Summer has gotten under way with historically low water and high air temperatures, both of which can put a lot of stress on our trout fisheries.
What else can we do if we’re not fishing for trout?
House projects are caught up, garden chores are done and the yard’s mowed. Now what?
Target smallmouth bass on the fly
Bronzebacks, small jaws, smallies or whatever you want to call them can be an absolute blast with fly gear. Aggressive eats, surface explosions and a fully bent rod make this fish a formidable opponent. You may even get to use your reel, which is a rarity in trout fishing. If you’re out West, targeting this invasive fish can also benefit native fish stocks.
Don’t get me wrong: I love trout. I probably wouldn’t be allowed to work at Trout Unlimited if I didn’t, but smallmouth are my favorite fish to target in the summer. I also think they make me a better trout angler.
Break out the streamers for smallies
One of my favorite ways to target summer smallmouths is with streamers. You really don’t need anything special. A lot of the same streamers you might fish for trout will absolutely work for smallmouth.
I like many Kelly Gallup patterns and Blane Chocklett’s Game Changers because they’re fun to tie and have great action in the water. You can also use traditional trout patterns like Wolly Buggers, leeches and Muddler Minnows. Clouser Minnows, Murdich Minnows and Wiggle Minnows are smallmouth staples.
Gear for smallmouth
For gear, a 5-weight can be a little light, but if that’s all you have, don’t let that stop you. I use a 6- or 7-weight with either a floating or sink tip line. When fishing deeper water (5 feet deep and deeper) or using unweighted flies, a sink tip line or poly leader can be a big help.
If you’re fishing in shallower water or with weighted flies, a floating line will suffice. Trout taper fly lines work too. Flies smaller than size 4 will turn over well with a trout taper, but you may need to open your cast as fly sizes increase. Leaders aren’t nearly as important for bass as trout. A tapered leader between 6-8 feet long with a 3x or even heavier leader will help you turn over bigger flies.
Finding bronzebacks
Where should you look for smallmouth? Most streams and rivers in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast contain smallmouth bass. And, again, they’re even becoming a conservation issue in some water bodies in the West, which is outside of their native range, because of predation on imperiled native salmonids.
To narrow down your search, you can usually find species lists by water body on your state’s DNR website.
Diving deeper into catching small jaws
So, there are smallmouths in your local creek or river; let’s drill down a little deeper to target them effectively.
Smallmouths are a lot like trout. meaning they’re kind of lazy. They like to hang out behind rocks, wood or in deep holes just like trout. Anywhere the stream flow changes and creates a seam is a good place to start. Off color water is also helpful since, like trout, they can be spooky.
When fishing streamers, aim for your fly to land beyond your target and let it drift towards it while you strip. Giving a few pauses on your retrieve can help trigger a strike.
Smallmouths will also follow a fly, so don’t stop retrieving until you feel a strike and strip set the hook by pulling the fly line hard straight back and not lifting your rod. This is different than setting a hook on a trout. If you raise your rod to set the hook, you’ll end up missing fish.
If you miss on a strip set, keep your rod tip down and keep stripping because the fish may come back and hit. Smallmouths like to stun their prey, which is why pauses are so important, and they’re used to circling back to strike more than once.
If the water is clear and the fish are deep in holes, you may need to dredge your fly through that hole to trigger a strike. Slowing down your retrieve, choosing a smaller fly, letting the fly sink to the bottom and slowly twitching the fly can be effective.
Streamer strikes aren’t as dramatic as topwater, but once a smallie takes the fly, the battle is on. Always keep pressure on a hooked fish; these bass are fighters, and they’ll take you into cover or head downstream.
Many benefits to chasing smallies
As we enter the dog days of summer, consider leaving trout alone when conditions will contribute to catch-and-release mortality. You might find a pleasant surprise in targeting some other non-trout species like smallmouth bass. Doing so will help our trout get through these times of heat and low water and keep you fishing. It might even make you a better all-around angler.