smallmouth lures

encourage them to eat in cool waters with spoons and spinners

 

The Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) is one of the most popular North American game fish, second only to the Largemouth bass and Florida Largemouth Bass. Like all North American fresh water bass the smallmouth are members of the sunfish family.

 

They’re also known as black bass, smallie, redeye, bronzeback, brown bass and the brownie. They have a preference for clear lakes and rivers with moderate to low turbidity.

Smallmouth Bass Fishing

These are a top fighting fish and are known for putting up a great fight. When you set your hook on one of these fish, you’ll think that you have a much bigger fish than you end up reeling in because they put up such a great fight that lasts for some time.

 

These are energetic and aggressive fish preferring fast moving water, but still at home in large clear lakes. Many anglers consider Smallmouth Bass fishing to be well worth the effort for this top fighter. However when the waters cool down they do become lethargic and slow to feed. This is common to all fresh water species.

 

The best way to encourage them to eat in cool waters is through spoons and spinners, which appeal to their sense of territory.

  • Try casting within a few feet of them and reeling the bait within 6 inches of where they’re hovering.

Landing the Smallmouth takes some skill. Hooking this fish doesn’t guarantee that you’ll land the fish in the boat as they quite often succeed in shaking the lure from its mouth by jumping and twisting into the air. When caught in the depths they burrows into the weed bed for cover. This makes the angler have to work to land the fish.

 

At the turn of the twentieth century Smallmouth Bass fishing was a commercial endeavour. However today it’s relegated to being a top game fish with a rather large industry built around the fish.

 

They are many lodges that focus on Smallmouth Bass trips. There are TV shows that cover Smallmouth tournaments and of course there’s the tackle.

 

Smallmouth bass fishing provides hundreds of millions of dollars to the North American economy.

Table Fare

Not only are they known for their fighting abilities, but they’re well known for the taste of their meat both at the campfire and the dinning room table.