Going after smallies. What to do differently?

[Fishing Rhino]

Most of my fishing has been for largemouth bass.  I have caught some smallies, but not targeted them specifically until the last few weeks.

When I fished for them years ago, we used Mepps, Daredevles, Jitterbugs, Hula Poppers, and Burke's or was it Berke's plastic worms.  The kind that ate up plastic tackle boxes.

Yesterday, I went to a new (to me) pond, and after some prospecting, I found them in five to nine feet of water, in and around weed/grass/or the algae that looks like a plant, beds.

I caught seven or so, and lost as many, maybe more.  But, that's OK.  It's how we learn.

The rig that worked best for me was a flappin hog on a Jackall Wacky Jig Head with a weed guard.  I push the hook through the body and exit it so that the "nose" of the hog is tight to the round jig head.

Goes through the junk nicely with only an occasional hangup.

But, I am not getting a good ratio of hookups.

Do I wait longer, or strike sooner compared to largemouth fishing.  

The mouth on the smallies seems to be a bit harder.  I don't use a "come out of my shoes" hookset on largemouths.  Tough to do since if fish sitting, but I don't really try to cross their eyes.

Should I put more gusto into hooksets on the smallmouths?

Drop shotting has worked well, particularly when casting, as opposed to drifting.

I'm using a four inch SK finesse worm.  They seem to like grabbing it by the tail.  They don't steal the bait from the hook, but they don't get into my canoe either.

Today, I caught over twenty, with a couple that went about two pounds, but feel I should have had ten or twelve more.

Owner hooks and the Jackalls which seem plenty sharp.  New hooks today, just in case.

I'd appreciate being schooled on the subtle and not so subtle differences.  

Hey, at 68, I don't have a lot of years to learn this stuff by experience.  The quicker I learn, the better.

This pond is supposed to have some nice lunkers, but they are hard to catch at this time of year.  The herring that were spawned this spring are prime smallmouth food, and easy pickings for them.

I want to be as prepared as possible when the big boys and gals don't have the herring buffet set out in front of them.

[hotrod]

Smallmouths definitely have a tougher mouth than largemouths

[roadwarrior]

Try the Fat Ika, it might be #1 in still water.

8-)

[JuniorFisherJJ08]

we have had this problem on the river several times this year.  It happens after a long party night or sumthing when were not 100% focused. We throw a lot of tubes. With that said leave more of the hook exposed by pushing the bait back on the hook. This won't be as weedless but its a quick fix to increasing your hookup ratio.

[Fishing Rhino]

I'll give the Fat Ika a shot, and try giving the business end of the hook more exposure.  

I went to another nearby pond with a friend, and we couldn't catch a cold, so we headed to the pond I'd fished the past two days.

I make a better guide than a fisherman.

I started at the weed beds and told him where to cast.  On his third cast he caught one that topped three pounds on a crankbait.  Two or three similar sized smallies followed the hooked fish to the boat.

Another cast, another bass.

Meanwhile my dropshot rig and the Flappin Hog only produced one hit.

Off to a piece of broken bottom I stumbled across yesterday, and we dropped a couple of markers.

Again, I told him where the bottom was, and like clockwork he caught four more bass on the crankbait and lost a couple of others.  I again, struck out.

When that slowed, we tried a few more areas, with nothing to show for our efforts.

If we'd gone to this pond first, who knows?

All in all, still a good day, even though I got a lesson in humility.

[Crestliner2008]

Curious as to how deep this pond is? If you're finding 2 pound smallies in the weeds and deeper water is available, I'd move out and search for bait balls on structure. In say, 20' - 40' of water, if that's available? That's where you'll find the better smallies this time of the year. And that's where your drop shot will really shine.

If the pond is shallow, then try some curly tailed grubs on light jig heads. The fine wire hooks on these will penetrate their mouths much better than heavier jigs, designed for LM fishing. The IKA is a good choice, as well as the Hula Grub, on a fine wire off-set worm hook. Good Luck!  

[Fishing Rhino]

Curious as to how deep this pond is? If you're finding 2 pound smallies in the weeds and deeper water is available, I'd move out and search for bait balls on structure. In say, 20' - 40' of water, if that's available? That's where you'll find the better smallies this time of the year. And that's where your drop shot will really shine.

If the pond is shallow, then try some curly tailed grubs on light jig heads. The fine wire hooks on these will penetrate their mouths much better than heavier jigs, designed for LM fishing. The IKA is a good choice, as well as the Hula Grub, on a fine wire off-set worm hook. Good Luck!

Here's the pond.  Any suggestions are welcome, and thanks for your prior input.

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwgrea.pdf

[RoLo]

I'd adhere to the two main points along the the eastern shore, which straddle the lake's basin (kind of a no-brainer).

The crowded contour lines virtually guarantee a hard bottom (minimal erosion).

Roger

[Dwight Hottle]

I would spend some time fishing the two humps in the middle area adjacent to the the 40' hole. And the two points Rolo suggested.

[CWeb Canada]

I would suggest two places:

In the morning try throwing topwaters around the flat looking hump in the Southwest corner of the pond. This sould work well for you for several reasons. First, the south end of the pond will heat up faster than the rest of the pond which should turn baitfish and such on before other areas. Secondly, its near a drop off so the Smallies don't have far to move from their night spot and their mid-day hang out spot and lastly, it's by current as seen with the creek outflow in the the SSW of the pond.

In the afternoon I would move to the NE side of the Easter hump in the middle of the pond. This not only is a nice drop off but it is also adjascent to where the creek channel should be as I expect the creek channgel runs right between this hump and the 40' hole in the middle of the pond. I would drag some tubes and jigs down the side of the hump or run Shad Raps (in a craw colour) along the edge of the creek channel.

Let me know how these scenarios turn out...not only is it nice to see you succeed but it also let's me know that I'm onto the right idea when handicapping water that I haven't fished before.

Cheers,

CWeb

[Fishing Rhino]

I have fished the first (southern) point along the east shore with good success.

I drop shotted the shoal area surrounded by deep water along the western shore, and caught a few there, most right on top.

That's as far north as I've worked on the pond.  Haven't gotten to the northern point on the east side of the pond.

Notice the ten foot circular hole in the cove to the west of the launch area.  There is a small rocky point just above it.  To the east of this hole there is a patch of grubby bottom that goes toward that point that has produced fish.

Along the west shore heading north from that point has produced well, and the submergent vegetation extends to ten feet.  Further north, the depth contours shown on the site are wrong.

Between the point, and the shoal area to the north, there is another shoal area of bottom.  It is broken with vegetation, and drifting it using a drop shot produces fish as well.

To my surprise, the last time I tried the pond, I caught as many largemouth as I did smallies.

As for structure, aside from the points and the shoal areas, there isn't much.  The bottom, while it slopes more steeply in some areas is rather featureless, with no shelfs, irregularities, or noticable changes in bottom composition.

In a canoe with a trolling motor, prospecting is a slow process.  A five minute dash in a bass boat can take an hour or more in my rig.

But it has its pros and cons.

The downside, lack of speed, is obvious.

The upside is it makes me more thorough in working an area.  It also makes me pay more attention to my surroundings.

[RoLo]

I have fished the first (southern) point along the east shore with good success.

I drop shotted the shoal area surrounded by deep water along the western shore, and caught a few there, most right on top.

That's as far north as I've worked on the pond. Haven't gotten to the northern point on the east side of the pond.

Between the point, and the shoal area to the north, there is another shoal area of bottom. It is broken with vegetation, and drifting it using a drop shot produces fish as well. To my surprise, the last time I tried the pond, I caught as many largemouth as I did smallies.

I'm not surprised by the presence of largemouth bass on the western hump, because the contour lines in the area

tend to be somewhat less compressed. The greater the compression (convergence) between the 5 & 25-foot contour lines,

the harder the bottom and the steeper the slope. I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the northern point,

we'll call it "Polaris"

Roger

[Fishing Rhino]

I have fished the first (southern) point along the east shore with good success.

I drop shotted the shoal area surrounded by deep water along the western shore, and caught a few there, most right on top.

That's as far north as I've worked on the pond. Haven't gotten to the northern point on the east side of the pond.

Between the point, and the shoal area to the north, there is another shoal area of bottom. It is broken with vegetation, and drifting it using a drop shot produces fish as well. To my surprise, the last time I tried the pond, I caught as many largemouth as I did smallies.

I'm not surprised by the presence of largemouth bass on the western hump, because the contour lines in the area

tend to be somewhat less compressed. The greater the compression (convergence) between the 5 & 25-foot contour lines,

the harder the bottom and the steeper the slope. I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the northern point,

we'll call it "Polaris"

Roger

The slopes are smooth, with no irregularities.  This pond, like most in Plymouth, Bourne and the Cape, are kettle ponds,  So I'm not sure the steeper slope is necessarily a harder bottom.  In a river, the current scours the bottom from bank to bank, picking up and depositing sediment according to the track of the river.

Some of these ponds are shallow with a maximum depth of five or six feet, while others have maximum depths approaching a hundred feet.

They were formed when a chunk of ice settled, burrowed, or was pressed into the land surface.  When the ice melted, the hole remained, and a pond was formed.

Some ponds have inlets and/or outlets, others don't.  Some exit into Cape Cod bay, and other saltwater estuaries and are spawning grounds for herring.

A lot of them are trout waters, some with salmon.  Most have one or both types of bass.

The Cape, and the mainland on the other side of the canal are primarily sandy soils.  There are some rocks which were carried by the glacier which formed the Cape, and covered the mainland.  

There is little or no stone ledge as there is on this side of the canal.

In fact, wells can be dug by hand.  Place a well tile ( a concrete cylinder about three feet in diameter) on the ground and start digging.  

As the hole is dug, the well tile settles.  When it is nearly level with the surface, another tile is place on top, and the hole is dug out as before.

At the appropriate depth, a well point is then driven into the sand, and the pump and plumbing are installed.

At some point in time, the Cape will be nothing but a sand bar on the ocean floor.

I'll work the steeper banks, but I need some advice on how to approach it.

Drift down the bank using a drop shot?  Casting a jig, or a shaky head jig?  Cast to retrieve into deeper or shallower water?  All of the above, or something I haven't mentioned?

[Crestliner2008]

Nice looking lake! Too small to have separate bass populations of LM & SM, which is why you find both mixed. You are lucky to have such a fine structured lake close by you! I'd focus on the east, where that minor hump is and which dumps into the deepest hole. Also, that point up a bit further looks very promising as well. All great DS areas.

Tough to fish from a canoe though! Must be almost a mile up to this area I'm interested in. Can you launch regular boats there too? Where ever you try, give a wacky rigged Senko a shot. Drift the edges of the humps or drops, dragging it along with a lift & drop. You can also suspend a Senko from a slip bobber and drift along as well, while you fish other presentations. Either way, you're going to connect with some decent bass.

Wish this pond was closer to me....I'd be there every day!

[Fishing Rhino]

Nice looking lake! Too small to have separate bass populations of LM & SM, which is why you find both mixed. You are lucky to have such a fine structured lake close by you! I'd focus on the east, where that minor hump is and which dumps into the deepest hole. Also, that point up a bit further looks very promising as well. All great DS areas.

Tough to fish from a canoe though! Must be almost a mile up to this area I'm interested in. Can you launch regular boats there too? Where ever you try, give a wacky rigged Senko a shot. Drift the edges of the humps or drops, dragging it along with a lift & drop. You can also suspend a Senko from a slip bobber and drift along as well, while you fish other presentations. Either way, you're going to connect with some decent bass.

Wish this pond was closer to me....I'd be there every day!

Yes, regular bass boats and runabouts can be launched there.  It's a sandy ramp.  If you back your rear wheels to the edge of the water, you will have to push a bit, but the boat will float off the trailer.

You can beach your boat as long as you tilt the motor.  You may have to do a bit of wading to launch and load however.  

I've got a 55 pound thrust trolling motor, but it's still slow going.

If you like the looks of that pond, check out the amazing number of ponds on the Cape and mainland side of the canal, Plymouth, Bourne, etc.  There are scads of ponds within an hours drive with similar or even more structure.

I haven't been to my favorite pond in three weeks.  Been trying new places and new techniques.

Here's the page with the pond listings.  It's not exhaustive by any means.

Check out Cliff Pond in Brewster.

http://www.boatma.com/pondsonline.html

[Fishing Rhino]

UPDATE:

Went to the pond today with a friend.  The fish were in a cooperative mood.  There was a gusty wind blowing from the northeast, more across the pond than lengthwise.  Though it gusted to 25 at times, there were also lulls, so a serious chop never developed.

Caught some everywhere we stopped.  Both large and smallmouth varieties.

Tried the "hump" between the two points on the east side of the pond.  Marked the north and south points of the top of the hump.

A couple of drifts produced two fish.  Subsequent drifts, nothing.

After working the hump, we proceeded to the point of the hump to the north.  We caught a few there, the nicest being a largemouth between three and four pounds.

Then we worked the shoreline on the north side of the point in water from six to twelve feet deep.  The bottom was covered with short vegetation, maybe a foot or so deep, and the bottom was very lumpy.

Joe caught a nice smallie of about two pounds, and I caught another small bass.  Then I hooked up with a nice smallie that weighed in at just over four pounds.  On the next drift, Joe hooked into a fish that just kept peeling more line off his spool than he could gain.

He finally got it to the boat, hidden in a huge mass of the vegetation from the bottom of the pond.  It turned out to be a large pickerel that would have easily gone five pounds.

Joe finally got all the grass picked off and was about to slip his fingers beneath the gill plates when the line parted.

I got both of my large fish while drop shotting, using a flappin hog.  Joe got his on Zoom lizards, and senkos.  I also caught some on a Yamamoto skirted double tail grub, and the Fat Ika.

Thanks for the assist.  The advice offered was right on.

Will post a picture of the smallmouth, when it gets emailed to me.