Ice Out Smallmouths

Techniques To Net Coldwater Bronzebacks

By Freddie McKnight

Winter is nearly over, according to the calendar anyway, so it will not be that long until the ice starts to come off of the creeks and lakes.

Maybe it has already occurred in your part of the OVO region, so you might want to think about getting those fishing rods out and targeting some trophy smallmouths.

No matter which part of the three-state region you live, you are well within easy driving distance to a lake, river, or creek that harbors some trophy-sized smallmouths.

One of the best times of the year to target and catch the biggest of this species occurs soon after warming weather does away with the ice covering on these bodies of water.

Living near one of the better-known smallmouth rivers in Pennsylvania, I catch numerous smallmouths each spring. Up until a few years ago I really never gave this species much attention, as I was targeting the walleyes and musky in that river.

With our creel season on these latter two species going out in mid-March, it always seemed like the weather was just breaking and the fishing getting good when you had to call it quits.

Not liking to stop fishing just then, especially after being off the water all winter, I started to look for other cooperative species to fill the void prior to trout season. The smallmouth immediately came to mind.

In the few years since I have come to admire the bronzeback. No matter where you catch it, in a lake or a stream, this fish will give you all the fight you care to have.

Even in the cold water, I have been truly amazed at the power for their size. You would think you have a monster fish on, only to reel in a normal sized smallmouth. I guess that is what keeps me coming back for more.

SPRING BAIT CHOICES

When keying in on this species in the spring I have narrowed down my choice of presentations to a few lures and baits. The final decisions on what I use depends a lot upon what type of water I am fishing.

In moving water, positioning is a critical point to success. Simply put, you need to put your lure or bait where the hungry bass are. This may seem like a daunting task, but once you put a few ingredients together, you can come up with a game plan to target those specific spots in a hurry.

The colder the water, the more this species wants to be out of the current, so look for some type of current break first off. I love to fish those shoreline eddies right after the ice has gone away; the ones that are hit by the afternoon sun seem to be the best.

Another key factor I like to look for is a spring seep or small stream coming into the larger river. These little waterways may not seem like much, but they tend to warm just a bit faster than their bigger brethren do.

It does not take but a few tenths of a degree to draw in fish from the colder water. One such area I fish each spring is where a spring seep comes into the water just below an old bridge pillar. Just to give you an idea of how good such a spot can be, three days after the ice went off of this spot, I took 15 bass in my first 16 casts. Most were a foot or better in length.

When fishing moving water, obviously you want a bait that makes contact with or runs very near the bottom. My first choice for these springtime conditions is a jighead with a small minnow hooked through the lips.

I like to cast it a bit upstream of my position and allow it to make contact with the bottom by just letting the current carry the offering. I fish it all the way to the shoreline, with about half of the fish coming in the last few feet of the drift. Keep the action slow, as the fish are still lethargic and are not willing to chase a bait far just yet.

On lakes where the bass are present target rock faces that get a good dose of afternoon sun. Even with the shoreline still holding a bit of ice, I have taken bass in mere inches of water under these conditions.

I love to fish a lipless crankbait in a parallel fashion under such conditions. This allows the lure to be in the strike zone for the maximum amount of time.

Don’t be afraid to fish and re-fish a stretch of shoreline that fits these conditions, because bass may be moving up as the warmer water draws them. I have seen an hour’s worth of sun make a big difference in an area, going from only getting a couple of lackluster bumps to seeing a full blown feeding frenzy occur.

Another bait I love to toss in the same manner is a small spinnerbait, say an eighth of an ounce or so. Two colors, solid white or solid red seem to be the best. The white seems to represent the shad that are so commonly put into impoundments as baitfish, while the red simulates the color of the crayfish at this time of the year.

POST THAW

Once the ice has been off either type of waterway for a couple of weeks the fish will be a bit more aggressive, and it’s time to switch your baits.

For the pre-spawn feeding frenzy that goes on, I love to fish a three to four-inch suspending minnow bait. Fished in a pull-pause fashion, you can get some really viscous strikes, so be hanging on to your rod good at all times.

This is when the big fish seem to really come alive. My personal best smallie came under such conditions, a 23-inch fish that probably went over six pounds easily. I quickly released the female back into the cold waters so that she could contribute to future populations of this great gamefish.