Smallmouth Bass Fishing
April 21, 2009
I was crappie fishing in early spring the first time I hooked a really big smallmouth. The boat was in the back of a cove and I cast a 2-inch chartreuse Power Grub on a 1/32-ounce jighead into the shallow water. There was no warning, my line just started to peel off the reel at light-speed and the little ultra-light rod bent almost double as the big bronzeback streaked under the boat and headed for parts unknown.
I was in the back of the boat, but the guy up front had his head together. He raised the big motor and turned the boat simultaneously, freeing my line from the bottom of the boat. Then we started chasing the fish.
I was using 4-pound-test mono and my tiny reel didn’t hold much line, even with line that small. The huge smallmouth jumped a couple of times, and each time the three of us in the boat would gasp. After what seemed like an eternity, the fish began to tire. Taking care not to reel while line was peeling out, I slowly got the big smallie closer and closer. Finally, I had her right up near the boat. My buddy was leaning over the side with the net and she was almost within reach. The excitement was too much - I pulled back on the rod and discovered that she had one more surge left in her. She gave a mighty lunge just as I pulled and the line snapped. After one horrified cry, the three of us stood there silently looking at the water where the fish had been. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so crushed by a lost fish before or since. That’s the power of the smallmouth.
That fish grows with every telling. It started out as five pounds, but my two crappie-fishing buddies allow her to get a little bigger every time they try to publicly shame me by recounting my failure to boat her. And our story almost never fails to elicit a similar tale from other fishermen. Their regret is intensified by the thought that they will never again hook such a big smallmouth - that they blew their one chance in a lifetime to land a trophy smallie.
The fact is, smallmouth bass are less numerous than largemouths, and they seem harder to pattern and catch. The biggest smallmouth ever recorded (over eleven pounds) is about half the weight of the biggest largemouth, and most fishermen would consider a smallmouth of four or five pounds to be a trophy. Smallmouth are limited in their range by their temperature requirements, and they are more selective feeders than largemouth bass. They do not like muck and mud, so extremely fertile lakes with lots of shallow water and heavy vegetation are unlikely places to find a trophy smallmouth.
The ideal lake for big smallmouth bass should have plenty of deep water over twenty-five feet deep. The summer water temperature should not go above 80 degrees at the very most, and they would prefer it to stay under 72. A little current is a plus, and the bottom should be mostly hard, with plenty of broken rocks with resident crawfish. These conditions usually make for clear water.
Smallmouth will usually spawn when the water is about sixty to sixty-five degrees. They prefer gravel or clay flats and humps and usually use the more protected coves. Since smallmouth are generally in very clear water, their nests are often too deep to see. Many times, the bigger smallmouth start making a move toward spawning grounds when the water is still in the 50’s. The actual spawn has a lot to do with the phase of the moon – the days near the full moon are when most of them make their move. If the weather is unsettled and the water muddies up, they’ll move off and wait for the next moon. You can find them spawning in water as warm as the high 60’s and even the low 70’s if the conditions haven’t been right before that.
Smallmouth bass are very territorial, much more so than largemouth bass are. A good smallmouth habitat will hold many generations of fish, and they may never roam more than a couple of hundred yards in their entire lifetime. Smallmouth territory should have a large rocky flat for feeding, good cover, a reliable food supply and quick access to deeper water. By deeper, a smallmouth means 40 - 50 feet deep, not necessarily clear down to the deepest part of the lake. The steeper the drop the better, and if it's a rocky drop, you've found the perfect home for smallmouth bass. Crawfish live in rocks, and when they are available, crawfish will make up over half of a smallmouth’s diet.
Smallmouth bass in rivers are usually smaller and stronger than those in lakes because they have to deal with current from the day they are spawned. These river smallies love areas of slack water not too far from the main current. Fish both in front of and behind large rocks and laydowns, and pay particular attention to pools that lie immediately downstream from long riffles. River smallmouth will take the same lures as their bigger brothers that live in lakes, but you may want to down-size your lures if you're fishing a stream.
On early summer mornings or just at dusk, when smallmouth are taking topwater baits, try small Zara Spooks, Tiny Torpedoes, and small poppers or flies. Senkos and cut worms and jerk baits are also worth a try. If a fish follows your lure and doesn't take it, switch to throwing an un-weighted grub--twitch the lure softly and let it sink between twitches.
In lakes, smallmouth are not necessarily all at the same depth at the same time. Although they prefer 60 - 70 degree water, if there is no food at that level, they'll move to find food. In summer, when the surface temperature is up in the 70's and 80's, night time is better fishing than day time. Smallmouth will go to shorter points, preferring points with good rocks. This is the time to fish with small jigs and spinners. Dark colored crankbaits are also dynamite for smallmouth at night. I’ve had them hit a crankbait so hard they smacked into the side of the boat.
As the water cools down in the fall and the smallmouth begin to school into bigger groups, topwater baits can once again be effective. Even suspended fish can be caught on topwater--they'll come up for a lure when they won't dive for one. In water as cold as 50 degrees, lures like the Zara Spook, Tiny Torpedo, and Rico can be killer when fished on long points over deep water. The trick is to stay as far back as you can, make a long cast, then sit and wait for all the ripples to die off. Make tiny twitches, just enough to activate the lure. This will often trigger suspended fish into striking.
There are lots of lures that can be worked through suspended fish -- spoons are ideal because they are heavy enough to get down quickly and have a great wobble and flash. Inline spinners and small jigs are also a good choice, and all of these lures can be fished vertically, giving you more control over the depth.
Smallmouth relate to cover, but they are usually near it rather than right inside of it. If you are faced with a big weed bed, in other words, fishing IN the weeds will probably get you a largemouth, while fishing the deeper water outside the weeds is more likely to land you a smallie. Learning the subtle differences between largemouth and smallmouth will help you catch more smallmouth. The best way to do that is to pay close attention to where, when, and how you catch them. Try keeping notes, and pretty soon you’ll have a really good idea of where the smallmouth hang out most on your home lake.