Smallie Strategies

So, I’ve been wanting to target smallies a bit more, taking some breaks from the traditional walleye stuff. That and my 7 yr old son wants to learn casting a bit more this year. I’ve only really done it in short bursts, with mixed results. I figure, this time of year is prime.

So far I basically have been targeting rock piles on the NE and E side of the lake. I’ve been mainly focused on 7-12 feet of water, and looking for bigger boulders. My two main presentations are casting smaller crankbaits and pitching jigs / plastics. I just bought a Storm 360 search bait last weekend, but it basically looks similar to other paddle tails I already have. I think the idea with the search baits is to slow, steady retrieve vs. jig-hop back?

Anyway…. any bass guys can give me pointers if I’m on the right track?

Thanks,

In another week or two ( When the water temps reach Low to Mid 60’s ) both the smallmouth and largemouth will start to move into the shallow bays ( Cove and Isle to name a few ) to spawn. Once they are there they are easy and fun to target. A chatterbait, Spinnerbait, or Swim jig are all good baits to try when they are shallow or on beds. if you can see fish on beds a stick worm rigged wacky style is hard to beat. I like white because its easier to see when the fish pick them up. Often they will just pick up the bait and move it off the bed and then spit it out. You may have to set the hook rather fast. If you catch the smaller male off the bed. hold it in your livewell while you target the female. it’s hard to catch the large females unless you get the male off the bed first. Be sure to release both the males and females as soon as possible after a few quick pictures. pre spawn you are looking in the correct area’s. My go to baits on the mid dept. rocks are jerkbaits and a Ned rig or tube jig. Sometimes they want the jerk bait worked fast and erratic and other really slow with long pauses. Good luck and keep up posted on how you are doing

Thanks Thumper.

Last weekend we tried for a short while, but it seems like nothing was in the shallows and we didn’t see any other boats (in by shore) catch anything either. I then listened to a Tony Roach podcast and he said since the water temps dropped the fish moved deeper (temporarily). So, I’m going to stick with my game plan and see what happens this weekend. Might have to add a spinnerbait and maybe a wacky worm into the mix as well.

Keep a Eye on that water Temp in the Bay’s. With the Temp today and the forecasted temp for tomorrow it may happen fast. I think with all the up and down water temps its going to happen fast once the Temps get right. Good luck to you

I was out there today. Boated 11 smallmouth, 5 over 17 inches including a 21 incher. I saw some beds but fish are not spawning yet. Water temps were near 60. Caught most of the fish on a perch colored jerk bait which was kinda cool.

I wouldn’t spend much time targeting a bedded bass. They are not interested in eating. You have to aggregate them to get a defensive bite and I’ve never had much luck with it.

Lindy, your on the right track targeting large boulders. The key is to make long casts. If you get on top of them, the fish will know your there and either leave or just not bite. Mark spots on your gps and return to them from a distance.

Agreed. Targeting bass on the beds is wrong. Let them do their business in peace.

Well, funny how things work out, especially with little kids. Took my son out to cast for bass on a spot I’ve gotten a few before. After about 20 minutes he got tired of casting and wanted to troll. After another 20 minutes my wife called on the marine radio and she and my 3 yr old daughter wanted to come out in the boat. We did catch some fish, but not really much in the way of targeting smallies again. LOL, see how next weekend goes…

The smallies will be up shallow in full force this week I’d imagine. Water temp was just tickeling 60F Saturday morning and many fish caught and seen 5-10 feet with a few up shallow less than 5 feet.

If I had one bait to toss all year for smallies, it would be a 1/8 oz tube jig. Pumpkin/glitter.

-J.

The smallies were in the shallows I believe. At least you could see them in the harbor on beds. They were in like 1-2 feet of water, at least the ones on beds that you could easily see. They were not interested in biting though, watched several people try to tempt them and nobody got bit that I saw.

Again, spent a short amount of time targeting them on the lake. Casted crankbaits on a few rockpiles, nothing. Watched a few other bass boats for awhile and didn’t see them hook up either. Then tried a Ned rig for the first time, but didn’t really like it. It was a 1/10 oz jig head (all the other ones at the store were actually lighter weight) and I could barely feel bottom or know what was going on with it. Plus, the tail has no action so that was further reducing my confidence with it. I know the Ned rig is a finesse option, but anyway it was not working for me.

Talked to a resort owner, who said sometimes when the bass bed up they are not interested in feeding at all. He said they did very well on smallies a week ago Sunday, but the very next day nothing.

Also had a buddy who went after smallies on Sunday and got nothing.

All good though… we absolutely hammered the walleye

lindyrig79 wrote:

Talked to a resort owner, who said sometimes when the bass bed up they are not interested in feeding at all. He said they did very well on smallies a week ago Sunday, but the very next day nothing.

That pretty much sums up my experience. A week ago I was getting a smallie on every 2-3 casts, just fishing from my dock. I had a few projects this weekend so did not get much time to fish, but did try casts off the dock on several free moments and got nothing. Incredibly different than it was just a week before.

lindyrig79 wrote:

The smallies were in the shallows I believe. At least you could see them in the harbor on beds. They were in like 1-2 feet of water, at least the ones on beds that you could easily see. They were not interested in biting though, watched several people try to tempt them and nobody got bit that I saw.

I witnessed the same thing a couple of years ago. I could see well over a hundred fish along a shoreline and they weren’t interested in anything I casted at them at all. Certainly had their blinders on and were only interested in getting down to business.

Before and after they spawn they will protect their bed. However when they are actively spawning you can drop a 1/2 jig on their head and they will not move. They are focused on spawning during that time and will not eat.

Just thought I would update this. The last couple weeks of June I got some smallmouth patterns figured out. Basically 6-10 ft of water and casting a little cotton Cordell rattling crank bait in a crawfish color has produced most of the fish.

I’ve noticed that varying the speed of retrieve, as well as pausing on occasion has triggered strikes.

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