Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

The first fish I ever caught on a fly rod was a smallmouth bass. I was actually trying for late spring steelhead but the big female didn’t know any better. From the first head shaking and leaping I was hooked! To this day the ‘smallie’ remains my favorite game fish.

The Smallmouth bass is native to the Great lakes and Mississippi watersheds but are now found all over North America. Almost anywhere they are introduced they seem to thrive.

Rivers
Smallmouth prefer rock and boulder strewn, gravelly, hard bottoms. You generally won't find smallmouth in areas with soft, sandy or muddy bottoms. River smallmouth will hangout in shallow rocky pools and ledges during the cooler spring weather. You will also find them on grass beds and weedy patches growing along small islands and along the banks, especially if the growth attracts forage. As the water heats up, they will tend to move to the deeper pools in the rivers main channel, or to the faster moving parts of the riffles that offer cooler water.

Lakes
In lakes smallmouth generally move to deeper water as the water warms up. They hold around structure and shade. They can be found along sunken bars, submerged islands, off points, and along drop offs and ledges. They can be found in deeper grass and weed beds, where forage and cover is available.

Spawning
Smallmouth prefer to spawn in water temperatures in the 62 to 65 degrees range. They can usually be found spawning sometime between April and June. They will spawn in depths of 2 to 10 feet. The male cleans debris from a small circular area to create the nest. The male then guards the nest for about a month after spawning to allow the fry to grow to swim freely. The male is not feeding but can be very aggressive protecting the nest. It is legal to fish them off their beds but perhaps not very sporting.

Tackle

Given the fly choices for bass you can use your trout rod for these guys. I use an 8wt, at this point, as I get to feel the fight but I can play the fish then release it quickly. If you are going to put together a system for smallies then a decent reel and a ‘bass bug’ taper is also an option. Your leader need not be more than a level piece of appropriate strength mono.

Flies

The food of the smallmouth bass is mainly composed of insects, crayfish and baitfish. They are also fond of leeches and frogs. The smallmouth bass takes this variety of food from the surface, in the water column, and off the bottom. So our flies should imitate these food sources.

If I was going to fish for smallmouth with 2 flies, I would use Muddler variations and Al’s Near ‘Nuff crayfish (tied with the hook point both up and down).

The Muddler minnow and Marabou Muddler are great baitfish imitators. The deer hair heads make them buoyant, thereby creating surface disturbance. Tied with a cone head they get down in a natural manner.

With crayfish patterns I prefer to tie hook point down most of the time. The size of these hooks penetrating the roof of any fish’s mouth (closer to their vital organs) can inflict mortal wounds particularly in smaller fish. I reserve use of ‘up’ points to situations where the fly is fished on the bottom to reduce snagging. A compromise would be to tie them with the hook point at a 90º angle.

With crayfish patterns it is best to stay on the small side and to keep the claws very small. The claws are the crayfish’s defense and large claws will make your pattern look more aggressive.

I have found bass feeding on emerging stoneflies. I have caught them on dry flies. I have found them behaving just like any trout in any stream. I guess the best advice is to be prepared for anything from sipping dry flys to slamming streamers.

Probably the most popular (and most fun) way to target these fish is with top water flies. Dahlberg divers, deer hair, balsa wood or beach sandal poppers, frog patterns etc can really trigger their predator instincts. While big splashy top water flies, like those used for pike and largemouth bass will work, I think most of the time smallies like a subtler approach. This is where a floating Muddler can really shine. Another subtler tactic is to take a deer hair fly but fish it with a sink tip. When the line is stripped in, the fly slides under the water and when released, floats back to the surface.

When fishing top water in general a common mistake is to cast then start chugging the fly in. On tough days it is best to let the fly sit until all the rings have dissipated. Of course on some days the bass are nailing the fly the second it touches down.

When

The best times are early and late both in the season and in the day which is a good rule of thumb for all fishing. “Blue Bird” days seem to be the best for most cool water fish and the smallie is no exception. High barometric pressure, stable weather and fishing in the time from full moon till new moon. In the middle of summer I would avoid daytime fishing and focus on early morning and evenings.

So there you have - it an introduction to my favorite fly rod species and, hopefully, soon to be yours.