Smallmouth Bass Fishing - Early Spring Smallies!

 By Gregory Jackson

 Catching smallmouth bass in ice-cold winter patterns is a tough chore as these guys seem to go comatose during the winter season. However, as spring approaches, smallmouth will begin to sense the changing sun angle and warming water temperatures. They start to resurrect themselves from their winter slumber and start shifting their bodies and moving. Smallmouth bass fishing in early spring is all about how, when, and where to locate the fish.

At the end of winter, smallies may still be reluctant to move shallow. As the water temperature nears the mid 40's most smallies will remain in deep water, but will begin moving towards shallow water without making much of a depth change. They will follow off shore drop-off contours and move to where the deep water is closest to the shore. Look for inside turns along the break that are close to shore during this time and focus your efforts there. Smallmouth bass holding in these area's can be coaxed into biting, however, the water is still cold and deep so stick to slow, subtle baits and dangle them in front of the fish.

As the water temperature approaches the high 40's to low 50's, the fish will sporadically begin to move into shallower water between 6 and 10 feet deep. Fish will move in a few at a time and start cruising the shallow flats in search of an easy meal. Look for sand and rocks. Crayfish will begin spawning during this time of the year and we all know that crayfish are like candy to a smallmouth. Tube jigs or any crayfish imitating lures dragged on the bottom will work during this time.
When the water temperature gets into the mid 50's smallmouth bass start to become very aggressive. Most all of the fish will be in shallow water at this time and will be actively pursuing forage and looking for spawning area's. Focus your efforts on water that is 3 to 6 feet deep. This is the time when smallmouth bass fishing can be phenomenal. Minnow imitating jerkbaits, crankbaits, and jigs, as well as crayfish imitating jigs will all work well during this time.

Early spring is a great time to get out and do some smallmouth bass fishing. However, it is not always easy to catch up with them in this season. Observation, patience and experimentation are required to learn how, when, and where to locate and catch smallies in early spring. Once you figure this out, you could be in for a bronzeback bonanza.

To learn how to catch bass visit smallmouth bass fishing.
If you are curious to find out about a great place to go smallmouth bass fishing visit http://www.squidoo.com/smallmouthbassfishing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_Jackson

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3969028

Effective Fly Patterns for Smallmouth Bass

By Ian Hugh Scott

Pound for pound, it's hard to beat the scrappy smallmouth bass on the fly rod for fun. Although many anglers target only trout while fly fishing, the smallmouth bass is also a favorite and can be readily caught using a variety of fly pattern imitations.

The smallmouth bass can be found in a variety of waters including rivers and lakes. Although generally speaking, bass are often thought of as a "warm water" species, the smallmouth is found throughout many of the northern US States and far into Eastern and Central Canada. It is just as at home in rivers as it is in lakes. Even in some rivers, it can grow to four and five pounds and a smallmouth of this size will put up a terrific battle!

Although many bass fly anglers know how much fun it can be to use large top water flies including poppers, these are not the only patterns that smallmouth bass will attack. Bass are like other fish in that they have a wide variety of food sources and will prey upon nymphs, leeches, hatching insects, chironomids, crayfish, and smaller fish. They can be quite greedy and it's not uncommon to hook and land a bass that not only has your fly in it's mouth, but perhaps a small minnow that it hadn't gotten around to swallowing before taking your fly.

In rivers, smallmouth bass will take the same nymph patterns that brown trout will. If you're targeting these voracious fish, be sure to experiment with common nymphs such as Bead Head Hare's Nymph, Turkey Tail Nymph, and Ian James' very effective Muncher Nymph. On one particular fast flowing river under a waterfall, Monte Smith's Midnight Blue pattern was fished all day and took several dozen smallmouth bass.

Just like trout, smallmouth bass can have a heavy reliance upon chironomids for their diet. Fished in the same way when targeting rainbow trout in stillwaters, fly patterns that imitate chironomids such as epoxy buzzers (another Ian James pattern, the Brass Ass, comes to mind) should be experimented with. If you fish chironomids too fast, you may discover the bass following your fly, seemingly curious about it but reluctant to take it. If you notice this behavior, slow down your retrieve considerably!

Leeches are another favorite food of this scrappy fish. There are times when nothing but a big fat juicy looking leech pattern will provoke a strike from the smallmouth. While black is an excellent colour, be sure to try others such as the Viva Zonker.

Smallmouth bass enjoy a meal of crayfish and there are quite a few fly patterns that effectively copy this crustacean. Uncle Joe's Crayfish is one such pattern that will invoke the wrath of a hungry smallmouth looking for a substantial meal.

Just like many other species of fish, smallmouth bass are a lot of fun when using the fly rod, whether fishing rivers or lakes. If this is one of your favorite species, be sure to learn as much as you can about a variety of fly fishing techniques in order to increase your chances of fishing success!

If you enjoy smallmouth bass fly fishing, you may enjoy tying up a wide variety of fly patterns in order to target them more effectively. You may even find that you will become as passionate about fly tying as fly fishing!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Hugh_Scott

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5447384

Umpqua River Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing

California Delta Black Bass Fishing

6lb Smallmouth

Early Spring Smallmouth Bass Fishing - Locating Pre-Spawn Smallies!

By Gregory Jackson

Locating early spring smallmouth can be somewhat of a challenging task. However, once you learn and understand a little bit about their migration patterns you can greatly increase your odds of locating smallmouth bass in early spring. If you are thinking about doing some early spring smallmouth bass fishing, check the water temperature, and consider these facts.

The pre-spawn smallmouth bass period can be broken down into 3 phases based on water temperature. These phases are not carved in stone but will give you a general idea of where to look for and locate smallies during pre-spawn which takes place in early spring. The 3 phases are temperature dependent and the fish behavior and location are different for each

Phase 1 - Water Temp. 46-48 degrees
As the water temperature rises into the mid 40's smallmouth bass will still remain in deeper water but will begin moving closer to their shallow water spawning area's. When the water temperature reaches 46 to 48 degrees they will start to disperse and begin filtering into shallow water, usually less than 10 feet deep, in search of food and/or nesting sites. Keep in mind that crayfish spawn during this time so lures that imitate crayfish are a good option during this phase.

Phase 2 - Water Temp. 48-52 degrees
When the water temperature approaches 50 degrees, both male and female smallmouth will be in a full-fledged migration pattern. Most of the fish will now be in shallow water aggressively feeding, moving, and searching for nesting sites. Cover such as rocks, weeds, fallen trees, docks, or any shallow cover in water 3 to 8 feet deep can attract fish.

Phase 3 - Water Temp. 53-55 degrees
As the water temperature approaches the mid 50's, aggressive behavior starts to take a downswing. The males will begin sweeping out nests in shallow gravel, rocks, sand or other suitable bottom composition depending on the features and structure of the lake you are fishing on. The females will move back out to deeper water close to drop offs at this time and wait until they are ready to spawn before moving shallow again. Males can be caught in very shallow water at this time. You will need to move to deeper water to catch the females during this phase.
On your next early spring smallmouth bass fishing adventure, check the water temperature, consider these 3 phases, and you will increase your chances of locating those pre-spawn smallies.

Have you been wondering where the best place to catch smallmouth bass is? Visit early spring smallmouth bass fishing at http://www.squidoo.com/smallmouthbassfishing to find out.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_Jackson

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3932074

 

Sturgeon and Smallmouth Bass on the Snake River!

Fishing For Smallmouth Bass In Rivers

By Trevor Kugler
There are few things that are more enjoyable than fishing for and catching smallmouth bass in rivers. Smallmouth bass, sometimes referred to as "bronze backs", are widely known as one of the hardest fishing species of fish that can be caught in freshwater and when the current of a river is added to the mix smallmouth can give you a "fight" the likes of which you may have never experienced. There is little doubt that fishing for smallmouth bass in rivers is extremely enjoyable and is something that every angler needs to experience.
The term "rivers" is a broad one as rivers comes in many shapes and sizes, but for the purposes of this article I want to focus on the type and size of river that can be waded and fished effectively. Although larger rivers obviously contain smallmouth bass that can be fished for, I like to fish for small mouth's in smaller rivers that I can wade and fish in much the same way that many people fish for trout. This is the type of fishing that I'm referring to when I refer to fishing for smallmouth bass in rivers.
The first thing to point out is that you will more than likely be wading when fishing for bronze backs in this manner. A technique known as drift fishing is an excellent technique to use to catch hungry smallmouth in the flowing water of a small to medium sized river. This simply means allowing your bait or lure to drift naturally with the current of the river that you are fishing. Drift fishing can be done with live bait, spinners, or minnow plus and is a technique that anyone fishing for smallmouth in rivers need to employ.
Smallmouth bass are voracious predators and live baits such as live worms, minnows, leeches, and crayfish are all effective. The easiest live bait to find and carry with you (especially while you are wading) is live worms. No matter what type of live bait you choose to use when fishing for smallmouth bass a key is that you rig that live bait in a natural, yet effective manner. In other words you want your live bait to appear to the bass as it would in nature as much as you can.
When it comes to spinners brands such as blue fox, rooster tail, and panther martin are all effective choices and many smallmouth fishermen like to use color patterns that resemble either a crayfish or a frog. As far as sizes are concerned, you should stick with spinners that are ¼ to ¾ of an ounce when fishing for smallmouth bass in rivers. Minnow plugs are pretty self explanatory with Rapala floating minnows that are from three to five inches long being the perfect choice for many smallmouth fishermen.
The bottom line is that fishing for (and catching) smallmouth bass is rivers can be as fun as "fishing" gets and many times is as much fun as a person can have with their clothes on. If you have never tried it, I would suggest you do sooner, rather than later.
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his five year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.
Get Fishing Tips & Techniques Twice A Month For FREE - http://www.jrwfishing.com/signup.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Kugler Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6284535