| This is even more apparent in some of our slack | | | | Locating and then catching big smallmouth is a real |
| water reservoirs. Smallmouth relates much more | | | | challenge. That is why it is so much fun. Hopefully |
| to a sudden or rapid depth change than they do | | | | by reading some of these methods you have |
| cover. When we fish for largemouth, we are all | | | | gained a better understanding of where these |
| taught to fish brush piles and thick weed beds, | | | | trophy fish go and what they are looking for, and |
| but small mouth bass are more likely to be caught | | | | of course, this will hopefully get you the fish of a |
| on a rock ledge that drops off quickly from about | | | | lifetime. |
| six to twelve feet. | | | | The best method is to cast shallow and retrieve |
| When fishing in the reservoirs here such as | | | | the lure slowly back towards the deeper water. |
| Conowingo, or in the rivers like the Susquehanna, | | | | Slowly is the key word here. In cold water, a |
| small mouths are sometimes caught shallow, but | | | | slow, steady retrieve is deadly for big smallmouth. |
| they are seldom more than 10-20 yards away | | | | When the water starts to get above 50 degrees, |
| from deep water. | | | | the smallmouth will start to move around the flats |
| Everywhere we go, we see the majority of bass | | | | more. Some of the best spots for smallmouth |
| anglers beating the shoreline, and as this may | | | | don't really look very good to the average angler |
| work for largemouth bass most of the time, if | | | | that is used to fishing for largemouth. The better |
| you are after big smallmouth bass, turn around | | | | areas are just some pea gravel or some clay |
| and cast to the open water rather than beat the | | | | with maybe a stump or two, but fish these areas |
| shore. | | | | slowly now, and you will connect with a big |
| Unlike largemouth, smallmouth often group | | | | smallmouth. Swimming a Yamamoto grub in these |
| together by size. We found that if we were | | | | types of areas is absolutely deadly at these |
| catching smaller fish, in the eleven to fourteen | | | | water temperatures. Keep working these areas |
| inch range, we rarely caught a big one in the | | | | slowly and don't move too quickly, and you will |
| same area. | | | | hook one of the better smallmouth in the area. |
| On the other hand, when we caught a small | | | | Many times here in the northeast, we get a lot of |
| mouth that was | | | | heavy rains, which really muddies up the water |
| About four or five pounds, many times there | | | | such as the Susquehanna River and flats. This can |
| were several that size and even larger swimming | | | | really ruin a lot of the small mouth fishing, but |
| right along with them. Big largemouth bass are | | | | finding clearer water can produce good fish even |
| loners, usually found by them on the best piece | | | | under these adverse conditions, as we proved |
| of structure, while larger smallmouth bass will | | | | earlier this year out on the flats. By searching out |
| often school together. There are several things | | | | some clear water in the same type of areas, we |
| that tell you that smallmouth bass are much | | | | connected with several big fish while we were |
| better suited for strong current than largemouth. | | | | hearing nothing but complaints from other anglers. |
| For one, their pointed noses and the sharp angle | | | | In lakes or reservoirs, as well as the rivers, if you |
| of their fins are indicators that they are more | | | | move to the back of creek arms and crank the |
| suited to current. They often get behind a rock | | | | advancing mud line, you can still connect with |
| or stump and rush out to feed. | | | | good fish. |