Moved back up north to northeast Michigan and want to get out and chase smallmouth but haven’t fished them much since I was a kid. Spent several years down south catching spotted bass but not sure the best way to make the transition from dirty water spot fishing to clear water smallmouth. Any tips on how to locate and techniques for smallmouth in late summer and fall? The lake I live near and will fish primarily is clear with not a lot of structure. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Point your vehicle in the direction of Traverse City for starters.
2017 Phoenix 819
2016 200ProXS, s/n 2B359849, Mod 1200P73BD
Originally Posted by krindgen
HA! Great tip, but not necessarily required. There are tons of really good lakes all over Northern Michigan. The best thing I can tell you is "fish for smallmouth"!
I know that sounds simple, but it took me quite a few years to figure out, they truly are a different creature. Heading down the bank and throwing a wacky worm probably isn't going lead to the biggest of smalllmouth bags.
For the remainder of the summer, topwater and dropshot are pretty hard to beat. Fall can be tricky. They are biting somewhere for SURE, it's just finding them. Spinnerbait, crankbait and swimbait should be your focus.
Thank you. I only live a few miles from Hubbard Lake and there are some nice smallmouth caught out of there. Just not sure how to start my search. Thanks for the tips. I guess my best bet is to just cover water. Down south we fished a lot of jigs and shaky head with worms. Either any good for northern smallmouth?
Shaky head and worm will catch tons of Smallmouth as will jigs. The wacky rigged senko tossed to the bank might not catch you the biggest Smallmouth but it will catch you a fair amount of fish.
Red Sox in 6!
Phrog is right, shakey head (aka ned rig) is a perfect starting point. Don't be scared to bump up your head size in northern lakes. There isn't many weeds out there to get buried in, and it will help you cover a little more water while trying to locate them.
Thanks guys!
I'm envious. We don't have jack schitt around here and what we do have isn't that great.
2017 Phoenix 819
2016 200ProXS, s/n 2B359849, Mod 1200P73BD
The simplest start, is look for rocks. If you see a rock pile, fish it. There will probably be a few there. grass/weed lines will hold them sometimes. Depth seems to make a difference for me (granted, I'm not a northern smallmouth guy, just general smallmouth observations). I caught all my fish in my tournament a couple weeks ago on a jig, all smallmouth and spots.
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That’s what I was thinking,Eric. Shakey head or Ned rig are good starting points. My personal favorite starting bait is gonna be a spook type bait unless it’s water less than 50ish degrees.
Red Sox in 6!
Loooooong casts when possible in the shallows.
2017 Phoenix 819
2016 200ProXS, s/n 2B359849, Mod 1200P73BD
Great info! Hoping to get out this weekend before the boat traffic gets crazy each day.
Be nice when the crowds thin out in September.
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Lots of videos on YouTube of fishing Hubbard, long, grand etc. I think the MLF also fished up there a few years back if you can find that video.
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Thanks I will check that out!
Splitshot rig or Shakyhead with a 5" Zoom lizard should work fine, Dropshotting will work fine, Ned rig a Missile Baits "Ned Bomb"...which also works on a Dropshot. No, I'm not in Michigan, but SM are the same all over.
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Couple of pointers from a Traverse City guy.
#1 biggest tip: if you aren’t fishing fluorocarbon leaders you aren’t going to catch many up here in northern Michigan. I use 7# FC Sniper for drop shotting and 10# for tubes or jigs. We’ve got 20-25 ft visibility on the bay.
#2 drop shot us your friend. Had clients out today for a trip on the bay. Caught over 35, all on a drop shot. I was apologizing cause the bite was a little slow. Biggest was 6.1# and enough over 4# to give them a best 5 bag approaching 23#. All on the drop shot. Started out throwing swim baits, tubes, and darters; usually a sure fire method early in the day. Never got a bite. Bite was slow today, remember?
#3. Let the fish tell you what they want. GP, GP purple, and maxscent goby are usually hot colors. Not today. Today it was maxscent natural shad, light tan goby baits, and dreamshot kvd magic. Can’t have too many different drop shot baits in different colors. Had 15 different baits on the deck by the end of the day till we found what they wanted. General theory is that they want light colors on bright days and darker colors on dark days. That generally works till the smallies decide they want the opposite.
#4. Don’t assume they should be shallow or should be deep. They rotate on a schedule that’s impossible to predict.
#5. Don’t underestimate how deep they can be. Might be 20’ or they may just decide 45’ is perfect for them. Deepest I ever caught one up here was 105’ on top of a hump. Trout and Salmon trollers often catch 4s and 5s trolling 80’ deep over 120’.
Butch Derickson
2011 Z521 w/250 hp SHO
Traverse City, Michigan
Great info! Thank you. I guess I am going to have to learn to drop shot. That is one thing I have never tried.
I'm not in MI, but located in WI one thing that has been consistent for me to find fish is a ball head jig or an underspin with a paddletail style lure. Cover water and then slow down with your preferred method. Drop shot and Ned rig are pretty popular, but not the direction I go.
Not sure what river fishing MI has to offer, but I prefer river smallmouth fishing over anything and can catch smallmouth on topwater from spring-fall consistently on the river.
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