Where did you get them? I got mine from jonah's aquarium and It ate bloodworms, clam, and beef-heart frozen cubes right away. I do not know how long they were kept in an aquarium, or even if they are a captive bred smallmouth bass. Honestly, bloodworms work for any fish I ever get, then I switch them over to something else like beef-heart and squid. I'm just posting my experience with the one bass I have, so listen to the others more than me since I've only had the bass since February. I have read that they love crayfish. I would feed mine crayfish if I could find any that are for food and not pets.