Hi Folks, Ran the boat yesterday morning with clients chasing smallmouth bass. The body of water we fished is still high from all of the recent rains and slightly off color. Surface temperature was 66 degrees. Lots of debris in the water and you need to pay attention when motoring the boat around. Had no impact on the fishing as we had a really good morning surface bite. A big front had pushed through a steady west wind provided a few challenges on locations to fish. We surface fished pretty close to shore line cover with fire tiger poppers for the first couple of hours of the morning. The fish were in tight with the levels still up. Though we still focused on points and rocky areas. Smallmouth can occupy a variety of niches in a lake and in large part it has to do with whether they are the top line predator. In this lake they are the big dog along with large brown trout. In lakes with pike and walleye and other toothy critters they might get pushed off into deeper water to shoals and reefs. Also, the forage base can prompt where they might be holding. I have determine that I am a skinny water angler and big smallies can be caught in less than 15' of water at certain times of year and day. I hate deep water jigging and carolina rig fishing, boring. After the top water bite slowed yesterday morning and the sun got high in the sky we resorted to finesse fishing with some soft plastics in the 5" range. The fish were all over the rubber. We ended up landing 18 smallies yesterday morning. Good day on the water. Off to chase trout today and tomorrow. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
