Finding Smallmouth While Prefishing

[calvincorey]

Where do you guys start on finding smallmouth for tournaments? What structure do you look for, what baits etc...?

[Bluebasser86]

Going to depend a lot on time of year, water temp, clarity, ect. If there is a fishable population of largemouth I'd rather target those in a tournament. Not only do they tend to be larger, but smallmouths bad habits of disappearing on tournament day drives me crazy. 

[tbone1993]

Going to depend a lot on time of year, water temp, clarity, ect. If there is a fishable population of largemouth I'd rather target those in a tournament. Not only do they tend to be larger, but smallmouths bad habits of disappearing on tournament day drives me crazy. 

x2 dont trust a small mouth to be there. Then again look at  what  palaniuk did on the river. 

[WIGuide]

I'd start looking for them around harder, rockier bottom. After their post spawn stint a lot of times a smallmouth will relate to cover rather than hold tight to it like a largemouth. I'd say anywhere you can find rock that has grass next to it or gravel with patchy grass is an excellent place to start. Also, things like isolated boulders and or wood is always a good place to check. I agree with bluebasser86 though. If the lake has a healthy LM population, focus on those. Those brown fish can be magicians at times and I've got burned more than once trying to fully count on them in a tourney. I try to use them as a bonus if I can.