I fish for them quite a bit. But, the fish here are rarely out in the open. Right now the river I fish is so low and clear but you have to look for darker moving water and bubbles floating on top of the moving water with calm pocket to the side against a bank or something. Nine times out of ten they are there in the calmer water waiting for something to fly by. Cast to the calm water and strip across the riffles .Not sure if the cruiser feel comfortable in clear water and might be skittish for you. I throw bigger popper 2-4 and muddlers and gurglers this time of year because the water here is still above 70 in the fall it seems to be active subsurface. If you can ignore the cruisers and look for darker safer water throw a topwater. Smallmouth are very reactionary and competitive alot of takes come on as soon or very soon after the fly hits the water here. I hope this helps a little bit.
Janus