Looking at a new area on a new body of water. Northern smallmouth bass lake, lots of flooded timber and current. Ive not got much experience fishing timber and current.
Whats your go to?
Looking at a new area on a new body of water. Northern smallmouth bass lake, lots of flooded timber and current. Ive not got much experience fishing timber and current.
Whats your go to?
Intersection of rocks, current, and wood. If there's vegetation like eel grass (bladed grass more similar to your lawn as opposed to milfoil) or even cabbage, even better. Without more to go on, I'd be looking for edges where an edge is either a drop off, piece of cover sticking out further than the other that causes a different current break, something different. Smallmouth will often hang right on the edge of current behind something (a point, boulder, drop off, etc) that creates an eddy and dart out into the current to feed, then hang back to conserve energy. Even if they're out in the main current, it's usually close to a current break where they can slide over to rest. This is often evidenced by "seams" in the water caused by different speeds of water movement but not always...boulders or logs in the water can create a current break even in what looks like the middle of a channel.
Maybe need a little more to get specific for more applicable answers. How much current? What kind of depth and depth changes? Is it a reservoir or river? Are there creek arms and creek channels? Do largemouth play on this body of water?
Rocks and current are generally enough for smallmouth on their own in my experience. While they'll relate to wood, it seems they do so most inasmuch as they use it for a current break/ambush spot just the same as they would use a big boulder. They're often not like largemouth in that they necessarily want to be on wood vs rocks. Of course that's not always the case, and is just my opinion. Now if it's a lake without current, wood seems to play a much bigger role. Still need that hard bottom in combination with the wood though. I realize the latter example is different than what you're dealing with.
If nothing else, it sounds like an interesting place to fish based on what you've said so far!
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
Throw a tube(weight dependent on current)rigged weedless or work a spinnerbait through it if possible. I've also done well on Bitsy Bugs with a small trailer.
Im a big tube guy, just never fished the timbers or current. This is an area on Marmion lake near Atikokan in NW Ontario, definitely hog factory!
Brown and orange flipping jig. Brown and orange craw trailer. Pitch that thing all day long on a heavy rod with heavy line.
In current I like isolated stuff (rocks, logs, whatever). I walk through my neighbors yard and I'm in a great stretch of river for wading, I am in it most nights in the summer for an hour or so after work. They're typically not super picky when it come to lures. They sit behind a rock or whatever just waiting for something to wash by. I typically use a small swimbait or a 3" grub on a ball head. I think that the most important thing in current is angle and it's not always the same angle so try and hit an object from every angle.
Spinnerbait
I fish a northern Wisconsin river frequently. I throw a #8 x-rap, spinnerbait, top water, wacky worm, Kalin's lunker grub, white swimbait.
I fish the Mississippi here in MN quite a bit for smallmouth and love tubes, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. Current seams, eddys, and any slack water you can find is always worth a cast. Slow rolling paddletails can also be very effective. Any type of transition (sand to rock, small river rock to bigger rock) is also good. Just make sure to find those current seams and you should find them. For deeper structure I like football jigs and ned rigs. Just make sure you are on hard bottom as others have mentioned.
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