Do in-line spinners and spoons still catch smallmouth?
They do — they have simply fallen out of fashion. A small in-line spinner is one of the best lures ever made for river and stream smallmouth: cast across and slightly upstream, retrieved just fast enough to turn the blade, it takes fish all summer and is a perfect wading lure. On lakes it is a fair search bait over shallow rock, though it twists line and hooks a lot of small fish. Casting spoons are more occasional: a slim spoon thrown far and burned catches smallmouth that are chasing bait at the surface, and a heavy spoon doubles as a jigging bait in cold water. Neither replaces a tube or a jerkbait, but in moving water the spinner deserves a permanent place in the box.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about What this means for fishing
- What are the best conditions for a smallmouth trip?
- Why does finesse fishing rule for smallmouth?
- When should I throw moving baits instead of finesse?
- How do I fight a smallmouth — bow to the jump?
- What about barotrauma when I catch smallmouth from 10 m (33 ft) or deeper?
- What is the best season to catch a trophy smallmouth?
- Do smallmouth bite at night?
- Does rain help or hurt smallmouth fishing?
- How do I avoid deep-hooking smallmouth on finesse baits, and how should I hold one?
- Is live bait effective for smallmouth bass?
- Can you troll for smallmouth bass?
Same topic, other species
- Can you catch crappie on a fly rod? — Crappie
- Can you catch largemouth bass on a fly rod? — Largemouth Bass
- Bucktails, rubber, gliders, topwater — when do I throw which? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Can you catch yellow perch on a fly rod? — Yellow Perch
- Spoons, inline spinners, or soft baits — when does each shine? — Northern Pike
- Spinners, spoons, or flies — when should I throw which? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- Do hair jigs, spinners and spoons have a place in walleye fishing? — Walleye