What you need to know for smallies.

[ROBZILLA]

This is a heads up on targeting those hard to catch Smallmouths.

Smallmouths, unlike their largemouth relatives, tend to be inactive at night, according to one study completed on several Ontario lakes. Shortly after sunset, smallmouths were found to move to deeper water and “rest on the bottom,� where they were approached by divers. During the day, however, smallmouths were difficult to get close to underwater. Scientists say that bass feed opportunistically, as the opportunity resents itself during the daylight hours. Which depths do smallmouth bass prefer? According to many studies, bass seem to adapt well to great variations in water depth. The fish were repeatedly observed sunning themselves in quiet, shallow water, but were also radio-tracked as deep as 80 feet in the same or similar water bodies. The reason for such diversity is usually related to forage-base availability. For instance, bass taken out of 55 to 80 foot depths from Cayuga lake in New York had alewives in their stomachs, while most shallow water fish had a higher proportion of crayfish present. Smallmouths are not classified as true schooling fish, but they do aggregate Schools have been observed in deep water along limestone ridges and other rock bluffs in early September, when surface temperature began to drop. Tag returns from lakes Michigan, Erie, Ontario and Huron indicate very little smallmouth migration, especially when compared with similar studies done on other species.

[ROBZILLA]

What do smallmouths like to eat? Smallies eat a lot of things, and yeas, research has shown that the fish really key on crayfish when given the opportunity. In six separate studies on a variety of waters nationwide, crayfish comprised more than two-thirds of the fish’s diet. But the studies discovered another smallmouth delicacy: tadpoles. One report revealed that smallmouths prefer tadpoles over more common foods such as bluegills and golden shiners. Another study found tadpoles in the bellies of the fish “out of proportion to their availability�; this indicates that smallies may hunt for tadpole treats. Seasonal changes in smallmouth diet were found to be minimal compared with those of other fish species. The progression of preferred food sources, learned from one experiment conducted on Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas, was typical: mayflies in the spring, young shad in the summer, and crayfish in the late fall and winter. In the winter, under-ice bass may not feed at all, according to one biologist in an Ontario report. He examined the stomach contents of many fish in mid April and found the belly cavities shrunken and full of mucus, with no digested food particles present.

[ROBZILLA]

Their preferred temperatures for the spring, summer and fall ranged from the mid 60s to the mid 80s. In the winter, they chose cooler water, as low as the mid 50s. In another report, the preferred midsummer temperature proved to be about 83 degrees. Observations made in the field, however, revealed that more bass seemed to reside in the 68 to 70 degree temperature zone. Good smallmouth lakes should be fairly large, clear and deeper than 30 feet.

[WTL]

Smallies, inactive at night? Someone should tell the boys on wilson that. Wonder if Ranger will comment on this thread.

[PowerBass]

Very good read Rob. Thanks, as Im new to smallmouths, never caught one in my life.

[Sluggo Man]

Bronzebacks are fun to catch. I've recently been going to the river to try and catch more of them.

Tip: In a tidal river, try smallmouth fishing as the tide is coming in. When the tide goes out, bigger fish such as striped bass and bluefish tend to feed, so the smaller (in relation to a 30 lb striper) predators like smallmouth bass and trout tend to feed when the tide is coming in.

This works for the upper parts of a tidal river where the water is fresh.

[GBALFOD]

IMO, smallies are more fun to catch that largemouths when you consider them pound for pound. Smallies usually fight like they're posessed. a 4 pound smallmouth will destroy a 4 pound largemouth in the fighting aspect.

[Sluggo Man]

Not to mention smallmouth give much better jumps during the fight.

[GBALFOD]

Originally Posted by Sluggo Man

Not to mention smallmouth give much better jumps during the fight.

very true!

[haynesn12]

i have realized alot of that is true up by me. basically because the smallmouths are alot more common up here then largemouths. but i have found that during the day they do tend to school up in some areas during the day. they like brighter colors that a largemouth wont even look at and they tend to have atiutudes. a 4lb large dosnt fight like a smally liek said before but a lgmotuh will also let you pick it up by the lip where as most of the smallies bite me if i try to.

[Todd_Rose]

More smallmouth and bigger smallmouth are caught at night on Kentucky lake.

No one told the Kentucky lake smallmouth that they were inactive at night