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I have a lake relitively close to me that has a fairly good population of smallies in it. I'm new to this type of fishing ( was raised with a fly rod) so when can I start fishing for them?
Also when fishing for them in the spring what kind of lures do I need to be throwing etc. In the summer/fall I was using 4"plastic worms dragging them slowly along the bottom will this work in spring also?
Any help from yawl would be gr8ly appreciated
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if theres crawdads in there, i would get some plastic crawdads - small shallow running plugs too as it warms up and they start coming in . .
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Don't put your fly rod up yet, some of my best smallie fishing on Flaming Gorge was trolling a green wooley bugger from my float tube with sinking line. It wasn't uncommon to have 30-40 fish in 3-4 hours in the evening.
The crawdads at the gorge have a greenish tint to them so that is why green worked the best there. If there are crawdads in there the smallies will likely be keying on them. If the crawdads are a different color in your lake then I would match the color of the naturals with a bugger or crawdad imitation.
Smallies will be dormant in water colder than 40 degrees unless there is a shortage of food and then they will feed aggressively year round. I have never had good luck in colder weather. When the water gets around 50 degrees they will start fattening up for the spawn and staging near gravelly areas. When the water gets to be 60 or so degrees they will start spawning and will be found in the shallows where good spawning gravel and pebbles are.
From 50 degree water to after the spawn is probably the best time to target them if you can find good spawning water. If you can find structure in spawning habitat, you will have your best chances at bigger ones. The bigger fish will have the best spawning sites. They like both shade and one side protected from hungry egg eaters. After the spawn, the males will stay and protect their nest. If you can find one protecting, you can cast a large lure or streamer and elicit a protection bite. After they are released watch it go right back to the same spot. You can sometimes catch them more than once off of the exact spot.
In the post spawn period and through the summer they can be found in areas with large rocks where crawdads can hide and at the mouth of narrow bays where a group of smallies can corner a group of bait fish.
Another thing to note is that they are very sensitive to sound. Dropping something in the bottom of an aluminum boat will shut off all but the smallest fish. I think this is why I had such luck with a float tube.
The saying "birds of a feather flock together" holds true for the Bronzeback as well. If you are catching a bunch of small fish, you are not likely to tie into any lunkers in the same area, so move around till you find the pods of bigger ones.
I also had great luck with spinners and rapalas. I tried to get spinners that also matched the naturals and that somewhat looked like crawdads. Roostertails and panther martins seemed to do the best.
They are a blast to catch, I can remember the first one that I caught. I thought it was a 3 pounder but when I landed I saw that is was only 10" long. Pound for pound they are some fighting fish. They are a blast on a fly rod.
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I'd have to agree with P.Hopper on the fly rod and wooly buggers. In fact, it is my preferred method of catching smallies when at all possible. There is just something magical about catching a hard fighting smallie on a flimsy fly rod. I don't know what specific waters you will be targeting, but I have had great luck at both Newcastle and Otter Creek fishing a large (size 6 to 2) bead head olive wooly buggers fished on sinking line. Since I tie my own, I also will add a some flashy material to the dubbing and a little into the tail which seems to make some difference. Also don't worry about using the traditional small tipit materials. A good sized smally will make short work of that in no time. I use at least 4lb mono which usually does great. Good Luck!
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why in the world would you want o put up your fly rod anyway
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I am primarilly a spin fisherman. I'll even say the best time I ever had fishing Smallies was at Deer Creek, on a fly rod and sinking line. They already fight pound for pound as well as anything I've tied into. You put that fight on a fly rod, you're talking a good time to me. Poppers on floating line for Large Mouths on Steinaker is a pretty good time too.
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EXPAND THOES HORIZONS ! HEY EVEN TRY AN ULTRA-LITE ! MAN THATS FUN !
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going backwards is fun too, i thought it was silly to use a cane pole until i caught 20 crappie with a 12 footer or something like that 2 yrs ago . . . and a bobber !!!!!
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I HAVE AN OLD EMPLOYER , THAT OWNED A STEEL PLANT SOUTH OF DETROIT , VERY WELL OFF FINACUALLY , AND JUST AS " ROBUST " IN STATURE , ONE BIG GUY ! TROUT FISHERMAN TOO , BUT WITH HIS LARGE SIZE HE FOUND IT HARD TO SNEAK UP ON THE FISH . HIS SOLUTION WAS A CANE POLE . DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE TO THE FISH , JUST THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB .
THERES NO SHAME IN A CANE POLE , IN THE VERY EARLY DAYS OF FISHING WITH A ROD THEY USED STICKS WITH SHEEP GUT STRIPS AS STRING . AT FIRST I BET EVERYONE THOUGHT THAT FISHING THAT WAY WASEN'T GOING TO CATCH ON , LOOK AT US NOW ! WE HAVE AS MANY DIVERSE WAYS OF FISHING AS WE DO KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD . EACH ONE SPECIAL UNTO IT'S OWN .
SHORT VERSON , NO MATER HOW YOU FISH , FISHING ROCKS !
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