spring smallies

either on a drop shot or 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig head.  I prefer jig head this time of year

ORIGINAL: kayak99

You could texas rig it weightless for slow current situations and if you need weight, split shot it about a foot or more above the hook.

 
That's an excellent suggestion......Most anglers regularly use the small Gulp! stuff on a drop shot or jig head like mentioned. A split shot rig is an often overlooked and forgotten technique and a great shallow water tactic. It also excells in current, all you have to do is match your split shot size to the amount of current your fishing.

ORIGINAL: jolie

do you guys catch them this early- good job!... I've caught them in a warm water outlet all winter long before... but in the open river, I figured there tough if not impossible to catch colder than 50°.

so apart from warm water outlets (which are rare), where do these guys like to hang out (in the river), in the early spring...shallow or deep?  do they retreat to dead water, or hang to the bottom (like a walleye)??  It would be nice to catch smallmouth before they go out of season....

 
 
Yes they certainly can be caught this early, and if you DO catch one this early, it's usually a biggun.
 
50d, and they're usually all over the river. Below that, they're concentrated somewhere.
 
Early Spring, below 50d: Deep. Above 50d: Everywhere.
 
And for the record, in Pa., they're not in season yet.
 
 

ORIGINAL: ready2fish

ORIGINAL: kayak99

You could texas rig it weightless for slow current situations and if you need weight, split shot it about a foot or more above the hook.

That's an excellent suggestion......Most anglers regularly use the small Gulp! stuff on a drop shot or jig head like mentioned. A split shot rig is an often overlooked and forgotten technique and a great shallow water tactic. It also excells in current, all you have to do is match your split shot size to the amount of current your fishing.

 
Thanks r2f!  I fish several plastic lures, gulp baits, flukes and even some tubes that way varying the wide gap hook sizes to match the size of the lure as well as to manage the weight.  Occasionally I need to add the split shot when I want to bounce through riffles.  The split shot sometimes hangs a bit, really throwing the lure around.
 
 
 

ORIGINAL: ready2fish

And for the record, you are permitted to fish for them while they are out of season, you must immediately release them.

 
I always C&R bass which makes for some great three season bass fishing and since I pretty much gave up trout fishing some streams have very few people in them during the spring months.