CHAPTER 18

The Sunfish Family

In This Chapter

What species belong to the sunfish family

What characteristics and behaviors family members display

How to catch true sunfish, crappies, and bass

In this chapter you’ll learn about the members of the sunfish family whose technical name is Centrarchidae, translated to mean “nest builders.” The sunfish are native only to North America. In addition to thirty native species, there are over twenty hybrids due to crossbreeding between species such as the pumpkinseed and blue gill or the black crappie and the white crappie.

Members of the sunfish family prefer warm-water habitat such as ponds, shallow lakes, and protected bays of deep lakes and large rivers. During spawning, the male builds a nest, protects the fertilized eggs, and guards the fry until they abandon the nest. The three major groupings in the sunfish family are the true sunfish, the crappies, and the black bass.

The True Sunfish

The most popular species in the true sunfish grouping include the bluegill, pumpkinseed, and redear sunfish, all of which have a brightly colored appearance that merits the fish being labeled as sunfish. The true sunfish are very popular among anglers because the fish are abundant, easy to catch, excellent table fare, and scrappy fighters. If there is a negative aspect to sunfish, it lies in their tendency to overpopulate and become stunted in waters where there is a lack of larger predators.

The true sunfish do well in a wide range of water temperatures and qualities. Their habitat preference is the quiet, warm, and weedy water of ponds, pits, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Like their largemouth bass cousin, sunfish prefer shallow-water habitat where favorite feeding times are morning and evening.

Bluegills

The bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, is the most widespread of the true sunfish, and as a result, it is also the most popular among anglers. The bluegill once inhabited waters in the eastern half of the United States but can now be found in all states except Alaska. This sunfish earned its name from the light blue gill cover. Other identifying marks of the bluegill are the black ear flap as well as the black blotch on the lower rear of the dorsal fin. In the South, anglers commonly call the bluegill bream, which is pronounced brim.

Bluegills favor warm, quiet water with a fair amount of weed growth. They feed in water temperatures from 55°F to 85°F but feed most actively when temperatures range from 70°F to 80°F. Food choices include insects, crustaceans, small fish, aquatic vegetation, and plankton. Because bluegills are attracted to shoreline shallows and weed growth, the fish are accessible to a large number of anglers, whether it’s a veteran angler looking for a tasty meal or a family looking to introduce youngsters to the fun of fishing. Despite their average size of only 7 to 8 inches, bluegills are scrappy fighters and fun to catch on light gear.

Real Fishing

True sunfish are the ideal species for introducing youths to the world of angling. Sunfish are willing biters, and they are readily accessible to shore anglers.

Pumpkinseeds

Pumpkinseeds, Lepomis gibbosus, are more colorful than other sunfish. The pumpkinseed’s bright coloration consists of gold sides with green, orange, and red speckles, and a belly of reddish orange or bronze. Another identifying mark is the bright red tip of an otherwise dark ear flap. Once found in waters of the Midwest and eastern United States, the pumpkinseed has since been stocked in waters to the West Coast. The pumpkinseed is often called the common sunfish.

The pumpkinseed is smaller than the bluegill, and the pumpkinseed prefers slightly cooler water, too. A typical pumpkinseed measures in the 5- to 7-inch range. Like the bluegill, though, the pumpkinseed does well in shallow lakes and the protected bays of large waters where it feeds on insects, crustaceans, and small fish. Despite its small mouth, the pumpkinseed takes tiny baits aggressively. Because of its preference for near-shore habitat and its willingness to hit a grub or piece of worm, the pumpkinseed is a great starter fish for kids.

Redear Sunfish

The redear sunfish, Lepomis microlophus, is often called a shellcracker by southern anglers because of the fish’s ability to grind up snails. Redear sunfish can be found in the south-central part of the United States and throughout most of the eastern half of the country except for the very northeastern portion. Stockings have taken place in some western states. Redears have a thicker body than other sunfish, and anglers identify them by the red or orange edge around the ear flap, a feature that earned this species its name.

Redear sunfish like clear water and weed growth, but the fish will hold around cover such as downed trees, logs, stumps, and standing timber. Also, they tend to hold in deeper water than bluegills and pumpkinseeds. Redears are bottom feeders that dine on snails, small fish, and insects. Various live baits work well for redears that average a slightly bigger size then their bluegill cousins. As is the case with other sunfish, the best shellcracker fishing occurs around spawning.

Locating Sunfish

Because of their preference for quiet, warm, weedy water, sunfish are fairly easy to locate. In addition to the cover provided by vegetation, the very best spots often offer additional cover in the form of downed trees, sunken logs, stump fields, and standing timber. Manmade structures such as docks and bridges are favored covers, too, and the best covers also have a depth change. Under bright conditions or during a cold front, sunfish hold a bit deeper and somewhat tighter to cover. When looking for schools of sunfish, move from cover to cover. If a fish is caught, work the area thoroughly, and when the action slows, move along to another spot. Once you have located a productive area, it will likely be a good fishing spot year after year.

Bad Cast

Avoid keeping small sunfish as they yield very little flesh when filleted. Such fish better serve the resource when they are released and allowed to grow to a larger size.

Best Fishing Times

Sunfish are catchable year-round, but most anglers target sunfish in the spring because the fish are most concentrated at that time. As water temperatures warm, sunfish move into shallow, soft-bottom, vegetated areas where the fish feed actively. The best locations have direct exposure to the sun. These same areas serve as spawning grounds, so look for fish in those protected areas and shorelines that have sand or gravel bottom. After spawning, the smaller fish remain in the shallows, but larger sunfish move to deep weed edges, sloping breaks, and cover-providing structures. In early fall, sunfish move shallow again, and covers and edges near spawning areas are good bets. By late fall, sunfish have moved to deep water where they spend the winter.

Sunfish are catchable throughout the day and particularly so in the spring. Otherwise, the best fishing times are early and late in the day when sunfish leave cover and move shallow where they feed actively. At sunset, though, sunfish seek cover where they spend the night hiding from predators.

Fishing Strategies

Live bait ranks as the favorite offering for sunfish, and popular baits include worms, grubs, crickets, and grasshoppers. In addition to their visual appeal, these offerings appeal to the sunfish’s good sense of smell. Generally, the bait is impaled on a small hook and suspended below a bobber, or the bait is fished a foot or so up the line with a sinker at line’s end. Where legal, anglers often use multiple baited hooks. Always hook the bait in a way so that it has a lively appearance. Second to live bait in popularity is the use of tiny jigs with hair, marabou, or plastic bodies or jigs tipped with plastic or live bait such as a grub. Jigs may be suspended below a bobber or fished freely.

Whether you are fishing with bait or jigs, cast the offering to a desired spot, and let it sit for a minute or two. If there is no bite, ease the line in a couple of feet and let the offering sit for another minute or two. Continue this process until it’s time to make another cast. If you catch a fish, then cast again to that same area. If you don’t get a bite, cast to a new area. Because of their preference for shallow water and their aggressive nature, sunfish are a favorite target of fly-fishers. When conditions are calm, small poppers and terrestrials work well. Otherwise, bright nymphs are the flies to use.

Here are some tips for catching bluegills, pumpkinseeds, and redear sunfish:

Sunfish have small mouths, so use tiny baits and jigs.

Use a fine-wire hook (#8 to #12) for best hook-sets.

Use a long shank hook to make for easier hook removal.

Carry a set of hemostats for removing hooks.

Use light line for more bites, and use light tackle for scrappier fights.

Use a quick hook-set to prevent fish from swallowing the hook.

Make long casts to avoid alerting fish in shallow water.

Use a quiet approach to avoid alerting fish.

Anticipate light bites since sunfish inhale rather than strike their food.

Use a slow presentation rather than a fast one.

Crappies

Like the true sunfish, crappies can be found in waters in just about everybody’s backyard. In addition to widespread availability, the crappie’s popularity stems from its sporting and eating qualities.

The crappie group consists of the black crappie and the white crappie. Though the two species have overlapping ranges, black crappies are more abundant in the northern portion of the United States while white crappies are more plentiful in the southern part of the country. Crappies, pronounced crop, have soft mouths, a characteristic that earned the fish the nickname of papermouth. Among the crappies other common names are calico bass and specks.

Crappies are similar to the true sunfish in the types of water the fish inhabit, in their spawning behaviors, and in their food preferences. Crappies differ from the true sunfish in that they spawn at slightly lower temperatures, they handle lower-oxygenated water better, they are roamers in their habitat, they suspend varying distances from bottom, and they have larger mouths so they have a stronger tendency to feed on small fish.

Black Crappie

The black crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, can be found in waters in the eastern two-thirds of the United States, along the West Coast, and in southern Canada. More abundant in the North, this fish has a silver- to shiny-green body with erratic dark green or black blotches. The crappie’s thin body gives the fish something of a pancake appearance. Black crappies favor the quiet, clear, cool water characteristic of many northern lakes where the fish hang out around vegetation and wood cover. Black crappies have a strong tendency to travel in schools.

On most waters, black crappie populations are extremely cyclical. In other words, some years the success of the spawn is phenomenal, and other years the spawn is very poor. Highly successful spawns result in a strong year-class of fish, and when those fish reach maturity, the crappie fishing remains good for several years. A poor year-class of crappies means below-average fishing until a strong year-class surfaces again. On many waters, black crappies and walleyes seem to have opposing cycles, and this makes sense as high numbers of crappies mean more predation on walleye fry, and high numbers of walleyes mean more predation on crappie fry and young.

White Crappies

White crappies, Pomoxis annularis, can be found in the eastern two-thirds of the United States, some western states, and southern Canada. More abundant in the South, the white crappie is lighter in coloration than the black crappie. The white crappie has silvery- to olive-colored sides and a darker dorsal area. Other features include the eight or so vertical bars along its length, and the bars are formed by dark-green markings. Also, the white crappie has six spines in the dorsal fin, whereas the black crappie has seven or eight spines.

White crappies favor warmer water and murkier water than black crappies, so the whites do well in silted rivers and lakes. White crappies thrive in southern reservoirs, especially in the newer, highly fertile impoundments. Like the black crappie, the white suspends above bottom near the cover afforded by brushy shorelines, downed trees, flooded timber, and mid-lake structures.

The success of white crappie spawning varies from year to year. When there is a good spawn and food is plentiful, a strong year-class of whites results in several years of excellent fishing. White crappies have a strong tendency to hang near cover, but the white crappie has less of a schooling tendency than the black crappie.

Locating Crappies

In the spring, look for crappies in bays, along shorelines, and in tributaries. The best spots have vegetation and woody cover, and firm bottoms of gravel or sand attract more fish than soft, muddy bottoms. In the summer, look for crappies in these same areas, but focus your efforts on deeper water in the 10- to 20-foot range. Favorite summer hangouts include weed lines, shoreline breaks, and submerged structures, particularly where there is a combination of weeds and rocks. Areas of flooded timber are also good bets because the standing trees allow crappies to find shade throughout the day.

In early fall, crappies move to shallow vegetation where they feed aggressively. Good spots during fall include weed lines, submerged vegetation, rock piles, mid-lake humps, and tributaries. By late fall, crappies move to deeper water adjacent to their favorite structures where they spend the winter months.

Crappies, by nature, are a roaming and sometimes suspending species, but they don’t roam aimlessly. Instead, crappies move from cover to cover and structure to structure, where they seek both food and safety.

Best Fishing Times

Crappies are catchable year-round, but spring offers the best fishing of the year. Action begins when water temperatures approach 50°F, and crappies move shallow to feed. Spring means good concentrations of crappies in tributaries and near-shore areas where the crappies remain through the spawn, which typically occurs in the range of 62°F to 65°F. For best results, anglers focus on brushy shorelines, manmade brush piles, fallen trees, docks, and other woody cover. Crappie fishing remains good after the spawn when fish move to weed lines and other structural edges adjacent to spawning sites. Night fishing for crappies can be productive during the summer months when anglers focus on lighted areas such as marinas and bridges.

Crappies are less active during the day than their true sunfish cousins because crappies are low-light feeders. The best fishing hours of the day occur in the early morning and again in the evening when crappies move en masse to feed in the shallows. As you would expect, overcast days offer better fishing than do sunny days. When fishing during bright conditions, look for crappies in shaded areas, in deeper water, and tighter to cover. Check out those same areas during cold-front conditions.

Fishing Techniques

Catching crappies is relatively easy. The angler’s challenge lies in locating fish. Good areas are generally well known as the same spots produce quality fishing year after year, and such spots are easily identified by the concentration of boats or shore anglers. Still, veteran crappie anglers know the importance of staying on the move. Once a fish is caught, though, it’s time to settle in and work the area since crappies are a schooling species. If the action slows, continue to move until you find another productive spot. It’s always worth returning and refishing a spot that produced fish earlier in the day. Some anglers, where legal, use a multiple-rod trolling system to locate crappies. This method can be especially effective when the fish are suspended adjacent to structure.

Suspending a 2-inch minnow below a bobber is the time-honored technique for catching crappies. An equally effective technique is suspending a small hair, marabou, or plastic jig below a bobber. Tipping the jig with a live grub usually translates to higher catch rates. Whether using a minnow or jig, work the offering with a retrieve of short twitches. When fishing deeper water, use a slip bobber or use no float at all to get the minnow or jig to the desired depth. Because crappies have a large mouth and feed on minnows, small spinner-type lures work well, too.

Here are some tips for catching crappies:

Crappies have a delicate mouth so set the hook and play the fish gently.

Use light line and tackle for a scrappier fight.

Use a slow presentation in spring when water temperatures are cold.

Use a quiet approach so as not to alert the fish of your presence.

Where legal, consider placing some crappie-attracting, manmade brush piles.

Use specially designed extra-long poles for placing bait or jig in a precise spot.

Fish the north side of a lake in early spring because waters there warm first.

Work your bait or jig deeper and closer to cover during bright conditions and cold fronts.

Work your offering at various depths to 20 feet or so to find suspended fish in the summer.

Look for crappies in areas of sparser vegetation than you would look for the true sunfish.

Black Bass

Most people don’t think of bass as sunfish, but black bass are members of the sunfish family. The three most popular bass are the largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass, and they are likely called black bass because of their dark appearance as fry and their dark upper half as adults.

The black bass rank as North America’s favorite game fish for various reasons. First of all, bass thrive in waters from coast to coast. In addition to their native waters in the eastern two-thirds of the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico, bass have been stocked in waters throughout the United States and southern Canada. Also, bass inhabit a wide range of waters from small ponds to massive reservoirs. Other factors contributing to the bass’s popularity are its aggressive feeding nature, susceptibility to a variety of presentations, and great fighting ability.

Fishing Vocab

B.A.S.S. stands for the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society. This organization has served as the authority on bass fishing for more than forty years. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach, and an expansive tournament structure, and connects directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.

More so than other sunfish, bass are pursued for sport rather than for food. Much of the sport fishing interest in bass likely stems from Ray Scott’s founding of the B.A.S.S. in 1968. B.A.S.S. has also played a key role in the popularity of catch-and-release fishing among the bass-angling fraternity.

Largemouth Bass

The largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, is so named because the fish has a large mouth with the upper jaw extending beyond the eye. Popular nicknames include bigmouth and bucket-mouth. Largemouth bass have a brownish to greenish body with a dark horizontal band extending along their length from head to tail. This species can be found in nearly every state and in a variety of waters from farm ponds to large water systems. Largemouth bass favor quiet, weedy areas where the fish inhabit water depths from a few feet to 20 feet, and these fish do especially well in fertile waters. Though largemouth bass can tolerate water temperatures in the 80s, they are more active in 65°F to 75°F water.

Fishing Vocab

Crayfish, sometimes called crawdads or crawfish, are a freshwater cousin and smaller version of the lobster, and crayfish are a common prey of many game fish, particularly members of the black bass family.

Common prey includes crayfish, minnows, and small fish, especially juvenile sunfish. In clear water, largemouth bass feed by sight, but when waters are murky, the fish rely on their lateral line to detect prey. More so than other sunfish species, largemouth bass are loners rather than schooling fish. Still, a number of largemouth bass may appear in the same area if that area offers both food and cover.

Locating Largemouth Bass

Largemouth bass are a shallow-water fish, inhabiting depths from only a few feet out to 20 feet or so. These fish are drawn to cover and objects in quiet water particularly where aquatic vegetation abounds. Favorite holding areas include weed beds, weed lines, weedy shoals, lily pads, islands, points, drop-offs, brush, downed trees, logs, stumps, standing timber, creek beds, boulders, docks, bridge pilings, and various manmade structures in impoundments.

In the spring, look for largemouth bass in the shallows along mainland and island shorelines where the fish feed and spawn. During the summer, some bass will remain near shoreline cover, but others will move to deeper structures such as weed lines and weedy shoals. In early fall, largemouth bass again move to the shallows where the fish feed heavily. During late fall and through the winter, largemouth bass move to deeper structures, breaks, and weed lines where feeding tapers off. Cold-front conditions cause bass to move deeper and hold tighter to cover. Strong, gusting winds also drive the fish deeper.

Best Fishing Times

Like other members of the sunfish family, largemouth bass move to warming shallow areas in the spring in search of prey and in preparation for the spawn. Because bass are vulnerable to angling pressure at this time of the year, some waters have closed seasons while other waters have catch-and-release-only regulations. On waters with open seasons, anglers can expect first-rate fishing, and sight fishing for spawning bass is particularly popular.

In the summertime, food is abundant so feeding windows are often brief. Still, the best fishing times are early in the morning and again in the evening when largemouth bass take advantage of low-light conditions to move shallow to feed. Night fishing can also be productive in the summer. For best results, try using a surface lure with a steady retrieve. With the lower angle of the sun in early fall, largemouth bass frequent the shallows (10 feet and less) to feed, so autumn promises good action.

From spring through fall, stable weather patterns find largemouth bass in predictable feeding patterns. In clear waters, expect bass to feed primarily in the morning and evening. In turbid waters, bass often bite throughout the day. Also, moderate winds tend to create lower-light conditions and to stir up organisms and algae. This makes baitfish and small fish active, which, in turn, brings the largemouth bass into the shallows to feed. Anglers can expect good fishing prior to a cold front, but once the front arrives, the action slows noticeably for a few days.

Fishing Techniques

Casting lures is the primary technique used by anglers pursuing largemouth bass. Part of the appeal of fishing for largemouth bass stems from the fish’s willingness to hit a variety of lures fished anywhere in the water column from the surface to the bottom. Surface lures may be the most exciting ones to use because the angler sees the strikes as a bass explodes through the water’s surface when the fish attacks the lure. Popular surface lures include chuggers, crawlers, poppers, and buzz baits, and they are most effective when fished under calm conditions in the morning, in the evening, and on overcast days. Plastic frogs and mice worked across the tops of weed beds are standard largemouth bass catchers, too. Bass bugs fished on the surface are the favorite lure for fly-fishermen seeking largemouth bass.

Spinner baits are also a go-to lure throughout the season. The lure can be retrieved near the surface or allowed to sink to a desired depth prior to beginning the retrieve. Cold water and turbid water call for a slow retrieve; warm water and clear water call for a faster retrieve. Plugs, too, work throughout the season. Select a small-lipped minnow plug for fishing over submerged vegetation or in shallow water, and select a large-lipped crankbait for fishing deeper water and structures. Vibrating crankbaits, also called lipless crankbaits or rattle baits, work well at a variety of depths because the lure can be retrieved just below the surface or allowed to sink to bottom prior to retrieving. Vibrating crankbaits work well over submerged weeds and in murky water where fish hone in on the vibrations emitted by the lure’s action.

Bad Cast

Lipping (grabbing a fish by its jaw) is the standard method for landing largemouth bass. This technique works great when using single-hook lures. When using lures with multiple sets of treble hooks, though, an angler should consider using other and safer techniques for landing their catch.

Soft plastics come in an amazing array of sizes, colors, and shapes with the most popular styles for largemouth bass being worms, crayfish, and lizards. The final word regarding lures, though, emphatically ranks the plastic worm as the number-one choice among largemouth bass anglers. This versatile lure can be fished on a Carolina rig for deep water and in current; it can be fished in the weedless, Texas style for working in vegetation; and it can be fished wacky style around shallow cover. For best results when using plastic worms, work them along or near the bottom. Also, don’t expect to feel a solid strike as largemouth bass tend to inhale worms. To detect a bite, you have to develop a good feel so that you sense the “tick” indicating the worm has been inhaled. Other means of detecting bites are to feel the resistance of the fish when you begin to move the worm and to watch for the line to stop moving or for the line to begin moving off to the side.

Jigs, too, are popular lures that can be fished at a variety of depths and speeds with various angler-imparted actions. Standard bass jigs have a lead head and a rubber skirt for the body. These and plain jigs can be tipped with pork trailers, plastic grubs, and plastic crayfish. Some jigs have weed guards to allow for fishing the lures in and around vegetation. Tube jigs are also productive bass offerings.

Live baits such as minnows and crayfish work well for largemouth bass. In the South, suspending oversize shiners below a bobber or balloon is a favorite technique when looking for big bass. Because bass are prone to swallowing live baits, anglers are encouraged to use a quick hook-set when they plan on releasing their catch.

Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu, have brownish or bronze sides with a series of dark vertical bars, a coloration that has earned this fish the nickname of bronzeback. Smallmouth bass are easily distinguished from their largemouth cousin because the upper jaw extends to the middle of the eye rather than beyond the eye. As you would expect, the smallmouth bass has a smaller mouth, too.

Found in much of the eastern half of the United States and into Canada as well as in some states in the western half of the country, smallmouth bass inhabit streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. This bass likes clear, cool, moving water with hard bottoms of gravel or rock, so streams and rivers with summer temperatures in the 55°F to 75°F range offer the most ideal habitat. Smallmouth bass favor deeper structures than do largemouth bass.

Smallmouth bass don’t grow as big as largemouth bass. Whereas 10 pounds is considered a big largemouth bass, a 5-pound smallmouth bass is a big one. Still, smallmouths are often more prized because of the fish’s fighting and leaping ability. Many anglers claim that pound for pound the smallmouth bass is the best-fighting game fish of all. Another attractive feature of the smallmouth is its schooling tendency. If you can catch one fish, the odds are that more fish are in the same area. A cool-water species, the smallmouth bass preys on crayfish, minnows, and small fish such as yellow perch and sunfish. Like the largemouth, smallmouths rely on sight for feeding in clear waters and lateral line for feeding in turbid water.

Locating Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth bass are a structure-oriented fish, so look for them in the 5- 25-foot depths near rocky points, rocky shorelines, rip-rap, break walls, island and mainland drop-offs, shoals, and hard-bottom flats. In rivers and streams, smallmouths seek out current breaks caused by rocks and boulders. Seams and eddies are prime holding areas, too.

In early spring, smallmouths congregate in quiet water near spawning sites. Look for breaklines and out-of-the-current places. As temperatures approach the low 60s, smallmouths can be found in shallow, hard-bottom, gravelly locations where they spawn. Throughout the summer and into early fall, look for bass on structural edges and in current breaks out to depths of 20 feet or so. By late fall as water temperatures approach the 50°F mark, smallmouths migrate to deep, quiet water where they spend the winter in a relatively inactive state.

Best Fishing Times

Spring offers first-rate smallmouth action because the fish congregate in near-shore areas where they feed and spawn. Since males stay on the nest to protect eggs and fry from predators, males are especially easy to catch. Some waters have closed seasons or catch-and-release-only seasons during the spring to protect spawning fish. During the summer, the best fishing times are morning, evening, and overcast days, times when smallmouths move to shallow waters and onto structures to feed. The evening hours can be especially good for catching smallmouths.

Even though smallmouth can be caught throughout the summer, the fish seem to have longer feeding windows in the early season as the water warms from the 60s into the low 70s and again in early fall as temperatures cool from the 70s to the low 60s.

Fishing Techniques for Smallmouth Bass

Live bait ranks as the top fishing technique among smallmouth bass anglers. Minnows work well throughout the season while crayfish and worms produce best during the summer months. Bait is generally fished on a #2 or #4 hook at line’s end with split shot placed a foot or so above or on rigs with a weight on the bottom and the bait a foot or two above the weight. Baits can be still-fished, cast out and worked slowly back, or drifted through an area. If you plan on releasing your catch, use a quick hook-set to prevent bass from swallowing the bait and hook.

Casting lures is another popular and effective technique for catching smallmouth bass. When targeting smallmouth instead of largemouth bass, anglers tend to use smaller lures. Popular lures include in-line spinners, diving plugs, and jigs. In-line spinners work well in shallow water where the flash and vibration simulate a fleeing baitfish. Diving plugs work well along structural edges and over deep shoals. Working the plug so that it emits an injured-minnow appearance produces the best results. Crayfish-imitating plugs fished along rocky-bottom areas are a favorite summer lure. The jig ranks as the most effective artificial lure for catching smallmouths. Bass jigs, tube jigs, and plastic-tipped lead-head jigs have the versatility to be fished at different speeds, in varying water depths, in a wide range of current flows, and with different actions.

Real Fishing

Taking a float trip down a small river is an excellent way to catch smallmouth bass. My fishing partner Bob Flavin and I often made such trips in a 14-foot canoe. Ironically, we spent more time out of the canoe because we would wade in the shallow, rocky, moving-water sections where we cast spinners. These areas produced the majority of our catches, so don’t be afraid to get out and do some wading on your next float trip.

Surface lures and plastic worms are less popular among smallmouth anglers than largemouth bass anglers. Still, both lures will take smallmouth. Use surface lures in the spring and early fall and on summer evenings, times when smallmouth bass inhabit shallow water. When fishing plastic worms, use small ones for the best results. Since smallmouth bass inhabit shallow streams, the fish are a favorite of fly-fishers who cast bass bugs, streamers, and wet flies.

Spotted Bass

Spotted bass, Micropterus punctulatus, are primarily found in waters from Ohio down to the states along the Gulf Coast from Texas to western Florida, but the species has been stocked in other states. More of a regional bass than the smallmouth and largemouth, the spotted bass is also called the Kentucky bass or the Kentucky spotted bass. The spotted bass has light green to brownish sides with a lateral band comprised of dark blotches. The fish’s lower half has horizontal rows of small, dark spots, which earned the bass its name. Though the spotted bass looks like its largemouth cousin, the lower jaw of the spotted bass does not extend beyond the eye. The spotted bass differs in appearance from the smallmouth because the spotted lacks vertical bars. Smaller than both smallmouth and largemouth, spotted bass average less than 1 pound in their northern range and maybe 1.5 pounds in the southern range.

Spotted bass inhabit the pools and runs of clear streams and small rivers with sluggish flows. The fish also thrive in reservoir systems where they hold near deeper structure than their smallmouth and largemouth cousins. Look for spotted bass in rocky areas where the fish feed on crayfish, minnows, small fish, and other prey. To aid in the eating of crayfish and other crustaceans, the spotted bass has a teeth-like patch on its tongue.

In the spring, spotted bass migrate upstream to spawn in shallow water with a gravel bottom. During the summer, these fish relate to areas of mild current in streams and rivers and to structures in reservoirs. To catch spotted bass, use smallmouth techniques. Whereas you might work the 10- to 20-foot depths for impoundment smallmouths, try the 20- to 30-foot depths for spotted bass.