Welcome to our Smallmouth Bass Fishing Home Page

Pound for pound, smallmouth bass are considered the strongest fighting freshwater fish by most anglers.  It is hard to disagree once you have spent some time fishing for smallmouth bass.  Whether you target monster smallies in the Great Lakes or in your favorite river, lake or stream, you will find a ton of fishing information in this section.


Things You Must Know About Smallmouth Bass


Smallmouth Bass Love Rocks

If you can find rocks, there is a good chance you can find smallmouth bass.  While these fish will often be found around wood, weeds and sandy bottoms, rocks will usually be the best pattern for targeting smallmouth bass on most bodies of water.  To learn how smallmouth bass relate to different types of cover, take a look at our Cover & Structure for Smallmouth Bass page.


Smallmouth Bass Love Crayfish


On most bodies of water, crayfish will make up a big portion of their diet.  Crayfish love the rocks, so plan on imitating a crayfish while fishing the rocks and you’ll catch some smallmouth bass.  You can also catch plenty of smallmouth bass with leeches, nightcrawlers and minnows too.  Take a look at our Best Live Baits for Smallmouth Bass page to learn some great live bait tips.


Smallmouth Bass Move a Lot


Once the spawn is over, plan on smallmouth bass moving quite a bit throughout the lake or river.  The bigger the body of water, the farther they may move from day to day.  Don’t be shocked if you find fish in one spot one day and then can’t find them anywhere near there the next day.  To help you learn more about how smallmouth bass move throughout the seasons, take a closer look at our Catch Smallmouth Bass Through the Different Seasons page.


Smallmouth Bass Will Go Much Deeper Than Largemouth Bass


Smallmouth bass are very comfortable in deep water.  If you are more of a largemouth bass angler, you need to get used to fishing deeper when you are fishing for smallmouth bass.  In the summer and fall, it can be much deeper, especially on clear water lakes.

Learn more about finding smallmouth bass shallow, deep & everywhere in between.


Finesse Sized Baits Catch Lots of Smallmouth Bass


Smallmouth bass have smaller mouths, so don’t be shocked that a smaller 4 inch finesse worm can work for 10 to 12 inch bass as well as 4 to 5 pound smallmouth bass too.  While smallmouth bass will eat some big baits, most of the best smallmouth bass lures will feature a lot of finesse-sized baits.  Take a look at our Best Lures for Smallmouth Bass page to learn some great tips on how to use a variety of different lures to target smallies.


Learn More in our Smallmouth Bass Sections


Best Fishing Rigs

While many of the traditional bass fishing rigs will work great for smallmouth bass too, most smallmouth bass anglers will spend a lot more time using a variety of rigs such as the tube jig, drop shot rig and Ned rig. Take a look at our Best Rigs for Smallmouth Bass page to learn how to set up your soft plastic baits and use them to trigger more strikes.


Best Techniques


Whether you use the typical power fishing techniques that are used by many largemouth bass anglers or the many different finesse techniques that some of the smallmouth bass anglers employ, there are plenty of techniques in this section to help you learn more and catch more smallmouth bass.

Best Fishing Techniques for Smallmouth Bass


Catch Big Smallmouth Bass


With so many places to catch big smallmouth bass, narrow down some of the best ways to target them in this section.

Catch Big Smallmouth Bass


Catch Lots of Smallmouth Bass


There are many places that give anglers some great options to catch smallmouth bass in bunches.  When having 30, 50 or even 100 fish days in some places, you will usually be targeting smaller bass with finesse-sized baits.  Learn some of the best techniques for catching lots of smallmouth bass.


Fishing Line Recommendations


Fishing line can vary depending on if you are fishing clear water, murky water, rivers or lakes, so make sure to take a look at our fishing line recommendations for smallmouth bass page to learn more.


Fishing Rod & Reel Recommendations


Whether you want to finesse it up with light gear while targeting smallmouth bass in clear water or go much heavier in murky waters lakes and rivers, this section can help learn more about the fishing rods & reels you can use to put more bass in the boat.


Seasons


As the seasons change, smallmouth bass move from deep to shallow back to deep.  Learn where they can usually be found as they transition throughout the different seasons every year.


Time of Day


Smallmouth bass will usually feed throughout the day, which makes them a favorite for most anglers that fish up north.  When the walleye bite shuts down, the smallmouth bass will usually be cooperative to save the day from late morning through the afternoon.  In this section, you will learn some great tips for how smallmouth bass feed from morning through night.


Types of Water


While it is very common to find so many awesome smallmouth bass destinations with very clear water, you can find smallmouth bass in many types of waters from small streams to huge lakes to super clear waters and extremely murky water.  Learn more about how smallmouth bass are caught from the many different types of waters that they inhabit.


Water Depths


Finding smallmouth bass can be the hardest part of the equation most of the time.  Learn how and when they relate to certain depths and you will have a better understanding of how to catch smallmouth bass as they move throughout the different depths.


Weather


Weather plays a role with smallmouth bass just like it does with other fish.  Learn how smallmouth bass react to the sun, clouds, wind, rain and other weather variables so you can put more fish in the boat.

How Weather Affects Smallmouth Bass Fishing