Lake Huron smallie fishing temp.

[Tpym30]

Hi, I'm sure this is a simple question , as I know very little about lake fishing... I caught multiple nice smallies in about 3-4 feet of water and then three weeks later I fished the same spot for hours without seeing a fish. Throughout those weeks it was hot, although the that spot has lili pads and a lot of grass. Then I caught one deeper, could someone tell me what the temp is that the small mouth will move deeper if there is one, or just a general idea... Thanks.

[Turkey sandwich]

Smallmouth move for lots of different reasons, and can cover some serious water.  Getting them to bite when you find them is usually much easier than just locating them.  

[Tpym30]

5 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

Smallmouth move for lots of different reasons, and can cover some serious water.  Getting them to bite when you find them is usually much easier than just locating them.  

Okay, how do you find them, like is there key things I should look for or pay attention to? Like depth, vegetation and other stuff... When I know they're up shallow in the one hole I fish I don't have a problem catching them.

[MickD]

Based on my experience (Saginaw Bay), when the water is warm, like 75 or higher, they are sometimes shallow, but more often than not, they are deeper and almost impossible to find.  As the water cools, 70 degrees, you will find more shallow.  As the water gets to about 65 there are lots of smallies shallow, but that doesn't mean they are everywhere.  With smallies, I think the best strategy is to search the rockpiles, and keep moving until you find them. If you find a rockpile with a signicant drop off, fish the deep side, too.   If you see minnows, keep searching that area for longer than normal, trying different lures and colors.  If they are there and active, you will soon find something they will take.  Tubes are hard to beat, but the fish are very sensitive to color.  If you don't know the area, a bass boat sticking in one place for a while may indicate fish.  Don't close in on it, but since some of the rock piles are very large, you may find fish at a polite distance from the boat.  As you move from spot to spot, make sure to record a waypoint for every rock pile you see on your graph.  It may have the mother lode.  Effective lures at different times are lipless cranks (good for search), tubes, wacky rig drop shot, drop shot in general, super flukes, and slow cranks.  Watch for the splashes of smallies whacking minnows on the surface, even when there are significant waves, and try a surface lure on them.  doesn't get any better when you find that action.

[Tpym30]

On September 11, 2016 at 8:04 AM, MickD said:

Based on my experience (Saginaw Bay), when the water is warm, like 75 or higher, they are sometimes shallow, but more often than not, they are deeper and almost impossible to find.  As the water cools, 70 degrees, you will find more shallow.  As the water gets to about 65 there are lots of smallies shallow, but that doesn't mean they are everywhere.  With smallies, I think the best strategy is to search the rockpiles, and keep moving until you find them. If you find a rockpile with a signicant drop off, fish the deep side, too.   If you see minnows, keep searching that area for longer than normal, trying different lures and colors.  If they are there and active, you will soon find something they will take.  Tubes are hard to beat, but the fish are very sensitive to color.  If you don't know the area, a bass boat sticking in one place for a while may indicate fish.  Don't close in on it, but since some of the rock piles are very large, you may find fish at a polite distance from the boat.  As you move from spot to spot, make sure to record a waypoint for every rock pile you see on your graph.  It may have the mother lode.  Effective lures at different times are lipless cranks (good for search), tubes, wacky rig drop shot, drop shot in general, super flukes, and slow cranks.  Watch for the splashes of smallies whacking minnows on the surface, even when there are significant waves, and try a surface lure on them.  doesn't get any better when you find that action.

Thanks, I appreciate the reply.