Give them competition for the food.
I had all three of mine take pellets from day one after quarantine. A couple of hungry Warmouths, half a dozen Missouri Longear Sunnies, an Ogun Koi & Bowfin (All juveniles) as tankmates. They have no chance being finicky.
Mine (also from Johna's) act similar to the wild small mouths that I have dealt with fishing. While only slightly smaller in body size than it's cousin the LMB, it is many times (if not an order of magnitude) more aggressive of feeders than LMB's.
Any fisherman will tell you, with a lunker LMB, you need to cast your bait/ lure to it and basically put it in that monster mouth. They are LAZY!! Bowfins are also "ambush" predators and not aggressive hunters. Smallmouths are far more like Pickerel hunting and eating. They will swim great lengths in pursuit of food. The Smallmouth is not lightning like the pickerel and therefore have a lower successful strike ratio than pikes and pickerels.
My three SMB saw the pan fish attacking the pellets and immediately followed suite. They have never refused ANY type of food placed in the aquarium (Cut Tilapia fillet is a staple), nor have the spit out any food. Never have fed live to that tank!
They were the first to hit the food on day two, and have NEVER failed to beat the rest of the fish to first bites every since.