Bass Week: Big Water Smallmouth Bass

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Most anglers feel like Bassmaster Elite Series professionals when smallmouth bass are in full spawning mode or grouped tightly in their late-fall haunts. Not to say that we could outcompete the professionals then, but at least the odds are in our favor for catching a respectable bag. During these prime periods, there’s a confidence factor in knowing where bass are going to be and what they’re likely to hit. This gets us fishing harder and longer.

Skew the calendar to either side of these prime periods and the average weekend warrior looks more the part. It’s during these transition periods that anglers could benefit from the mastery of full-time professional guides and anglers, who get the job done no matter the season or conditions. For this discussion, we‘ve tapped the expertise of renowned guides that fish big waters: Captain Bret Alexander on sprawling Green Bay, Captain Ralph Steiger on the industrial southern Lake Michigan, Captain Frank Campbell on current-dominated areas of Lake Erie and the Niagara River, and T. R. Hendrick on the shoal-driven waters of eastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. As a collective, these fisheries have lessons that translate to most smallmouth fisheries across North America, and these pros are among the best at catching them during the tough transition periods.

Green Bay

Kicking off the early catch-and-release bass season on Green Bay, Alexander says, “As soon as the ice comes off the Bay in mid-April, smallmouths have started their transition from those deep 35- to 50-foot wintering areas to shallow bays. Bass are looking for the warmest water possible. Water temperature is the driving factor then and that’s where your focus should be.”

Pay attention to the direction of prevailing winds and the sheltered bays, harbors, and points that receive warmer surface water. Bass move in and out of these areas depending on water temperatures and food availability. As water temperatures creep into the low-50°F range, bass favor areas adjacent to their spawning grounds.

“Early season bass move into this shallow, warm water in waves,” Alexander says. “There will be separate pods of small and big fish that cycle in and out of water as shallow as 3 to 4 feet deep. Bass group together with fish of similar sizes. It’s not a matter of all the smaller males arriving first followed by the bigger females in a later wave. What I’ve noticed through the years is that some of the biggest fish hold slightly deeper. Look for them around points at the mouths of spawning bays.

“Using side-scan on my Humminbird Helix 10, I can spot bass 100 feet off either side of the boat. This is critical for finding scattered groups of fish in shallow clear water. Once you find them, use ultra-slow presentations like dragging tubes, crawling Megabass Dark Sleepers, and dead-sticking Crush City Ned rigs to catch them. What most anglers get wrong this time of year is working these baits too quickly early in the season. Be ready for subtle bites from prespawn fish. For that reason, use the most sensitive equipment possible.

I run Mags Custom Rods in two separate models. The 6-foot 10-inch medium-light, extra-fast when working small baits in the 3/32- to 1/4-ounce range. When longer casts are needed or when the wind is howling, I step up to larger baits and go to the Mags medium-power 7-foot 2-inch model with fast action. I use Sufix Nanobraid in 8- to 10-pound test, with a 15-foot leader of 10-pound fluorocarbon. We’re dealing with gin clear water that time of year and details matter when dealing with transitioning fish,” he says.

The next major shift in location and behavior of bass occurs when the water nears the 60°F mark and fish are done spawning. Alexander finds that bass loosely roam their general spawning grounds for about two weeks after vacating beds and then fall back to outside breaks and points near spawning bays. Gradually, they move offshore and group back up to feed more heavily.

Alexander preaches to trust in your electronics and scan major transition breaks from 15 to 25 feet where rock transitions to gravel and sand. Also, check mid-lake humps and the wind-blown side of reefs topping out in 10 to 15 feet of water. Work these areas with drop-shots, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits. Expect these areas to produce until the water drops below 50°F in fall and bass make their final migration to their deep-water wintering grounds.

Southern Lake Michigan

On southern Lake Michigan, Captain Ralph Steiger is confident that once water temperatures hit 44°F, smallmouths have moved out of deep water and are frequenting the 12- to 15-foot depth range near their spawning grounds. That may mean harbors, the mouth of marinas, the back ends of channels, the protected inside edge of break walls, and other pockets of sheltered water. “Find warm water and pods of temperature-sensitive baitfish such as alewives and you’ll be within casting range of these transitioning bass,” Steiger says. “At this time of the year, I don’t even care if I’m not consistently marking bass on the locator as I know they’re cycling through these areas.

“We don’t have those picturesque, shallow, clear spawning bays of Door County at this end of the lake. Instead, we have concrete break walls, steel retaining walls, and riprap shorelines. North winds mean dirtier water here in spring, so big, gaudy baits out-perform finesse baits for our early-season bass. It may seem counterintuitive in cold water, but it’s served me well for the better part of three decades. My go-to bait is a big, beefy ISG 4-inch Great Lakes tube. They have great buoyancy and are loaded with scent. That makes them perfect for dragging for prespawn bass.”

Once the spawn ends, bass vacate the shallows, leaving most anglers scratching their heads on where these urban bass next take up residence. Steiger concentrates on the steepest rock drop-offs into deep water. “By steep, I mean like from 4 feet to 30 feet of water in the matter of a boat length,” he says. “This makes boat control tricky on windy days, but the presentation is easy—easy as in doing almost nothing, with a Ned rig or drop-shot rig. The less you do, the better. These fish are targeting gobies, so keep presentations within inches of the bottom, without any aggressive movements. These bass eventually transition to deep-water points, the base of lighthouses, and deep channel markers.”

For Steiger, the next transition occurs in early fall as the water starts to cool into the 50°F range. “When we start to get routine cold fronts, waves of emerald shiners push shallower into the warmer water and the smallmouths follow,” he says. “Select swimbaits that mimic this prey, such as the Jackall Rhythm Wave or Keitech Easy Shiner. However, what works best for me isn’t to precisely match the color of the baitfish. Instead, make your bait standout by using dark contrasting color patterns such as black gold or gold flake.”

Niagara River and the Big Lakes

To gain an understanding of what transitioning bass do in fisheries dominated by current, the Niagara River and the connecting waters of eastern Lake Erie and western Lake Ontario serve as the perfect test case. On these waters, no one has more expertise than legendary guide Captain Frank Campbell.

As with other Great Lakes fisheries, transitions on Lake Erie and the Niagara River are dictated by water temperature—from cold to warm water and then back again from warm to cold. For Campbell, there are clear-cut demarcations when it comes to these general trends. “For me, the 40°F mark is a clear start and stop point. If the temperature gauge reads 39.5°F or lower, it’s tough to get on a good bass bite,” he says. “Accordingly, starting in early spring when temperatures hit 40°F, I look for bass in 40 to 50 feet of water, positioned in dead water areas outside of the main current. In that extra cold water, the current is like the devil to them. They don’t want to use any energy fighting it.

“Instead, they’re content being sunk in the mud with their bellies on the bottom waiting for food to come to them. To target them, we use 1-ounce jigging spoons and larger bladebaits such as Heddon Sonars. As the water warms, prespawn bass move into shallower water, eventually finding their way into water less than 20 feet deep. There’s no magic depth for our spawning bass, however, as beds have been recorded as deep as 37 feet in Lake Erie. The objective remains focusing on objects that break current such as points, individual boulders, and channel markers.”

During the spawn, bass get roughed up while making beds around boulders covered in sharp mussels. Campbell explains that as bass recuperate from the spawn, they drop back to deep mudflats but aren’t resting with their bellies to the bottom. Instead, they’re suspended slightly. The key to catching these fish is using a long 3-foot leader on your drop-shot rigs. These bass are stacked in good numbers and move up in the water column to take a bait. Transitioning bass, however, can get tunnel vision on specific baits or presentations.

“When water temperatures are above 55°F, postspawn fish can be ravenous.” Alexander says. “I recall a day when a client landed 70 bass on about 100 casts. All those fish came on a Strike King KVD 300 Jerkbait. The bass were so focused on that presentation that, if you only stuck with one tactic, you were missing a hot bite. Using spoons and swimbaits, I landed maybe one fish for every eight on the jerkbait.”

Having bass have recuperated from the spawn, Campbell cautions that the next transition on Lake Erie and Ontario may be the toughest. Fish can be positioned on most any deep-water rock hump, shoal, or point, with these areas being influenced by current. Bass are spread out and territorial. They’re holding on precise pieces of cover. Taking a hunting approach is required this time of the year, and watching your electronics becomes key.

As expected, fishing patterns and bass location get flipped again when lakes turnover in fall and bass are driven to find more stable water and avoid the effects of current. Bass group based on the prey species they’re keyed in on. Whether it’s shad, emerald shiners, or gobies, bass are feeding more aggressively. Adjust your lure choices according to their predominant prey. A-rigs get the nod in areas choked with shad; jerkbaits effectively replicate the profile of shiners; and jigging spoons can be worked tight to the bottom where gobies scurry between rocks.

Lake Ontario/Thousand Islands

At the northeastern corner of Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River, smallmouth bass transitions mirror those of Green Bay and the Niagara River to a certain degree but with some unique characteristics. T. R. Hendrick, an accomplished outdoor writer with 60-plus years of fishing experience, lends invaluable insights into what it takes to be successful during the transition periods on these waters.

Some of the best smallmouth waters in this region lie within Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, neither of which allow for an early catch-and-release bass season. Instead, the bass season doesn’t open until June 15. Hendrick explains that, while this is intended to protect bass during the spawn, there are often some fish still spawning into early July.

Accordingly, different groups of fish are transitioning on this big-water fishery at different times. As such, Hendrick suggests it’s always worth probing the warmest water in the back of bays to start the season.

Similar to Alexander’s observations on Green Bay, Hendrick has found that bass linger for some time in the shallows upon completing the spawn. With the prevalence of gobies as a food source for bass in this region, he’s confident that anglers can be successful through much of the summer by targeting individual smallmouths holding around key pieces of cover in relatively shallow water of 8 to 14 feet. For this approach, forward-facing sonar makes all the difference, and techniques such as casting tubes and spinnerbaits allow water to be covered efficiently in the search for trophy bass.

When water temperatures rise above 60°F in the shallows, most bass school on offshore shoals in depths of 25 to 50 feet. Wind, waves, and current come into play when trying to crack the code on pods of bass that are constantly changing locations. To quickly cover water, Hendrick suggests using jigging spoons. Once fish are located, slowing down and hovering directly over these fish with a finesse drop-shot presentation generally puts more fish in the boat. Be patient and keep a keen eye on your electronics.

On big-water settings with by current, bass constantly reposition themselves on structure in response to ever-changing water movement. That may mean bass holding within inches of the bottom and tight to boulders when the current is ripping and then suspending or straying farther away from cover when current subsides. Should current change directions with a shift in the wind or the oscillating movement of water caused by a seiche, bass may relocate to the opposite side of the structure. By taking note of these factors and all other environmental cues throughout the season, we can look more the part of Elite Series professionals, even during the tough transition periods.

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