A few tips on summer smallmouth fishing & crankbaits

Far too often human beings become creatures of habit, performing tasks by rote rather than thinking, adapting, or evolving.  This includes anglers, who often stick to what they're good at rather than trying something new for fear of failure.  Habit and repetition aren't always bad things, but sometimes they prevent us from improving as fishermen.  For example, in the last few years I've often fished the same weed line in Carthew Bay on Lake Simcoe simply because I've had great success there, especially early in the season.  But this has prevented me from exploring other parts of the lake, even later in the season when my catch rates in the bay tend to decline (it also doesn't help that I'm often fishing solo out of a canoe, which prevents me from going to places like main lake shoals).  My routine, a product of success, has also made me ignore the fact that the water temperature changes as the season progresses, and so too does the forage of the smallmouth.

But last weekend, I finally forced myself out of my rut after a fellow angler told me that the water on the other side of the bay on the main lake had a temperature of about 79 degrees.  Even though smallmouth usually prefer water around 70 degrees, this piece of information made me realize that the water in the bay must be even warmer than 79 and, therefore, even less hospitable to the fish.  I also know that the main lake side of Carthew bay tends to have rocky rather than weedy structure- places where smallies can munch on crayfish. Armed with this information, and knowing that smallmouth can sit in shallow water at all times of the day, I decided to target the main lake side of Eight Mile Point.  A crawdad coloured Shad Rap crankbait was my lure of choice.  My best catch was in only a couple of feet of water in a rocky area very close to shore just after 8 am on the Saturday of the long weekend.

Speaking of throwing crankbaits, don't be afraid to hit structure with these lures.  In fact, many pros say that the majority of their crankbait bites happen after their bait has hit a log or rock or some other kind of object.  For novice anglers, or those who don't often fish crankbaits, this can be challenging at first because sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between a fish striking and the lure hitting a piece of cover.  Not being able to feel this difference can lead you to set your hook when your lure hits a rock, which will result in a nasty hang-up.  Instead, when you feel your lure hit a rock, you should stop reeling for a second or so, and the crankbait will float above the object, at which point you can continue your retrieve.  To practise this, throw your crankbait into a shallow, rocky area for awhile when you know the fish are inactive so you can safely assume that every difference in feel is your lure hitting a rock.  After doing this for some time, you'll get used to the feeling of your lure hitting cover, and so when you feel something different, you'll know it's time to set the hook.

And remember, knowledge is important, but it's no substitute for experience.

Share this post