Jordan Lee's Top 5 Smallmouth Lures for the Northern Swing
With summer now in full effect, many professional bass fishing organizations will be winding down their trails and tours with “northern swings” up into the Northeast and Midwest. Popular summer stops usually include the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, and Lake Erie. The primary draw for these northern swings includes cooler weather and the headliner species: smallmouth.
With the final two stops of the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series season occurring on Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River in August, top pro Jordan Lee is already putting some of his favorite smallmouth baits in order. Though he hails from Alabama, Lee has fished these New York waters multiple times in his career and is very familiar with the smallmouth game on both lakes. When asked about his five must-have smallmouth lures for brown bass in the northern regions, Lee can recite them like the lyrics of his favorite song.
1. Drop Shot Rig Flat Worm
“First and foremost, Flat Worms,” he says. “I take boxes of Berkley Maxscent Flat Worms with me to smallmouth country. The 3.6-inch size is my go-to for a drop shot rig. It’s like smallmouth candy. If I could only take one rod for smallmouth, it would have a drop-shot rig with a Flat Worm on it.”
The Setup: Lee prefers to fish the Flat Worm on 6-pound test Berkley X5 Braid in a high-viz flame green color tied to 8-pound test GinClear fluorocarbon leader. His favorite weight size is 3/8-ounce for drop shotting in 10 to 25 feet of water.
Top Colors: As for Flat Worm colors for smallmouth, Lee’s first choice is Natural Shad, followed by Green Pumpkin, Goby, and Smoke Black Purple.
2. Neko-Rig Flat Worm
Lee’s follow-up to a drop-shot Flat Worm is a Neko-rigged Flat Worm, but in the bigger 4.25-inch size. He also likes a Neko-rigged 4.5-inch Maxscent Hit Worm.
“Drop-shots will always catch smallmouth, but over the last couple of years, I’ve been mixing in a Neko rig for smallmouth, and it’s been a sleeper deal for me,” he adds. “I haven’t said much about it, but it works really well. Smallmouths are funny like that: they can get immune to certain presentations. But if you take the same lure and present it differently, they go crazy for it again. The Neko rig has a slightly sleeker appearance without a drop-shot weight dangling from it.
The Setup: For Neko rigging, Lee sticks to his 6-pound test X5 to 8-pound test GinClear combo. He inserts a 3/32-, 1/8-, or a 3/16-ounce tungsten nail weight into the worm. The 3/32-ounce is perfect for shallower waters, and the heavier 3/16-ounce will carry the worm down to 25 feet.
Top Colors: His color preferences on the Hit Worm include green pumpkin, green pumpkin purple, and watermelon candy.
3. Hard Bait: Berkley Stunna 112+1 Jerkbait
Drop shots and Nekos work for pinpointing fish on the bottom. Whether they are relating to specific rock or lined up on a break suitable for drifting and dragging, the odiferous Flat Worms and Hit Worms get the call. However, if Lee is tasked with finding smallmouth in vast flats, he calls in the hard baits.
His first hard bait of choice for covering the clear-water flats of the St. Lawrence River or Champlain is a Berkley Stunna 112+1 jerkbait. Weighing in at ½-ounce and diving down to depths of 6 to 10 feet, the Stunna 112+1 will pull smallmouth from 15- to 20-foot depths on large, vast flats.
“It’s a water covering machine,” Lee says. “It throws far, dives down quickly, and really draws fish from a distance. If smallmouth are on the bottom and blending in with deep rock and rubble, this bait pulls them up and reveals them. I have found “hidden” schools this way and will come back later to target the area with more pinpoint lures like the drop shot and Neko.”
Top Colors: Lee’s three key Stunna colors are Blue Vapor OB, Shad Fillet, and something flashy like Wakasagi.
4. Topwater Bait: Berkley Bullet Pop 70
Lee rounds out his smallmouth must-haves with two different topwaters used for two different scenarios.
“The Berkley Bullet Pop 70 is a fantastic smallmouth lure, after the spawn,” he says. “Smallmouths are up shallow. There is usually some kind of mayfly hatch going on. Fish are just more surface-oriented and set up for a topwater.”
“The popper is best when the water is calm,” he adds. “If you can find some mayfly slicks around, it’s even better. It’s best to keep this bait moving and spitting along with a pretty quick cadence.”
A secret Lee offered is using black colors for topwater poppers.
“There is something about the color black that smallmouth like, and it’s an underutilized color,” he reveals. “My favorite color in the Bullet Pop is called Maverick, which is basically black. The back hook has a black and yellow teaser on it, and I think that helps get bites around mayfly rafts.
5. Topwater Bait: Cane Walker 110
Lee’s other smallmouth topwater is a Cane Walker 110. He prefers this lure when the surface has an aggressive ripple or even a small chop to it.
“Sometimes I’ll wander through large, vast grass flats just trying to cover ground to find a school of fish out in the middle of nowhere,” he explains. “The Cane Walker is a perfect search bait for this task. It’s a rowdy bait that slashes, splashes, and spits, causing the kind of commotion that calls fish up from cover. It’s an aggressive topwater that triggers the aggression of smallmouth.
Top Colors and Setup: Lee’s picks in colors for the Cane Walker include Blue Bullet most of the time and Perfect Ghost for high sky days with very little wind. His preferred line set up for both the Bullet Pop and the Cane Walker is 30-pound test X5 Braid tied to 15-pound test Big Game Mono.
When Lee heads to New York in August for the smallmouth portion of the tour, you can bet these five smallmouth must-haves will be doing work.
