of trouble.

There is a considerable confidence barrier when letting such a small lure sit still for so long. Many of my students struggle until they catch a few.

To help overcome this overwhelming urge, I do my best Gunny R. Lee Ermey impersonation, daring them to touch the reel handle. The curl of braided line 50-feet upstream straightens, and I calmly say in my civilian voice, “You can reel in your fish now.” I usually don’t need to drill sergeant them too long. The fish let me be the nice guy again.

Editor’s Note: Jeff Little teaches anglers how to catch smallmouth on rivers and reservoirs in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. He can be reached through his website: www.blueridgekayakfishing.com.