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How would you like a smallmouth to get so vicious it would be better called a bulldog? Some could easily out swim Michael Phelps. If the smallmouth drank Red Bull Michael Phelps wouldn’t be able to compete against this attitude packed fish.

The smallmouth; the meanest, toughest, bass there is. Smallmouth impress anglers with their muscular build and strength, impressive acrobatics, fiery red eyes, and rod breaking runs. Their acrobatics threaten anglers who pursue them.

But, when this angry fish puts on a show and starts jumping, making one of their last minute runs, you risk never seeing the fish, if your line breaks. A broken line leaves a broken heart, and an uneasy stomach.

“They all seem to go insane. That's why they’re so much fun to catch,” said Bassmaster Opens competitor Michael Murphy on his description of a smallmouth after being hooked.

This past summer I was out fishing at the East Branch Dam, a cold-water reservoir in Western Pennsylvania. Within 20-30 minutes, I set the hook into something that just didn’t feel right, it turned out it was a smallmouth. That smallmouth took me for a nice long ride with me on the other end with my slider head in its mouth.

As it got closer to the end of the dock, the smallmouth began to pull me, along with my rod, right under the dock I was standing on. Then, after bullying me some more, the smallmouth made his last lunge under the dock. I made a split decision, I flung the fish on the dock with the little bit of line that I had out. Then the impact of this pound smallmouth hitting the dock after swinging it, snapped my line with me about a foot away and left my slider head sitting right there by my prize.

I leaped for the fish, my body never did hit the dock, but I managed, instead of grabbing his mouth, I grabbed right by his sharp fins, but cut my fingers in the process of trying to pick up this squirming smallmouth. It was all worth it, even if I almost went for a swim in the ice cold water.

“The warmer the water, the hotter the fish will be getting close to the boat. Explosive, hard runs are a smallmouth trademark when they see the boat,” said former Elite Series pro, Bink Desaro of Boise, Id. It takes skill to hook, fight, and land every smallmouth that bites. These former pros know how to make this fish, less angry and easier to fight, even if the water is boiling hot.

“My biggest smallmouth is 6 pounds, on the Columbia River drop shotting a Robo Worm,” said Desaro. “But, the meanest smallmouth I’ve encountered was on a section of the Snake River in Idaho on Brownlee Reservoir.”

“I was drop shotting in 40 feet and a 5-pound smallmouth hit the Robo Worm. It was work to get the fish up from 40 feet on 6-pound fluorocarbon. When the fish got close to the boat, it jumped three feet and dove to what seemed right where I hooked it.” Discussing his biggest smallmouth with the meanest smallmouth, he’s seen

Anglers know the feeling of getting a bass up to the boat, seeing it hooked by a bit of skin, your heart begins to beat. But, having that attitude with a bass that is hooked solidly, can be beneficial.

“I act like I’ve got it skin hooked with thread, while keeping pressure on the bass, let your rod do the work,” said Desaro. “I back reel, if the bass is big, I’ll take as long as needed to get it in the boat, some feel it’s taken forever to get in,” Desaro had this to say when asked how he acts playing smallmouth.

One of the biggest things which crushes an anglers excitement after feeling a fish hit their lure, only to set the hook and nothing be there. “My hook-up ratio is high because I back reel. For most smallmouth applications, I use a 7 foot 2 power Fetha Styx Spinning rod and an Abu Garcia spinning reel,” he said.

Former Bassmaster Pro Darrin Schwenkbeck of Buffalo, NY has experienced fishing, fighting, and landing smallmouth with spinning reels to baitcasters, from jerkbaits to finesse.

“I choose a rod/reel and line combination for a technique over a species or fight involved. When hooking a fish I consider what combination in my hand and how I handle the fish,” said Schwenkbeck. Smallmouths are open water fish, and light line techniques work. In open water, fish are less likely to hang up in trees or burry in grass, therefore one can take time fighting the fish,” Schwenkbeck explained.

“After I set the hook, I bring my rod tip down to the water, with tension, to try and get the fish to steer down and not jump,” said Schwenkbeck. “A front drag system is best. I've been known to flip the switch on the back of my reel in deep water and back reel. I learned it from good friend and fellow pro, Paul Hirosky.”

Smallmouth are found in deep water. Light line can be an important tool, but can pose problems of breaking off smallmouth which are a little too feisty, no matter what the anglers skills are.

“I’d love to hook every smallmouth on heavy line and boat flip them, but it doesn't work that way. My hook set differs smallmouth fishing because I’m going with light line and a light wire hook. I sweep my rod sideways, instead of a hard slamming hook set,” explained Schwenkbeck.

“When drop shotting I don’t set the hook hard. I lift up on them, letting the bait look natural. When a bass hits close to the boat, I set the hook lightly and immediately disengage the reel and thumb the spool on a bait caster or let the fish pull line from my spinning reel. A shore angler may want to lift the rod high when getting the fish in close to keep from breaking off on something. I adjust my drag to the size line I'm using.”

Bassmaster Opens Pro Michael Murphy has enough experience to be an expert on hooking, fighting, and landing smallmouth. An example is his 3^rd place finish in the 2011 Bass Pro Shops Northern Open #2 Lake Erie - Sandusky, OH, Aug 25 - 27, 2011 where he caught 61 pounds of smallmouth in 3 days.

“Every fish you catch tells you about its aggressiveness. I strive for the upper lip, which indicates a premeditated bite. If I catch multiple fish in the tongue, I change weight, then color if that doesn't help,” Murphy said when askedwhere he finds he’s hooking smallmouth at in the mouth.

“Line stretch can be good or bad, it depends on the rod and technique. If you use a stiffer medium-heavy to heavy rod, you want something with more stretch. I prefer fluorocarbon because its more translucent. With low stretch, I lean toward a medium action to medium-heavy rod.”

Should anglers go on the safe side with heavier line?

“I prefer 8 pound test with smallmouth. With dirty water and moving baits like dragging tubes, swim baits, or throwing jerkbaits, I will use 10 pound test. If the water is ultra-clear and the presentation is slow, I go with six-pound test,” he said.

As to how much torque (or bend) an angler should keep in his rod when fighting fish, “I like a medium action rod, a Denali medium action Noirwood spinning rod. This allows the angler not over torque the fish. I don’t overextend the rod, as their mouths are small, and so are the hooks. I keep medium pressure and back reel or loosen the drag, especially on a big one. Don’t put too much pressure on your rod, this will make the fish to want to become airborne, increasing chances to lose a fish. Use medium pressure and keep the rod tip downward.”

As to what rod Murphy uses, he takes into account the fight for choosing the rod, because longer rods handle aggressive bass better than shorter rods.

“It depends on the height of a person and what’s comfortable for them. I am 6'5", depending on the technique I go as short as 6'6". I prefer 7'0". For someone shorter, shorter rods may be better. An extra fast tip help doesn’t help your hook up ratio for smallmouth. But, I prefer faster tips than slower with smallmouth, from a castability standpoint of the lures you use for smallmouth which are smaller.”

Hoes does Murphy deal with a Smallmouth's rapid movements and flashing?

“Never give any slack, always try having tension of your rod opposite the direction the fish is swimming. When it comes to hooking a bass with a little line out next to the boat, have your drag set properly. If you break off next to the boat, the #1 reason is the drag on your real is set too tight. I like hearing the drag slip barely on a hook set with smallmouth.”

Anglers know, the time you wait to set the hook can be influenced by what lure you’re using, what type of hook you’re using. But, many bass anglers don’t know that the species you’re targeting can make a difference in how long you wait to set the hook, but also how you set the hook.

“It depends on the bite and the technique. With smallmouth, I wait an extra second or two. They like to play with it more than a largemouth would just engulf it.It’s always been hard for me to change my hook set.

“I compensate with changing the action of my rod, so I don’t have to think of it in the heat of the moment. I set the same I would with anything, quick and tight. People drop their rod to power drive the hook, without realizing the best you can do is get the hook started with that much line out and the hook is actually driven in during the retrieve. “

“Get the hook in quickly and keep steady pressure throughout the fight. I keep my rod tip up and to the side through the hook set, rotating downward as quickly as possible for the fight to keep the fish from jumping. I go one size smaller than that of with Largemouth.”

How light/heavy is the tackle Murphy is using for smallmouth?

“It comes down to the technique and depth you’re fishing. I try to go as light as possible. In shallower water down to 15 feet, I will use ¼ ounce on my drop shots with a #1 or 1/0 hook, in 15-25 foot 3/8 ounce, and 25 feet, or more, ½ ounce. On tubes, 1/8 ounce , or 1/4 up to 15 foot depending on wind, 3/8 or 1/2 up to 25 foot, and 1/2-3/4 ounce in 25 feet or more. Going as light as possible as I can get away with wind or current depending.”

Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Travis Manson of Green Bay, WI scored a 24^th place finish on the Elite Series stop on Lake Michigan fishing smallmouth. He grew up fishing for smallmouth and is knowledgeable on the most important part of the game for any angler, hooking, fighting, and landing smallmouth.

“I let the fish tell me how responsive they’re to the bait throughout the day. Sometimes, a quick set is needed to keep them from swallowing the bait, which causes mortality. I find this true when throwing tubes. Other times they might peck at the bait and you keep moving until they load up on it,” he said.

“I keep it tight setting the hook and I’ll loosen it during the fight.If I’m flipping creature baits with heavy line, I'll pull hard and fast to get the fish out and into the boat quickly. If it’s finesse, I'll let the fish wear down and not cause too much pressure on it.”

One thing that should always be on the mind of any smallmouth angler is the fact that smallmouth jump, and when they jump, they jump high and fast with a lot of power, enough power to break your line or pull the hook out.

“My concern fighting fish is keeping them from obstacles that may get in between the fish and me. I try to keep the fish down so it doesn't jump. I fight them how I would on any type of structure if its just straight rock.”

“Try to get a good hook set and pull them up and away from the structure as soon possible. I’ve run into problems on certain lakes where the rocks have zebra mussels. If this is the case and I’m targeting that structure, I’ll increase my line diameter to prevent break offs which typically occur on the hook set.”

Former Elites series pro Paul Hirosky also has a testament to the smallmouths power, strength, and endurance based on a recent experience on Lake Erie.

“I was out on Erie a few weeks ago and was blown away by the fish. That day it was like this, bite, hook set, the fish is jumping. In addition, that was in 40 feet. It's like they were shot from a cannon. They would hit the water and charge hard to bottom. It was tough to stay with them. They were fighting hard. Other days they stay down, you just never know.”

“The hardest hit I've ever had by a bass was a 3 pound smallmouth on a spinner bait. I don't understand how it generated that force, maybe two hit it at full speed, but wow. Now I'm not saying that was the hardest fight, but for a 7 foot. MH rod, the bite was, well I don't know how the line didn't break,” said Hirosky.

All Bass anglers are heartbroken at one time or another, not just when they lose a big bass, but when loosing bass caused by a mistake on their part. It happens to everyone, even the pros, but there are certain things you can do to prevent it. The pros, through years of experience, know the dos and don’ts of hooking, playing, and landing bass. What puts them above the average angler, being able to land even the most aggressive of bass, no matter how deep or shallow they are? For these pros its nothing special, but its not special for the weekend angler who knows what he’s doing. If you follow these tips, you can hook, fight, and land smallmouth like the pros.