Smallmouth Bass can be found in the weeds, although they would much rather prefer a sand or rock bottom. Fishermen that catch largemouth bass in the weeds need to realize that smallmouth bass will not be around the weeds as much as largemouth and the types of weeds will differ just a bit. Smallmouth Bass love firm bottoms, so finding weeds in areas that have a hard bottom are key for catching smallmouth in the weeds. Soft bottoms usually won’t hold many smallmouths, so focus your time on the hard bottom areas with weeds. Smallmouth also like weeds that are low growing or scattered. To catch smallmouth in these areas, you can probably get away with 8 to 12 pound test line.
On lakes that don’t have a lot of rock, you can expect to find good numbers of smallmouth bass along the deep weed line from summer through fall. On lakes that have a lot of rock and weeds, you will usually find more bass along the rocks, but don’t rule out the weeds, especially the deeper weed edges.
