The 7 Finest Smallmouth Bass Lakes and Rivers

There’s no denying that smallmouth bass entice consideration from anglers nationwide. From their lovely patterns, aggressive strikes, and drag-peeling fights, it’s simple to see why. Smallmouth are voracious feeders, focusing on something from crayfish to alewives to invasive gobies. Frankly, there’s not a lot they gained’t eat. They’re additionally identified for his or her tenacious perspective as soon as hooked, and after years of expertise catching them alongside largemouth, I consider they’ve earned their title because the best-fighting bass, pound for pound.

Fortunately, I dwell within the Northeast, a hotbed for smallmouth lakes, rivers, and streams. I’ve grown up catching these unbelievable fish and have chased them throughout the nation in tournaments since. I’ve compiled an inventory of the seven finest trophy smallmouth waters for bass anglers who haven’t had the privilege of residing in smallmouth nation however wish to get in on the motion.

Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River

At a Look

• Dimension: Lake Ontario covers 7,320 sq. miles and the St. Lawrence River is 743 miles lengthy
• Lake Report: 9.00 kilos 
• Finest Ways: Ned Rig and Drop Shot 

I’m beginning with my favourite smallmouth fishery, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. They provide an immense quantity of fishable water, and so they’re each chock-full of smallmouth bass.

The 2 water our bodies fall between New York and Ontario, making them a preferred vacation spot for each U.S. anglers and Canadian anglers. If you end up visiting the world, remember to convey your passport, and know that an Ontario fishing license is required when fishing in Canadian waters and a New York fishing license is required in American waters. Fortunately, each might be obtained rapidly and simply on-line.

What makes these our bodies of water produce so many trophy smallmouth is a mix of meals and house to roam. Since invasive spherical gobies had been launched someday within the late 90s or early 2000s, the typical dimension of the smallmouth bass exploded. For smallmouth, gobies are the equal of a protein bar, and so they eat a ton of them.

Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river tops the checklist of the very best trophy smallmouth waters within the U.S. because of the sheer dimension and variety of smallmouth obtainable to catch. However don’t take my phrase for it. Check out the outcomes of the Bassmaster Elite Sequence. For the previous three years, the four-day occasions have required over 100 kilos of smallmouth to win. For these not accustomed to match fishing, that’s a mean of over 5 kilos per smallmouth weighed in. No different physique of water within the nation places out these sorts of numbers, making this the best choice for anglers trying to catch the smallmouth of a lifetime.

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth on Lake Ontario

When you’ve booked your journey, you’re absolutely going to begin researching the lake and river to see what it has to supply topographically. What you’re going to seek out is that it may be a bit overwhelming. There are islands in all places, underwater shoals, and deep basins galore, providing the smallmouth loads of locations to feed and conceal.

In my expertise, the easiest way to focus on smallmouth right here has been to focus on shoals within the 10- to 20-foot vary with Ned rigs, drop photographs, and even Carolina rigs in the course of the canine days of summer season. These shoals present the proper feeding grounds for smallmouth to gorge themselves on the plethora of spherical goby that now name this place dwelling. 

The present flowing North into the river creates an eddy for the bass to stage in and look ahead to unsuspecting prey to float by, and that’s the place you’ll wish to goal. Focus your casting on the down-current facet of those huge shoals and dangle on tight as a result of these bass know methods to combat utilizing the sturdy present.

A closing tip to your journey to Lake Ontario is to look at the winds. The lake and, subsequently, the river can get nasty. You don’t wish to be caught out on the lake with 7-footers crashing down on the bow. Sometimes, if there’s a robust wind from the West, it’s finest to discover a again bay to cover additional up the river.

Lake Erie

At a Look

• Dimension: Lake Erie covers 9,940 sq. miles
• Lake Report Smallmouth: 10.15 kilos
• Finest Ways: Tube, Drop Shot, and Blade Bait

Because the fourth largest Nice Lake, Lake Erie is likely one of the finest locations on this planet to focus on trophy smallmouth, and if the typical dimension had been larger, it might give Lake Ontario a run for its cash, at the very least in my thoughts. Nowhere else are you able to present up and catch 50 to 100 smallmouth a day for 4 or 5 days in a row constantly.

Because of its dimension, Erie provides smallmouth loads of room to roam and keep away from the immense fishing strain that comes each spring and summer season. Equally to Lake Ontario, the invasive spherical goby can be prevalent within the lake and has induced the typical dimension of those smallmouth to blow up.

The largest drawback with goby is that they’re nest invaders, which implies that in the course of the spawn, they’re continuously pestering bedded smallmouth, trying to eat their eggs and fry. Whereas they’ve induced a growth in smallmouth dimension throughout the North, it’s value noting that they’re nonetheless invasive and detrimental to the fishery as an entire.

In the meanwhile, it appears as if the smallmouth have adjusted, and the inhabitants in Lake Erie stays wholesome. Whether or not you’re fishing out of Buffalo in New York, Erie in Pennsylvania, or in and round Sandusky, Ohio, there are many 3 to 4-pound smallies able to take your bait.

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth on Lake Erie

If you’re rigging up to your journey on Lake Erie, you’d be remiss to not tie up a Ned rig or drop shot, however one in all my high baits for Erie is definitely a tube. I’ve discovered that snapping a tube alongside the shelf strains in 20 to 30 toes of water produces a number of the larger bites you will get into on Lake Erie.

Clearly, in the course of the month of Might, the smallmouth push shallow into the bays and are extremely simple to catch. In June and July, they push out into the principle lake and stage on deep rock ledges and shelf strains, ready for the wind to blow unsuspecting baitfish their means.

If snapping a tube simply isn’t for you, no worries. You can even catch a pile of fish on a blade bait, particularly if the water temps are within the 40s and 50s. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what you wish to tie up, you’ll most likely find yourself getting a chew. There are 1000’s upon 1000’s of smallmouth swimming round in Lake Erie, you simply have to get your bait in entrance of 1.

Lake St. Clair

At a Look

• Dimension: Lake St. Clair covers 430 sq. miles
• Lake Report Smallmouth: 9.72 kilos
• Finest Ways: Crankbaits and Paddletail Swimbaits

For those who’re a smallmouth angler, having Lake St. Clair on this checklist ought to come as no shock. Nestled between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, St. Clair receives water from Lake Huron through the St. Clair River, and flows south through the Detroit River into Lake Erie. In essence, it’s the center floor between two Nice Lakes that huge smallmouth wish to name dwelling.

Admittedly, I’ve spent a lot much less time on Lake St. Clair than the opposite two our bodies of water listed above. However I’d definitely love to return. St. Clair is likely one of the extra distinctive smallmouth fisheries I’ve ever been on. Relatively than the everyday rock cabinets and big boulders littering the underside, Lake St. Clair is primarily a sand backside that hosts some aquatic vegetation for the smallmouth to name dwelling.

Whereas some offshore rock piles and shoals are loaded with bass, they are often closely pressured by different anglers, making the grass strains a hotbed for unsuspecting and hungry smallmouth.

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth on Lake St. Clair

Via my very own expertise, together with watching loads of skilled bass fishing match protection, the smallmouth in Lake St. Clair love to high school up and feed . This creates chew home windows all through the day on the water, however you possibly can at all times attempt to incite your individual feeding frenzy.

Tubes, drop photographs, and paddletail swimbaits are nice methods to trick Lake St. Clair smallmouth into biting, however among the finest methods to catch a pile of smallies is a crankbait. As a result of composition of the underside, a deep diving crankbait wreaks havoc underwater, kicking up sand and particles as you wind it again to the boat. That havoc appears to fireside up the smallmouth not like another bait, which causes a feeding frenzy.

To search out the precise space to crank, you’ll merely have to do some graphing along with your electronics to discover a grass line or contour change the place a faculty is staging. From there, chunk and wind your crankbait by means of the college and dangle on tight.

Mille Lacs Lake

At a Look

• Dimension: Mille Lacs Lake covers 207 sq. miles
• Lake Report Smallmouth: 7.50 kilos
• Finest Ways: Drop Shot and Chatterbaits

Mille Lacs is a main vacation spot for midwestern smallmouth fishing, like Lake Ontario is smallie heaven for northeastern smallmouth anglers. In different phrases, it’s a particular fishery, brimming with shallow water smallmouth fishing alternatives. However, greater than something, the scale of the smallmouth in Mille Lacs is what retains anglers coming again.

Whereas the lake is something however small, it does clock in because the smallest physique of water on my checklist to this point, making the quantity and dimension of bass much more spectacular. With baitfish galore, it’s not stunning that these smallmouth are so massive, however I believe Mille Lacs’ shallow water retains the inhabitants so wholesome.

Since there’s a lot shallow water for these smallmouth to roam, they not often get congregated in a selected space. This decreases the fishing strain and permits these voracious predators to dwell lengthy lives with full bellies.

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth on Mille Lacs Lake

Having by no means been there myself, I can actually solely speculate as to what works properly primarily based on skilled match protection, which I’ve watched a variety of. And whereas the Elite’s haven’t been again in recent times, I nonetheless absolutely recollect how the likes of Combs, Feider, and Lee caught their baggage.

For every angler, the important thing was focusing on massive boulders off the financial institution in 10- to 20-feet of water. These boulders present an awesome ambush spot for smallmouth to name dwelling, and so they additionally present an eddy if the wind picks up and creates a present within the lake.

To catch these boulder dwellers, anglers had success with the everyday smallmouth baits like drop photographs, paddletail swimbaits, and crankbaits, however one that actually caught out to me was a chatterbait. Because of how shallow many of the lake is, a heavier ½-ounce and even ¾-ounce chatterbait was in a position to get deep sufficient within the water column to focus on smallmouth on these boulders. Many anglers reported that they merely wanted to run their shifting baits into the boulder to set off a deflection, and the smallmouth would strike virtually instantly.

Cayuga Lake

At a Look

• Dimension: Cayuga Lake covers 66 sq. miles
• Lake Report Smallmouth: 9.04 kilos
• Finest Ways: Swimbaits, Jigs, and Damiki Rigs

Subsequent, we’re headed again to the Northeast and into the Finger Lakes area of New York. Cayuga Lake may simply be a bass anglers paradise, and it feels prefer it each time you again your boat into the water. On the North finish of the lake lies a large grass flat filled with huge largemouth, however mid-lake and South close to Ithaca is the place the magnum smallmouth roam.

Cayuga Lake is deceptively small, at the very least in floor space, however what it lacks in floor space, it makes up for with deep water and big smallmouth. The smallmouth right here love to high school up on deep grass strains, factors, and rock ledges, permitting anglers to get on a faculty and catch a ton of bass in a rush.

One of the best half in regards to the smallmouth fishing although, is that at any second, you might hook right into a wholesome 4- or 5-pound largemouth as properly. And who doesn’t love a combined bag of huge bass?

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth on Cayuga Lake

As I discussed above, the very best areas to focus on smallmouth in Cayuga Lake are the mid-lake area extending down in the direction of the city of Ithaca. This portion of the lake appears to supply extra of a rocky backside composition in comparison with the North flat, giving the smallmouth ample alternative to feed on small perch and different baitfish.

One of the simplest ways I’ve discovered to focus on these colleges of smallmouth has been a drop shot. Now, which may appear repetitive at this level, however it’s the reality. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, anglers have additionally executed properly fishing swimbaits, jigs, and Damiki rigs. Realistically, as soon as you discover the college, your finest wager is to throw quite a lot of baits at them till they key in on one. Then, don’t put it down till they cease biting.

Lake Champlain

At a Look

• Dimension: Lake Champlain covers 490 sq. miles
• Lake Report Smallmouth: 6.75 kilos
• Finest Ways: Drop Shot and Strolling

Lake Champlain could not host the most important smallmouth on this planet, however what it lacks in dimension, it makes up for in sheer numbers. The typical smallmouth right here might be someplace within the 2.5- to 3-pound vary, and there are tons of them.

Lake Champlain provides anglers 490 sq. miles of premium smallmouth and largemouth fishing alongside the New York and Vermont border. The fishery provides quite a lot of choices for anglers to focus on, reminiscent of sprawling grass flats close to Ticonderoga, deep water rock basins, and islands close to Plattsburgh.

For anglers with smallmouth on the thoughts, I might suggest the Plattsburgh area of the lake as a place to begin. The islands right here present plenty of feeding alternatives, and the inland sea, as locals name it, provides present for smallmouth to stack up on and feed on alewives till they’re content material.

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth on Lake Champlain

To keep away from sounding like a damaged report, I’ll merely state that the everyday smallmouth strategies and lures will certainly get the job executed at Champlain. However, as I realized on a current journey over the summer season with my buddies at Shimano, a brand new approach referred to as strolling whereas utilizing ahead dealing with sonar (FFS) is taking the lake by storm.

This easy, but efficient approach hones in on a smallmouth’s need to feed up within the water column. To maximise your alternative for bites, discover areas of the lake which have colleges of alewives, and the smallmouth gained’t be far behind. When you’ve situated the alewives, discover the person smallmouth utilizing FFS and forged the strolling rig on to the bass. As soon as they see your rig slowly working by means of the water column, they’ll’t assist themselves.

Susquehanna River

At a Look

• Dimension: The Susquehanna River is over 400 miles lengthy
• River Report Smallmouth: Over 6-pounds
• Finest Ways: Drop Shot and Strolling

Final however definitely not least is a decide which may ship some smallmouth fanatics right into a tizzy. However, they’ll simply should belief me on this one. The Susquehanna River is a world-class smallmouth fishery. Beginning in New York and working over 400 miles to the Chesapeake Bay, this river system is brimming with smallmouth bass.

What makes the Susquehanna so particular is its accessibility, or lack thereof. Bass boat anglers can fish sure sections of the river, however a lot of this unbelievable fishery can solely be accessed by kayaks or jet boats, conserving the strain off of the bass. This retains the bass wholesome, and makes all of them the extra enjoyable to catch once you’re in a position to get into these skinny water areas the place they’re not used to seeing a bait.

The smallmouth within the Susquehanna are a number of the most aggressive bass I’ve ever fished for. They’ll chase your bait by means of roaring currents, even rapids, till they observe it down and eat it. I can solely think about what an actual baitfish should really feel like in these closing moments.

Find out how to Catch Smallmouth within the Susquehanna River

To focus on these aggressive smallmouth in tremendous shallow water, my favourite approach to throw is a lightwire spinnerbait with willow blades. The thump of the willow blades towards the present drives these smallmouth nuts, and by focusing on eddies created by huge rock cabinets within the river, you possibly can have one of the enjoyable days of your life catching smallmouth.

In deeper, slower water, I’ve at all times discovered success with a light-weight tube whereas working present breaks off of the financial institution or larger boulders that create eddies in the course of the river. The secret for catching smallmouth within the Susquehanna River is to seek out and fish present breaks.

Honorable Mentions

As you possibly can think about, there are various extra than simply seven phenomenal smallmouth fisheries within the U.S. Simply because your favourite didn’t make the checklist doesn’t imply it’s not an awesome place to catch some bass. Truthfully, you must thank me for conserving it beneath wraps. However, simply in case you’ve crossed off the seven areas above and wish to attempt someplace new and completely different, listed below are some unbelievable smallmouth fisheries value visiting.

Lake Washington

Per the adamant request from OL’s capturing editor, John B. Snow, Lake Washington makes the checklist as a result of it offers West Coast anglers a close-to-home location to focus on trophy smallmouth. With over 30 sq. miles of fishable water, anglers have loads of choices for focusing on the lake’s many smallmouth. From fly fishing strategies to the everyday drop shot and Ned rig, there’s loads of bass to go round.

Candlewood Lake

Candlewood is Connecticut’s crown jewel relating to bass fishing. Protecting lower than 10 sq. miles, this artifical lake within the Western a part of the state produces some spectacular smallmouth bass. Anglers sometimes like to focus on the financial institution to pursue smallmouth, specializing in seen cowl like rock piles, boulders, and laydowns, however the important thing to larger bites is discovering colleges out deep and focusing on them with strategies like hover-strolling utilizing dwell sonar.

Oneida Lake

This is likely one of the lakes within the honorable mentions part that nearly made its means into the highest seven. Oneida Lake is thought for its unbelievable smallmouth fishing, however in recent times, it has been experiencing a drop in numbers and dimension. Whereas loads of anglers can speculate as to why that could be the case, the actual purpose stays unknown. Regardless, Oneida stays a world-class smallmouth fishery even at its present low spot. Anglers focusing on the smallmouth in Oneida sometimes give attention to laborious bottoms which are discovered amongst the sand and aquatic vegetation. As soon as situated, the usual tube, drop shot, or Ned rig will get you loads of bites.

Wet Lake

That is yet one more instance of a world-class smallmouth fishery that might have cracked into the highest seven our bodies of water listed above. Wet Lake is an enormous physique of water discovered on the Minnesota border, splitting over 350 sq. miles of water with Canada. The big waterbody boasts some unbelievable smallmouth, in each numbers and dimension, however lacks the publicity that different fisheries get. That very properly might make it the hidden gem of this checklist. If you wish to expertise the fishing for your self, anglers love focusing on smallmouth with jerkbaits, crankbaits, and swimbaits, together with the everyday backside bouncers in hotter climate.

Pickwick Lake

For the bass anglers down South, don’t assume I’ve forgotten about you. When you may wish to pack up the rig and drive north to expertise the great thing about smallmouth nation, don’t neglect that you’ve got some unbelievable smallmouth fishing in your individual yard. Protecting over 67 sq. miles, Pickwick Lake is part of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) chain of lakes and provides a number of the finest largemouth fishing within the nation. However, what is commonly ignored is the unbelievable smallmouth fishing Pickwick has to supply. As one of many southernmost our bodies of water to comprise smallmouth bass, Pickwick Lake is dwelling to some big smallmouth which are value pursuing with chatterbaits, crankbaits, and even topwater in the course of the early summer season months.

Dale Hole Reservoir

Rounding out our honorable mentions is Dale Hole Reservoir. Located on the Tennessee and Kentucky border, this 43 sq. mile physique of water is host to loads of smallmouth. However the actual purpose it has to make the checklist is the truth that it holds the declare for producing the world-record smallmouth. The 11-pound, 15-ounce bass caught in 1955 stays the biggest ever recorded, incomes Dale Hole its fame. When you could not catch the world report, Dale Hole nonetheless provides anglers the chance to catch smallmouth in deep water utilizing new strategies like strolling and Damiki rigging. For those who’re within the space, it’s definitely definitely worth the journey.