Are deep pools under waterfalls and lowhead dams on creeks/rivers good spots for smallmouth?

[Ohioguy25]

I’m not talking like your typical riffles, like anywhere from a 3-10 ft drop into a slower moving pool like this:

It seems like it would be a perfect spot, just not sure how it works and how big they get. I fished one today that was prob a 7-10 ft deep hole below a waterfall similar to this but much smaller in size. Got skunked but I think it was the cold front, dropped down to 37 last night.

[Fallser]

I don't fish bait that much but I've caught smallies from areas similar to that using minnows.  Not in the white water part, but along the edges of it.  If I'm tossing a fly or lure I'd fish the edges of the hole.   As far as size goes I've never caught any really large ones in areas lake that but you never know.  

[Ohioguy25]

13 hours ago, Fallser said:

I don't fish bait that much but I've caught smallies from areas similar to that using minnows.  Not in the white water part, but along the edges of it.  If I'm tossing a fly or lure I'd fish the edges of the hole.   As far as size goes I've never caught any really large ones in areas lake that but you never know.  

Why do you think these don’t produce size? Doesn’t it fit the bill for perfect conditions? Current break, depth etc.

[rickyg]

I'd start this pool where it tails out into the next bit of fast water looking for current breaks.  Any rock, log, etc. that a smallie could hide around, then I'd move towards the waterfall fishing any current breaks near the main current.  Most of the fish I've caught have been a little bit away from the whitewater of the falls down to the tail out.  The bigger fish, if feeding, will be where they can ambush prey while staying out of the main current (conservation of energy).

 

 

Rick

[MGF]

I would say yes. Just yesterday my wife and I got a few SMB and one nice LMB at the bottom of a low head dam...off to the side in the eddy and slack water adjacent to the dam.

[Ohioguy25]

12 minutes ago, MGF said:

I would say yes. Just yesterday my wife and I got a few SMB and one nice LMB at the bottom of a low head dam...off to the side in the eddy and slack water adjacent to the dam.

How big?

[MGF]

5 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

How big?

The fish or the dam?

 

The SM were small...maybe 14". I didn't measure or weigh them. The LM was a nicer fish so I measured him at a fat 18".

 

The dam has a drop of 3 or 4 feet (I think). I suspect that it's been broken up because it isn't a vertical drop. That 3 or 4 foot drop is over 10 ft or so.

[Fallser]

On 10/18/2020 at 10:15 AM, Ohioguy25 said:

Why do you think these don’t produce size? Doesn’t it fit the bill for perfect conditions? Current break, depth etc.

I don't know about perfect conditions.  It's a good spot.  Depth isn't necessarily a guarantee of a big fish.  The current break is not in the hole under the falls.  The water will be turbulent and requires the fish to use energy to stay in place.  If you look at the graffiti I added to the picture.  The green arc is probably where the hole starts coming up.  There may be fish sitting along that edge.   The left hand corner is probably a better spot.  Not as much water coming over the falls.  Looks like a rock sticking out of the water and minimal current, an eddy.  The main current is on the right hand side, about where the red lines and arrows are.  There is a current break there.  There's a decent size rock under the green X.  Nice ambush spot.   Then on the edges of the current.  Now I'm looking at this as if I'm fishing it

with my fly rod or spinning rod.  If I were using live bait, I'd live line a minnow, nightcrawler or leech.  Maybe with a small split shot tossed to the edge of the white water. 

You're talking a small stream here.  I doubt you're going to find a 4 or 5 lb smallmouth hanging out in it.  An 18 inch fish possibly.  Most will be in the 10 to 14 inch range, or even smaller.  One suggestion spend some time watching the water before you fish it.  It's a habit I picked up from fly fishing, maybe 10 to 15 minutes of just watching the water, see where the current breaks are.  If you have polarized sun glasses, you might even be able to pick out a fish or two

  

[Sphynx]

Spot I fished a couple years ago in Clearwater Minnesota where the Clearwater river dam spilled into the Mississippi river was similar to that, and the pool below the dam was frequently a sight not dissimilar to a trout or catfish farm lake, folks nabbing smallmouth and largemouth on everything from minnows, leeches, crawfish, and all manner of artificial lures, also had some of the biggest red ear sunfish I've ever seen in the wild, and great populations of bluegill and green sunfish...loved hanging out there listening to a baseball game and chasing fish all Saturday and then hitting that same spot with a fly rod on Sunday going after panfish, great times that place was

[Shadow1]

I caught one of my biggest creek Smallies last year in an area that looked like that.  The waterfall drop wasn't as steep, but still a drop . . . I threw a Megabass Pop X just into the white foam, and when I popped it to the edge . . . BOOM . . . an 18" big girl just blew up on the Pop X.  Caught 3 more in the same pool just not a big.  

[JWall14]

I would say that looks more like a trout creek but wouldn’t be surprised if bronzies were there. let me say this: IF THEY ARE THERE THEY WILL EAT. There are exceptions such as first freezing night, storms, etc. but don’t spent too much time in one spot. Keep moving and you will find them.

[Scott F]

Waterfalls are always a prime spot to fish for every species in the river. Lots of oxygen, current, deep water close by. It has everything. They may not be directly under the falling water, but the entire pool and run out area should be fished thoroughly. 

[cyclops2]

I had a waterfall spot. Then the dam collapsed. Nothing until I reach the main river.

[bowhunter63]

Yes they are , If they are there they are on the feed .  Great spot in hot weather 

[ICFishing]

Yes absolutely a good spot! That said, there will be a sweet spot in those areas where they will typically hold and I rarely ever see that sweet spot being right under the falls. My rule is "edge of the white" meaning right where the edge of the white highly oxygenated water is turning right under the fall. They will usually be in the steady current right below the white water facing upstream ambushing prey that washes down over. I have had some amazing days tossing a Ned rigged TRD or a large wooly bugger fly in those areas. A stream like the one pictured typically wont have many larger smallies and will have a mix of native trout too in my area, so I like to take the fly rod for fun. 

[Mbirdsley]

Heck yes they are good places to find smallies 

[flyfisher]

Yup there will be fish there.  You also have to consider what is underneath the falls themselves.  I know on some of the places I fish i was surprised when i went with some goggles to have a look at the cover under.  Two of the places I checked out had undercuts were the falls went in and there was minimal current.  Obviously I didn't see any fish but the next time out i caught some right in the same spot.  One thing you also have to consider is stealth.  Long casts are your friend.  if you catch a fish at the tail end of the pool, release him behind you so he doesn't become Paul Revere as a long time friend of mine called them when he taught me to fish small creeks for brookies.  

[ironbjorn]

A thousand times YES. I bust squarebill crankbaits right through the fast white water on river dams like this and it produces amazingly well.