Sight fishing

[Reel]

Do any of you sight fish for smallmouth ( not bed fish) when spawn is over ?  Any favorite technique ?

[MickD]

Rarely are conditions suitable.  I have a spot that is shallow enough but seldom is the water clear enough.  And usually if I can see them, they can see me and they don't bite.  Only once in the last 5 years have we seen a fish first, then caught it. 

[TnRiver46]

People do it all the time here, one of my buddies makes a living guiding that way. Fly rods and surface bugs 

[Reel]

I also do it all the time during summer.  I fish the St-Lawrence.  Twenty years ago, it was easy fishing.  It was find the fish = catch the fish.  Nowadays, you have to work hard at it ...if you want to catch the big ones.  

[PaulVE64]

Sight fishing 3# smallies is the most fun thing I will do in the spring.

[gim]

8 hours ago, MickD said:

Rarely are conditions suitable

Same. While the water is quite clear on a big lake I target them, rarely is it calm enough out. It has happened a few times. One time I spotted a whole freaking school in super shallow water and spooked them. I marked it on my GPS, left for an hour, snuck back within casting distance, and caught several. I think they had moved back to their spot after the dust settled and a few smashed my perch colored jerkbait.

[Susky River Rat]

Generally in the river here if you can site fish them they are not going to be interested. It is to hard to sneak up on them in the shallows.

[Reel]

31 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

Generally in the river here if you can site fish them they are not going to be interested. It is to hard to sneak up on them in the shallows.

If you see the fish, you have not snuck up on them.  It's not easy but you can cath them.  Using a lure that that don't see much of is one way.  Twenty years ago it was a 4 inch dark stick bait.  Ten years ago, a jerkbait was hot.  More recently a spybait worked well or swimming a black marabout light jig.  Next year who knows ...

[Dogface]

On 3/9/2023 at 4:23 PM, Reel said:

I also do it all the time during summer.  I fish the St-Lawrence.  Twenty years ago, it was easy fishing.  It was find the fish = catch the fish.  Nowadays, you have to work hard at it ...if you want to catch the big ones.  

 

The St. Lawrence is the only place I fish where the water is sometimes clear enough to see fish. All of the other places I fish for SM usually have limited visibility. 

 

 

[PaulVE64]

1/16 oz bass streamers in current seams and rocky shelves. Jerkbaits, flukes and 1/8 oz hair jigs into any pools. 

[PaulVE64]

At 50 F the crawjigs come out.