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Stagger_Lee

Stagger_Lee

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Joined
Mar 22, 2012
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Went out early on fathers day. Was planning on heading up to the LL but since no I couldn't coordinate times w/ anyone, did my Fday fishing on the Neshamany but in a different spot .. near off of York Rd.

Had a blast from 7 - 10 Am. Thingmabobben was bothering me again so I took it off. Nymphed w/out a strike indicator and caught a ton of blue gill, rock, crappies, etc .. skunked on trout again but had a blast none the less

I caught this one and have no clue what it is .. anyone know?

//returned my old and purchased new waders with waterproof pockets .. can finally take my phone and take pictures!

jpg.jpg


 
Cool Skip .. another 1st for me

1st small mouth on the fly, I was curious b/ he gave more of a fight than the others.

Do they (SMB) hit nymphs often?
 
yeah, they'll hit nymphs and occasionally dries. Though if you want to target them, usually streamers is a better option. They eat a lot of baitfish and especially crayfish.
 
Yep, Smallmouth Bass...many argue the strongest "pull per pound" in freshwater. IMO a 10" Smallie will outpull a 15" trout.

Streamers are usually your best best for Smallies, but yes they'll take nymphs and even dries, especially bigger patterns.

Edit: ^That was scary Pat.
 
pcray - per crayfish

Those are the smaller black, white, and green poppers?

Cast it our, sit for a few seconds, pull in a lil, sit, etc ??

Is that the proper way to fish poppers?
 
Yep @ swattie .. not that I have caught many fish but defiantly had a fun time bringing him in. Considering that the trout fishing in my B-Yard is less than desirable and the heat is coming .. besides poppers .. any other streamers you would recommend for SMB?
 
Stagger,

You just met your new best friend. :)

Smallmouth bass (often "SMB" on this forum) are my favorite fish and I spend as much or more time chasing them than trout, esp in the summer months. You are correct with your approach to poppers. They are surface flies fished sort of like a streamer (ie you impart action to them). I like to fish them pretty aggressively - usually a pop and strip every couple seconds while the current swings the popper downstream.
You won't have any trouble with strike detection. :)

Any streamers will work. I like 'em big with long marabou tails.
 
Congrats on your first SMB, SL. They ARE fun!

You don't need a ton of flies for smallies.

For on top, a few poppers (size 4 +/-) in a few colors. No need to match the hatch, but at times color matters. Optional are some sliders along with the some longer pencil poppers.

You can't go wrong with wooly buggers in a few colors and some Clousers.

I'll add some larger weighted nymphs (stoneflies nymphs work well) for drifting when the smallies are neutral, and an active presentation isn't working.

You should be able to catch a whole bunch of SMBs with the dozen or so aforementioned flies.

Good luck.
 
Yeah, just about any streamer will probably work with varying degrees of success. My favorites are just a classic BH Woolly Bugger and Clouser Minnow. I like em' a little smaller than most probably...size 10-12, but the watershed I fish most often for Smallies tends to be more of a numbers watershed as opposed to size...9-12" is the average adult fish for me, and I've found the bigger ones will still hit a smaller sized streamer just fine. If you want to target some bigger ones specifically, then I'd probably go larger.

As far as colors I like white and chartruse (or better yet a combo of the two) in clearer water and black if the water's got a little color to it. Add some split shot and an olive or brown Bugger fished along the bottom does a pretty good crayfish imitation too.
 
In terms of difficulty hooking the fish on a nymph w/ out a strike indicator .. how do they compare to trout?

 
Stagger_Lee wrote:
In terms of difficulty hooking the fish on a nymph w/ out a strike indicator .. how do they compare to trout?
Click to expand...

In the Summer they'll generally hold in similar lies to where you'd expect a trout...look for deeper runs with moderate current and adjacent current seams, boulders and shade lines make it even better. Knowing that, nymphing for them shouldn't be a whole lot different than nymphing for trout in those kinds of spots. IMO they're less apt to hold in shallower riffles like trout do sometimes though. That said if I'm fishing a WW stream for Smallies/Sunfish I almost always have a streamer tied on. I've caught Smallies on nymphs before but it was a by-product of me targeting trout at the time. Active Smallies like to chase things, so I like to give them something to chase!

Theoretically Smallies have bigger and more sturdy mouths than a comparably sized trout which I think tends to make them a little easier to hook. I tend to have a higher hookup % on strikes with Smallies than I do trout.

Also, if you watch a trout follow and hit a streamer it will often miss, or short strike and just grab the tail of the streamer...you go to set the hook and there's no fish there. That happens much less frequently with Smallies...they rarely miss and the way in which a Bass inhales its meals means you'll have a good chance to get a good hook set.
 
Most times no mamby pamby hits like trout. SMBs are subtle as a brick.
 
As far as the fight, they are certainly good fighters. At their peak water temps better than trout. But a lot of that does depend on water temps, in 35 degree water, nothing fights hard, and good luck even catching a smallie. In 50 degree water a trout fights hard but a bass is pretty wimpy. In 70 degree water a SMB may be the hardest fighting fish on the planet and trout suck.

SMB really, really like rocks. Find pool with rock bottom, preferably lots of craggly rocks, and you're in SMB heaven. But avoid the mud bottomed areas. But as was said, they don't tend to like the shallow riffles much. They can handle current, and slack water is fine too, but they do like some depth.
 
Smallies are awesome. I've had the luxury of catching a HUGE smallie a few years ago. I remember the fight like it was yesterday. They're an awesome fish!

Here's the post I made.

surprise smallie
 
That thread's from before my time on the board...so a few years late, but nice Smallie ry!
 
Hey stagger- you were in my backyard! Were you fishing near the bridge?

Next time you plan to fish there give me a holler- I'm 10 minutes away!
 
Doc .. I think I sent u a pm abt ur spot late last week; did u get it????

Yep .. started @ the red bridge and went down stream
 
Stagger_Lee wrote:
Doc .. I think I sent u a pm abt ur spot late last week; did u get it????
Click to expand...


Yup- just now :)

I'll pm you my personal info so I can be a little more responsive if you want to go out on short notice.
 
Ever since Zane Gray wrote that "pound for pound" thing over 100 years ago I've hated hearing it from others. Yes Smallies can fight well, but I've had quite a few swim right to me. They are not different or better than any other fish.
 
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