The smallmouth bass population at Table Rock Lake, Missouri, has blossomed in the last decade. By 2006, anglers had caught and released 6-pounders, good numbers of 5-pounders, and scads of 3s and 4s. Many expect 7-pounders soon, given the reservoir’s size, habitat, and bounteous forage.

Table Rock represents but one instance in which smallmouth bass are booming. Across the country they’re growing in range, number, and size, often in regions unpopulated by the species not long ago. In Oklahoma, the record was boosted to 8 pounds 3 ounces last year at Lake Eufaula, the state’s third new smallmouth record in four years. Reservoirs across eastern and central Oklahoma now feature smallmouth bass.

This is happening in impoundments farther north and west, as well. Idaho’s smallmouth record jumped to 9.72 pounds last fall when Dan Steiger boated his second consecutive record from Dworshak Reservoir. In New Mexico, Elephant Butte, once home to huge stripers, boasts an expanding smallmouth fishery.

But when it comes to finding smallmouths in Table Rock’s 43,500 acres, or in other expansive impoundments, anglers have been mystified. The reservoir’s size is daunting. Anglers frequently report catching a few smallies, but the fish are gone the next day. Tournament anglers have been notably suspicious of smallies, saying they’re not reliable.

Tim Sainato of Walnut Shade, Missouri, a guide and one of the area’s most astute anglers, blames some of that inconsistency on their pelagic nature. Outside the spawn, they roam in pursuit of threadfin shad schools, so their whereabouts are difficult to pinpoint.

The Prey Connection

In-Fisherman Field Editor Gord Pyzer is a former resource manager from Kenora, Ontario. He has studied smallmouth populations across North America and has insights into their nature. “Smallies are survivors,” Pyzer says. “Unlike largemouths they don’t need cover, so pelagic roaming suits them better than it does largemouth bass, as reservoirs age and woodcover disappears. I expect further expansion of smallmouth populations throughout the central U.S. for that reason.”

Noting that Missouri fish feed on crayfish as well as pelagic shad, Pyzer draws a parallel to the behavior of Canadian smallmouths. “When smallies key on crayfish, their behavior is far more predictable,” he says. “When they’re after offshore prey, such as smelt and ciscoes at Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods, they can seem like ghosts. I’m sure this applies to Table Rock and other reservoirs when they pursue shad.

“Fishery researcher Dr. Mark Ridgway has tracked northern smallmouths and reported group behaviors that likely apply to more southerly reservoirs. He found that each day, groups of bass swam 6 to 9 miles, doing what Ridgway calls traplining. A school might move from a point on a shoal across an open bay to a reef, then to another feeding location. On reefs, they feed on crayfish; but packs often move offshore and chase schools of pelagic baitfish, then move onshore again.

“You can’t predict when the bass will arrive on a spot. Using tracking data, we’ve tried to find a timing pattern. But we’re wrong as often as we’re right. In tournaments there, it’s common for dozens of boats to stop and fish a traditional spot and catch nothing. Later, a team stops and catches 20 pounds of bass to win the event. But they can never do it two days in a row.