When that happens you get another cur-
rent seam behind it, almost like an exten-
sion off an island.”
regardless of what type of structure it
is, most great prespawn spots are locat-
ed close to spawning areas.
Spawning Smallmouth
Strategies
36
according to stefan, smallmouths
aren’t nearly as averse to spawning near
current as largemouths. he’s even seen
them spawn on the main river channel,
as long as they could find something to
deflect the heavy flows.
More commonly they spawn on the
bank or at the base of the shoreline on
secondary channels and around man-
made structure where gravel, packed
sand or some other hard-bottom sub- ABOVE: This backwater lake is more exposed to the river and thus has some current flow, so large-
strate is available. stefan usually targets mouths might avoid it during the spawn. However, it’s a good smallmouth spawning and staging area.
BELOW: Not all spawning areas are vast ponds. This dead-end chute is a good largemouth spawning
areas no deeper than about 4 feet.
“you can sight-fish the largemouths a area.
heck of a lot better than the small-
mouths,” he adds. “smallmouths are usu-
ally in a little off-color water where they’re
harder to sight-fish.
“usually smallmouths have some type
of channel going through their spawning
area where they can get out in 10 or 12
feet of water,” he adds.
stefan’s approach to catching spawn-
ing smallmouths depends on whether
he’s practicing for a tournament or actu-
ally fishing for money.
“if i’m fishing a tournament and i’m
practicing, i’m throwing a topwater
because a lot of times they won’t eat it,
but they’ll tail-slap it or show themselves.
i don’t have to catch them. the best way
to catch them is to throw some type of
bottom bait; something you can pitch
and flip. But they will hit moving baits for
sure – a topwater or spinnerbait. a lot of times your hooking
“a lot of people say they’re really finicky, but i think they’ll
percentage isn’t as good because they’re not actually trying
bite better than largemouths in the early and late parts of
to eat it. they’re just trying to chase it out of the area.”
the year.”
a change in water level or current flow is early season
kryptonite for smallmouths.
Settling on a Species Strategy
“i prefer the prespawn largemouth bite and the small-
northern rivers are dynamic fisheries, particularly in the
mouth bite if they’re spawning,” stefan adds. “the only rea-
spring, when both species of bass want to spawn and weath-
son the largemouths would leave that backwater area is if the
er conditions are constantly changing. success stems from
water temp dropped drastically. the [prespawn] small-
having a game plan to capitalize on either species when the
mouths, if the water level fluctuates – it could be 2 inches –
timing is right, and understanding how conditional changes
or the current increases and the water level stays the same,
affect each fish.
they’ll move from that eddy because that eddy could change.
for instance, largemouths in super skinny water are more
if they’re spawning then they aren’t going to go anywhere,
susceptible to the negative effects of a cold front (stefan has
and i’ll go target specific fish. if they aren’t spawning, i’ll go to
seen the tem perature fall 10 to 15 degrees in a day in shallow
the largemouths because they’re more reliable and they
bays) than smallmouths that are hanging out in deeper water,
weigh more, it seems.”
where the temperature is already lower and they’re some-
smallmouth, largemouth, prespawn, spawn – it’s a dance
what “shielded” from the cooldown by the water around them.
in the early season, but get the steps right and the fishing
“in a scenario like that [a cold front], i would probably
can be hot on the river when the law won’t allow you to go
check my largemouths. sometimes they’ll stick around. But
on the lakes.
if they’re not active, i’d check my smallmouths,” stefan says.
FLWFISHING.COM I APRIL 2018