Articles by Darl Black

In flowing water, summertime smallmouths pull out all the stops. A 2-pound, current-pumped smallie makes you think you’ve tagged a 4-pounder. And their aerial acrobatics leave me shaking my head,...View article

“It’s too high and dirty,” complains an angler. Six months later we hear: “It’s too low and way too clear.” Frustrated river fishermen always find excuses for slow fishing. In...View article

The seeds of a good fishing technique can take root in more than one place. They sprout quietly in the dark and when the time is right, suddenly blossom and then bear fruit for anglers everywhere. That’s...View article

I live within a 45-minute drive of arguably the best smallmouth fishery in the world—Lake Erie. I fish Erie for smallies from early April to late June when 4- to 6-pound bass roam shallow flats and...View article

A recent phone conversation with Roger Stegall, top-notch smallmouth guide on Pickwick, the smallmouth mecca on the Tennessee River: “I’m doing an article comparing early-spring smallmouth movements...View article

This was a BIG smallmouth. Just how big, we didn’t know. “Do you think it’s over 7 pounds?” asked my fishing partner, Mark Davis, for the third time. “Yes, I believe it’s 7-plus,” I replied—again. Mark...View article

Boondoggling Chris Gulstad grew up in Elk River, Minnesota, where he learned the art of smallmouth fishing on the Mississippi River. When his job as Public Relations Manager for PRADCO...View article

A stone’s throw from my childhood home in northwestern Pennsylvania, the Shenango River meanders though bottomland. The occasional rocky riffle or fast-water chute punctuates long quiet stretches....View article