How do I fish for smallmouth bass on a shallow northern U.S. lake in the fall?
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I’m taking some kids fishing on a northern lake and we will be going after smallmouth bass. I fish smallies on the rivers often, but never on lakes. Sounds like a clear lake, deepest is 40 feet.
Do I stick with grubs, crankbait the banks and submerged rocks, etc?
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Try a top water lure. Buzz bait or a hula popper.
I would go with shiners at or near a dropoff. The bass will be going back and forth between the deeper water to the more shallow water in search of food around this time of year.
I would be looking for topwater lures(tiny torpedo’s) over the same terrain you would be fishing for river smallmouth……….
assuming the Lake HAS smallies, I’d look for stream or river inlets where the water is more oxygenated and cooler, additionally the spots where the fish will be will change with the time of day.
Closer to the shore in the early mornings and evenings deeper during the mid day.
Oxygen requirements of smallmouth bass are higher than Largemouth so they move with the day cycle in shallow water lakes.
Use crawlers and a Lindy rig, or just a small lead weight so it doesn’t snag in/on the rocks. Good luck! Smallies are my favorite fish to catch.
smallies in the fall love a live minnow on a bobber which is a hell of a lot easier to use with kids than having them all throwing baits every cast. Get slip bobbers with that little plastic stopper that can pass through the eyes of the rod so you can set the depth of the bobber easily.
Just find a drop off and float the minnows a foot or two above the bottom near the deep water edge of the drop off. if that doesn’t work, move in closer to the shoreline and rock points and other classic spots for smallies.
Crankbaits work best…..use the banks, staubs sticking up, nice shallows.
Stickbaits (Rapala X-Rap is great for this) and swimming grubs (4″ Berkley Power Grub on 1/4oz jighead) is an effective smallmouth bait year ’round. If it aint broke, don’t fix it.
try some tubes on jig heads ot texas rigged if there are weeds.
spinner baits worked over shallow areas will also produce many. even try a minnow under a bobber if the kids arent old enough to throw those lures around. use grubs also worked pretty slow. im usually a river fisherman but i would try some heavy spinners trolled or retrieved very deep.
jerkbaits suck as the Rapala x-rap or husky jerk also work very well (also try regular rapala floating minnow in silver color pattern). u can crankbait the bass if you know specifically where they are hidin. i usually have a hard time locating bass on lakes without a fishfinder
try worm stickbaits (Gulp! sinking minnows, or senko worms) they usually produce on lakes such as Erie. also try goby shaped and colored lures if there are any in the lake. smallmouth love this type of minnow.
heres a picture
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ianjames/images/round_goby.jpg
a really good site i use
http://www.smallmouths.com/
Good Luck and tight lines!!!!
Are you talking about up-state New York (Saranac Lake, Malone, etc.)? I used to fish that area quite a bit for Smallies, as well as Southern Quebec. I now fish mainly in Southeastern Ontario, so not far as the crow flies from Northeastern and North-central NY. Basically the same conditions as far as weather is concerned. From here on to ice-up the Smallies are fattening up for the winter. They’ll be close to shore eating minnows and crayfish. Rocky shorelines with steep drop-offs are always best. The water doesn’t have to be very deep, just as long as the drop-off isn’t gradual. You can always use live bait like worms or minnows, but for catch and release you’re better off with something that they won’t be able to swallow too deep.
So, at this time of year I’d go with red Rapalas – the 3-1/2″ (J09) floating jointed and 2-3/4″ (CD07) or 2″ (CD05) countdown (sinking). Jigs with grubs, Wave’s 5″ Tiki Bamboo Stick (chartreuse), tube jigs, Mepps spinners, spinner baits, and surface poppers for the calm evenings.
One lure I’ve had tremendous success with for Smallmouth is the Muddler Minnow. I troll it very slowly, using a spinning rod, and tied directly to 6lb. mono line. No sinker, and absolutely no swivel or snap. If you have an electric motor set the speed so that you’re barely moving and let out about 50 to 75 ft of line. Some people will tie a Muddler to a Rapala or to a spinner on a short line and use it as a stinger for fish that are short-striking from behind. If you can, get one with a bit of red like the one shown at http://www.yagersflies.com/comumi.html.
By the way – the water temp here on Sunday was 67F in a shallow lake (less than 20 ft) and the forecast for tonight in the Watertown NY area is for the low 30F range (risk of frost) in some of the inland valleys. The water temps are dropping fast. Almost at the rate of about 1F per day.