Anyone tryin smallies?

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Went out today on a med size river and a new spot.
Found some excellent smallie habitat but didnt get any. I suspect it will pick up in a month but it looked great.
Lots of buttercups and other wild flowers out.
Hope you enjoy life a little bit while the world crumbles.

 

[raftman]

Itching to head out for some smallies... headed out last Friday when it was super warm, but got nothing. Looking forward to the rivers dropping a bit...

 

[dc410]

I haven’t been out yet, but we gotta be right on the doorstep of some pre-spawn action. Have a couple spots I need to check out in the next week or so.

 

[jifigz]

The smallmouth fishing should be hearing up big time, no doubt about. Currently the river is running rather high in my parts but is still fishable. It could be in better shape, though.

I actually haven't fished in a month or so. I need to get out soon..

 

[NittanyBearcat]

I have not been out for smallmouth yet, but plan to once the water levels come back down in my favorite spots. Traditionally, I have always found I can catch a few in late March but the action is pretty slow until mid to late April. Can't wait to get out though, smallmouth on the fly rod are a blast!

 

[jifigz]

NittanyBearcat wrote:
I have not been out for smallmouth yet, but plan to once the water levels come back down in my favorite spots. Traditionally, I have always found I can catch a few in late March but the action is pretty slow until mid to late April. Can't wait to get out though, smallmouth on the fly rod are a blast!

I'm assuming that you are fishing the Juniata for smallies if you're in Huntingdon. If the action is slow for you in March I recommend trying different types of water. March is a great month to catch some pigs.

 

[NittanyBearcat]

jifigz wrote:

I'm assuming that you are fishing the Juniata for smallies if you're in Huntingdon. If the action is slow for you in March I recommend trying different types of water. March is a great month to catch some pigs.

Thanks for the tip! I do often fish the Juniata for smallies and I fish several of its tributaries more often early in the spring as well. I agree with you that there are certainly nice fish to be caught this time of year. Although I don't catch the numbers of smallies in March as I do later in the spring and into the summer, the ones I do catch are usually pretty nice.

 

[marcq]

Anyone have any good smallie flies you can recommend. Gonna give it a go this year and wanted to tie some flies one my days off.

 

[NittanyBearcat]

marcq wrote:
Anyone have any good smallie flies you can recommend. Gonna give it a go this year and wanted to tie some flies one my days off.

You should have good luck with streamer patterns, wooly buggers, and crayfish patterns. Smallmouth are pretty aggressive predatory fish so you don't have to get too fancy with your fly offerings. Clouser minnows are a favorite streamer pattern for me. My personal favorite Clouser variation is Olive bucktail over natural brown bucktail with copper krystalflash. Olive is my go to color for smallies regardless if I am fishing streamers, wooly buggers, or crayfish patterns. You can also have a blast catching them on topwater flies. Poppers work well but I have had the best luck on diving top water flies such as the Dahlberg Diver which has spun deer hair head that is in a tapered bullet shape.

 

[Dave_W]

marcq wrote:
Anyone have any good smallie flies you can recommend. Gonna give it a go this year and wanted to tie some flies one my days off.

For pre-spawn smallies in rivers you can't beat a black Clouser.

Tie up a bunch of 'em because you will likely lose many in snags if you're fishing the right spots and getting down low.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

I may be (likely) overthinking this, but in off color water like we are likely to see tomorrow, do you guys use chartreuse or fluorescent orange colored dumbbell eye on the clousers you described above? In addition to being a bit more visible in muddy water, this might attract the occasional walleye, too.

 

[Dave_W]

Fly-Swatter wrote:
I may be (likely) overthinking this, but in off color water like we are likely to see tomorrow, do you guys use chartreuse or fluorescent orange colored dumbbell eye on the clousers you described above? In addition to being a bit more visible in muddy water, this might attract the occasional walleye, too.

I like a splash of either color, usually tied in at the throat of the fly rather than as a dumbbell color, but sometimes as part of the wing.

I can't say either works better nor have I found it to be enticing to walleyes.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Thanks, Dave.

What hook size do you favor? I'm tying #6 & 4 in 3 or 4xl.

 

[edhank]

I keep on wanting to hit the Casselman for some small action but when the water levels were fishable, water temps were in the mid-30's. Now that it has warmed up and the temps are above 50 deg, the river is blown out. Whats a fella to do?

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I was going to go today to some new water i scouted but dang that wind brought in some cold air.
Maybe tomorrow.

 

[larkmark]

The fish don't care about cold air.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

No but smallies care about cold water.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I see some nice temps coming in tomorrow and Monday. Looks like that will be the time to really get them IMO.
Unfortunately Monday looks windy.

 

[edhank]

Got out the first day of trout.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Very nice.

Was able to fish a bit today and managed a few. Fish are still sluggish. Cant wait for things to heat up a bit.