Smallie Surprise

[pwk5017]

My brother and I decided to muck around and try a local stream we have never fished. For the most part, this stream is ankle deep and 15' wide, but it has some pools that are about 5' deep I was surprised to find. I decided to dust off my fly rod and give it a shot on this stream expecting to catch panfish and the occasional dink LM. I was fishing a size 8 hopper imitation with a size 12 san juan as a dropper. Perhaps a lil unconventional fly choice, but I figured the san juan would keep me entertained with smaller panfish and the hopper might entice a bass or large panfish strike. I came to a deeper pool with an abandoned beaver den. My brother was fishing a 3" senko and immediately landed a 10" smallmouth from the den. I found myself cursing for bringing my fly rod over my spinning outfit until I snuck in a cast around the den and brought in this smallie on the hopper. It was a blast on my 5wt. I typically never fly fish for bass and rarely bass fish in moving water, so I have a few questions: I am assuming there is a breeding/healthy population of smallmouth in this creek and the larger stream it empties into? In this pool I spotted 7+ fish of varying sizes from 6" to my fish of about 15-16". Do the bass move from the larger streams up the tributaries or was this a fluke to find this pocket of bass about 300-400 yards upstream? Would I be more successful to fish the larger stream or continue to search out other tributaries? The main stream is on average 60-75' across and from my limited time on the stream has several shallow riffles with runs averaging 1-2' and pools 4'+ deep. I decided not to fish it today, because it looked like chocolate milk where as the creek was clear. I am excited to explore this potential smallmouth fishery so close to my house. I have fished for them a couple times a year on the yough and love them, but had no idea they could thrive in smaller and potentially warmer water such as this creek.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

A smallie surprise is always good

 

[Fishidiot]

PWK,
Nice fish!
Smallies like the one you caught are great fly rod targets in small creeks in summer. As I frequently point out, however, their populations in these creeks are largely seasonal. Most bass will migrate out of these creeks later in the fall. In my experience, the small creek bass season in PA is roughly from early June until mid October. In the larger streams/rivers you refer to, the situation is more complicated. They will hold fish year round but the bass still undergo a major migration to deeper holes in the fall. The good news is that small creeks where you find bass will (usually) have them every year in the same spots. Check this spot next summer and I'll bet it will have some nice bass.

 

[pwk5017]

Im feeling a crush coming on for the smallmouth. I have been bassin hardcore for the summer and consistently catching 4lb+ in the small lakes and big ponds that are deep in the cut that no one fishes, but this catch was 10X as fulfilling and exciting. I havent felt that excitement since my brother hooked into a 5.5/6lb LM in our canoe. Not anything against the largemouth, but I am sorta tired of spin fishing the same haunts, with the same lures, and most likely catching the same fish. It was nice to see a new face this time around.
Ok, so now I am hooked, what is the best way to fish for smallmouth? As you can see in the background, this pool was under an old railroad trestle. Im familiar with fishing Penn and Spring(I was sad to graduate this spring), so Im no slouch to reading water etc. but Im not fishing limestone streams here and Im not fishing for trout. What are some of the better tips on finding fish? Should I just walk the stream and poke around until I find deep pools, fallen trees etc. or will smallmouth hold in skinnier water? Thanks

 

[csoult]

A couple things that I can tell you about SMB is that they seem to like to hang out in the tail end of a run. They are not as streamlined as trout so I don't believe that they can hang out in the riffle without a lot of effort. They like boulders and big rocks. They will come into the shallows to feed because the majority of their diet consists of crayfish and small minnows and they live in shallow water, but that is not where they spend the majority of their time. They seem to be real active when the water temps are 60's-70's but will still feed in low 80's.
Edit: If I have something wrong here please feel free to correct me.

 

[volcanomil]

nice fish

 

[FlySwatter]

That's a beauty! Congrats!

 

[thebassman]

what a great smallmouth!!

 

[pwk5017]

Thanks, Im pretty hooked on smallmouth right now. I should write Bob Clouser a thank you note for his genius.

I have been fishing the parent stream of the creek that fish was caught in, and saw a 20" bruiser of a smallmouth. He chased after my clouser and my heart stopped when I saw him. Couldnt get a bite, so I kept stripping it past the general area, and hooked two smaller bass in quick succession. Both times, the pig went after my hooked smallmouths. The first was a 10" that he shied away from at the last second, but the second fish was prob 7" and he had a hold of it for a bit. I need to get back out after him. Its odd that this fish was in a pretty swift run that may have only been 2-3' deep at a section of the stream thats 10' across.

 

[Fishidiot]

Interesting. Smallies are intelligent and inquisitive fish and often follow other bass that are hooked. You'll see this all the time. However, I've never seen a smallie seize and hold another one that was hooked (this is pretty common with trout). Oftentimes, hooked fish will regurgitate food and followers will gobble it up.
Sometimes SMBs will swim right up to a fisherman to check him out and see what's happening. I don't see this behaviour as much with largemouths.
Cool.
That big fish is likely to stick around in that area for awhile and I'd say you've got a good chance of catching him.

 

[thebassman]

I see other smallmouth chase the fish that I have on the hook all the time.....I have yet to see one actually grab the other fish though.....would be exciting!!