BigSkyBasser

You're best bet is to find the most dramatic contour changes to identify which deep pockets are more likely to hold fish during these less active periods. River smallies during early season seem especially temperamental because of how dramatically conditions such as temperature and water level can fluctuate. Spring run off seems to shut these fish off completely here and sometimes this can last for up to 6 weeks during which I tend to ignore the rivers completely instead of painfully trying to pattern them.

There are going to be resident populations of smallmouth that stay in the rivers year round and some that move between depending on the distance between the bodies of water. Most of them in the winter will move to deep pockets and breaks on the outside bends of the river (examples are from my experience on the Clark Fork.) I have yet to have a really successful winter bite as it requires enormous amounts of patience and persistence and sometimes the bite is so subtle that you'd never know if you had any interest.

This happened last year while we were driving from one spot to another. The area we were fishing is littered with deer so you will see them all day long. My girlfriend yelled at me to stop because she thought she saw something strange with these deer like a cute fawn or something. When I backed up so I could see the clearing they were in, we see these two deer keeping close company with this turkey. At one point they were even laying down with this enormous bird as if they'd raised it from birth. We spend nearly every weekend up here and had never seen something this bizarre. Then as if nature couldn't get weirder, we pull up to this dredge pond we like fishing and I hear this strange shrieking sound coming from behind a point around the other side of the pond. We walked around to this end and found an enormous bald eagle dive bombing a great blue heron, and the heron would scream at it when it came close to it's fishing spot it had secured on a log. I regrettably couldn't find the pictures we took of the birds fighting.

I would recommend starting with your strengths regardless of what they are and trying to locate fish that way. Personally I would target the islands closer to the deeper water and search for rock piles around them in water between 15-30 ft. I'm assuming this lake has Walleye in it as well. If you can strike a conversation with some of the local walleye fishermen, as they might be willing to let you know about some of the community humps and structure around there. The smallies should be just as prone to them. https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating/mapOptions@15&key=uxunGdg~nM

I too have micro guides and would second this statement all day. If you tie a clean knot the only difference you might notice is that you will feel the knot lightly hit your tip guide once you've reeled most all of your line in (depending on your leader size.)

I've seen what I think was a 4 lb smallie take a 9-12 inch snake off the surface before. Was shocking to say the least!

Braid is incredibly limp with very little coil memory so it spools and casts really well on a spinning reel. It's also a static fishing line which offers some minor improvement to sensitivity and doesn't stretch so you can set hooks a little easier with it as well. I recently made the switch on my shaky-head and drop shot set ups and the difference is substantial in how they fish now.

A less serious but still informational and enjoyable short read is Jimmy Houston's Caught Me a Big 'un. It has great stories about some of his experiences in the tournament scene but also applies lessons and relevant bass fundamentals throughout.

If it's a smaller river then I generally think of downsizing all of my applications accordingly. Usually fish and they're bait will grow to accomodate the size of their niche. You may find this easier by investing in a nice 6'6" spinning outfit and some light 4-6 pound test flouro. This would be much more ideal for the Ned Rig as previously mentioned as well as any other finesse techniques which would likely be more productive where you are. How troublesome do you think fishing a dropshot would be in these waters? It's my go to for smallies anywhere I fish, including stained/muddy rivers of any size.

Senkos seem to rule all on the rivers here for the vast majority of season. The versatility of a wacky rigged senko in current is incredible and call also be rigged for any other smallmouth finesse application you could think of.

This is good to know. I find that most of the bass fishing literature I come across doesn't focus enough on the Smallmouth.

I strongly second the hair jigs and other small profile finesse presentations that look like a lethargic crawfish. The keyword is patience, so work these baits very meticulously through good ambush points over and over again. Another thing I've heard from certain people is that these early season bites can feel very soft and easy to miss, so a sensitive rod paired with braid to flouro would probably be optimal in these conditions. Good luck!

I'm building my Fiance her first custom rod with a painted rod geeks blank and really want to make it super Flashy. I however cannot find microwave guides with the holographic/nano plasma style. http://www.anglersworkshop.com/A-Frame/Ring-Lock-Spinning-Guides-with-Nanolite-Rings-Holographic If anyone finds these please link or let me know. Thanks!

I picked one up in store on Friday morning after eyeing them for a while. They look incredible on lighter colored blanks like my Fenwick. Can't wait to try the new President XT as well!

I recently switched from Gambler Ugly Otters to Missile Baits D Bomb and Baby D Bomb and the difference is night and day. They will out fish even a sweet beaver or a strike king rodent/river bug every day. However for a dollar cheaper a bag, Berkley does offer some very competitive options for creature baits that are very multifaceted and tournament tested. The Pit Boss like BB86 mentioned as well as the Devil Spear are very versatile and catch fish, plus the color options with Berkley plastics are enormous.

That would be our combined budget. This time around we'd prefer to either drive or boat in and avoid having to hire a plane to fly us in. And we aren't fussy about the specifics though personally I'd love to hire a guide for a half day on the first fishing day, then rent a boat for the rest of the week. I'm moot on lodging and accommodations so I'd probably would aim for as cheap as possible with possibly renting a room at one of the lodges.

Hey fellow fish nuts, I've been absent from the forums for a while but I come to you now asking for some help/advice on an upcoming adventure. I'm planning on taking my fiancee up to Northwestern Ontario this spring on her first guided fishing trip. There are myriads of blogs talking about the more popular lodges but I would love to hear some testimonials from smallmouth fisherman about their favorite lakes, guides, and lodges. We're not planning on spending more than $2500-3000 on a week of fishing.

I'm moving to the Detroit lakes area from Montana within the next 45 days or so. Any recommendations for getting some good smallies from shore?

I have friends who fish CJ Strike and pound on em throwing skirtless football jigs with hula grubs and drop shotting. Are you much of a finesse fisherman? Dragging a fat tube or creature bait across points on a Carolina rig is also a local favorite there from what I've heard. On another note. Have you fished Dworshak yet?

I have a friend who swears the same. He's caught a fish that weighed over 8 on an unofficial scale. The tough thing on Fort Peck is the lack of resources for weighing and recording those fish. I'm sure there's limits of state record smallies in that lake. This guy is one of my mentors in our bass club. This is a typical "slow day" on Fort Peck

How long have you been out of Montana? One of my friends on the B.A.S.S. state team still lives in Libby and so do my god parents.