Tips for a beginner

[johnsmith]

Hey everybody, I've never fished for smallmouth in lakes/ponds before and living in NH now, I know there are a few lakes around me with smallmouth. Any tip on how to catch them from a kayak? Do I fish for them exactly like I would for a Largemouth? I know they tend to be in deep water but I don't have a fish finder. Appreciate any advice.

[newriverfisherman1953]

Rocks and current are your friend!!

[Fallser]

They may be deep during certain times of the year.  Over the years, I've caught most of my lake/pond smallmouth in less than 10 feet of water.  To be honest, I don't think current will be a factor unless the lake has a strong inflow/outflow or if there's a brisk steady wind blowing that might pile water up on the shore depending on the direction.  Rocks are important, rocky points, rocky bottoms, even large boulders can hold smallmouth.  Fallen timber along the shore or in shallow water.  If the lake has beavers, work around any beaver lodges/huts.  Depending on how developed the lake is boat docks and boat houses are targets.   A couple of hours before sunset, is a good time to toss top waters toward the shore.  If you don't have a depth finder, one thing you can try is using Google maps.  Switch to the satellite image and zoom in.  You can often see where there are shoals or humps in a lake or even a pond by the difference in the water color.

I guess it comes down to, yep you can fish them like you would for largemouth.  I'm a fly fisherman, but the guys I fish with all use spinning gear or bait casters.  They toss soft plastics, jigs, spinner baits, top waters, floating and diving minnow type lures.  

This one came from the brush in the upper right hand corner, which is the edge of an old beaver hut.

[Boomstick]

Look for a bottom of sand or gravel with rocks maybe as large as a basketball, no larger. They will suspend next to these rocks. Look for similar rocks on dropoffs. Once that is exhausted, target laydowns next.

 

My typical smallmouth lures would be jigs (pitching if you have a soft bottom or football if hard, with a chunk trailer), ned rigs for shallow water, drop shot for deeper water and top water and spinnerbaits and crankbaits especially at dusk/dawn although a crank or spinnerbait works all day except in July. 1/4oz inline spinners work well as well as your traditional bass style spinnerbaits.

 

Sometimes the best way to catch smallies that works on any day can be if you identify a lot of rocks large enough to hide a smaller behind but no larger than a basketball (they avoid large rocks), throw your drop shot next to each one and let it flutter around a bit. If there's a smalle on that rock, you'll be putting your bait in front of it's face.

[roadwarrior]

Try the Rage Menace, T-rigged with a bullet weight.