Schools Of Large Smallies

[OkobojiEagle]

I was reading a web article in which the pro referenced fishing "schools" of smallmouth which got me thinking... In my lakes I don't find "schools" of large smallmouth. I frequently will find and fish through schools of 12" - 14" smallies, but can't ever remember finding 18"+ smallmouth schooled in one location. A couple in that size together rarely, but never a school. Do some of you have a different experience is this the norm?

oe

[Megastink]

I think it depends on the fishery. If you're fishing places like Candlewood in CT, Champlain in NY/VT or Erie, you can definitely find schools of very large smallies. But if you fish round some of my home water in Pa, probably not. Not every lake has giant smallmouth in it. If you fish a lake enough, you'll learn what it's capable of.

[OkobojiEagle]

Not every lake has giant smallmouth in it.

My question was less about whether a lake has large smallmouth... more about do the largest smallmouth in any body of water become more solitary as they age.

From the response above I take a possibility that the larger the body of water is the opportunity there are large smallies in the 18"+ size foraging together.

oe

[J Francho]

In summer time, I'd say yes, though I used to encounter packs of smallies roaming the featureless south shore Lake Ontario in 15-25 FOW, and they definitely schooled up by size class.  On places like Erie or Oneida where structure plays a big part in fish location, the bigger bass are on prime areas.  For instance, on Seneca Shaol, you can catch all the two pounders you want fishing the top of the shoal, in the relatively shallow 6-10 FOW.  But to catch the big ones, you will want to find ledges near rock piles along the first and second lips where the shoal rises, somewhere around 20-40 FOW.

 

In spring and fall, they do seem to stack up, size wise, and I bet Dwight can confirm this too.  Remember too, that different waters have different habitats, and smallies, being a little less territorial than largemouth, can behave differently, given the prevailing species.

[BuffaloBass716]

Being from Buffalo Ny, Ive heard of people seeing schools of smallies of decent size in Lake Erie. Me personally dont have a boat so I dont fish the lake. As for the size that determinds whether the school? Im not sure, I know a guy that dives the niagara river (off of lake erie) and he makes youtube videos, he sees tons of smallmouth together on some dives. His youtube-->http://www.youtube.com/user/jimkinner Maybe ask him if size matters while schooling.

[Derriick]

My question was less about whether a lake has large smallmouth... more about do the largest smallmouth in any body of water become more solitary as they age.

From the response above I take a possibility that the larger the body of water is the opportunity there are large smallies in the 18"+ size foraging together.

oe

Just because it is a large body of water doesn't mean that the fish will grow as large as the same size body of water in another region. I find plenty of large schooling smallies at my home lake (pickwick, TN) but the lake is known for giant smallmouth.

I'd say the larger smallmouth in the lake probably do become more solitary but this may differ from lake to lake. If there are not large amounts of smallmouth 18"+ in your lake then chances are you aren't gonna find them schooling together.

[JayKumar]

Depends on how many fish that size in a lake, how and what they eat there, and whether you are fishing in the places they might be.  But big smallies definitely can school together.

[Crestliner2008]

"Wolf packs" are common up here. Especially in summer. When the smallies focus on deeper structures, chasing schools of perch and smelt, they definitely bunch up in packs.