The changing seasons are mood swingers for smallmouth, meaning you must be adaptable to trying different techniques and lures. Here are some pointers for the changing seasons.

Jerkbaits: Many anglers fish jerkbaits for smallmouth using a fast action to incite a reaction bite. Instead, in the springtime, cast the jerkbait out, crank it down eight or 10 cranks pretty hard, stop it, and leave it stationary. Then use your rod tip to pull it slowly like you’d work a Carolina-rigged worm across the bottom. The bait will wobble slowly. Take up the slack, and once again pull the lure slowly with your rod tip. Fish a jerkbait in stained or cold water, especially when the temperature falls below 48 degrees. In clear water, fish a brightly colored jerkbait with a lot of red in it, a chrome with a blue back or a chrome with a black back.

Soft Plastics: To fish without your line twisting, tie a barrel swivel on your main line with a 6-inch leader the same size as the main line. Then, tie the hook going into the soft-plastic onto the leader. Once rigged, cast the soft-plastic bait close to the bank or to visible targets like brush, stumps and logs. Let the bait fall to the bottom, give it a twitching action to make it jump off the bottom, and then let it fall back to the bottom. Most of the time, you’ll never feel the strike; you’ll just see your line moving sideways.

* Crankbaits: Fish the brightest lipless crankbait you can find, like bright orange or bright chartreuse, around gravel flats. Even in stained water, the smallmouth will attack the bait. There’s something about fishing a bright-colored, fast-moving, rattling bait in shallow water that is irresistible to smallmouth.