Largemouth vs. smallmouth

[shwatec]

I've fished for mainly largemouths my entire life. Usually with some type of worm, crank or spinner and fell into some smallies on orchard lake last summer.

I would like to do some smallmouth fishing this yr. Any advice on tackle, tips and southeast michigan smallmouth lakes would be greatly appreciated.


On another note....has anyone heard any new news on the southeast michigan bass disease that has been ripping through the area killing all the largemouts in oakland county since early 2001. I know that pontiac lk, Lake orion and others in the area have sufferd greatly...

[Brown duck]

You should be able to catch smallies with the same lures you have used for largemouth. Jigs are always good, crawfish imitations are great! I use a lot of different soft plastics (e.g., tubes, crawbugs, twister tails, etc.). Just target different areas. Instead of weeds, go to rocky areas off points or dropoffs.

Not sure about the lakes or the disease though...

[shwatec]

What kind of depth am I looking for? I usually target Docks, weedlines and shorelines for LM bass.

what type of jigs...

[Frozenfish]

Gary Yamamoto Wacky Style!!!

[RatMan]

Largemoths hide in cover and ambush prey. Smallmouths roam in packs like wolves and hunt prey. This makes them a little tougher to find and sometimes they just find you. Hit the edges of cover, humps and points. If you get one it's likely you'll get more. They love crayfish big time.

[East Shore Jon]

Gary Yamamoto Wacky Style!!!

Amen brother

[SPITFIRE]

i c you were on orchard lake try jumpin gover to cass lake it holds lotsa smallies.It gets alot of boat traffic but ive caught them trolling slowly out the back of boat with jig and minnow even after a jet boat or water skier zig zags all around me i guess they ge used to it.I used a minnow sein to catch my own bait out of cass so im using the bait they see every day,just make sure you dont use any baby walleye because ive found them in my net.

[Whit1]

Smallmouth Bass? SE Michigan? You can do no better than go out on Lake St. Claire, find water from 8 feet and deeper and toss out something that fish will eat.........:lol:

[Oldgrandman]

Do not know about the SE side, Whit1 probably had a good tip on that. But they seem to be a little deeper that LM's and a 1/8 oz. jig and a shiner has been a good bait for me.
My buddy got a 22 incher on a crawler and tiny splitshot just throwing up to a sharp 3' to 20' drop off and letting it fall down out about 2 feet from it. It hit near bottom. The biggest smallie ever landed on my boat, GOOD LUCK!

[redneckman]

smoke with silver flake senko from of course, gary yamamoto.

Redneckman

[mjmmusser]

I like to work rock, docks, points and steep drop-offs for the small mouth. I use a 1/2 ounce spinnerbait slow rolling it. I also get alot when trolling for walleye with a floating crawler harness. Most of my fish come off from shallow points in the spring, then switch to deeper depths(15-30 fow) during the warmest months,of course this is inland lakes.

[wecker20]

wow, only one post mentioned rocks. If you are fishing a lake w/ smallies and find rocks and gravel fish it. They can be anywhere from the 2-4ft range to 10-20 ft. off the drops near a rock/gravel flat. I use tubes and spinnerbaits, wife uses senkos.

[Nu_2_MI]

I know it's not boat fishing, but being shore bound, I can tell you my best luck with smallies are spillways of decent man-made lakes. Always lots of rock and they are up there to feed. I usually go with live bait and a simple split shot. Way too many snags for me to use expensive tackle. I usually catch several species doing this, but many smallies have been taken using this method. Was up north this week and since the lake was way too windy we hit the spillway and caught so many smallies it was unbelievable!! many 2-3 pounders and quite a few ranging between 4-5 pounds......very fat.....they eat well up there. Oh...and smallies are pound for pound one of the best fighting fish you'll ever find...far more fight than a largemouth.

[Michigan Mike]

I used to go to Orchard 3 to 5 times a week before it became
a hydroplane type lake.
Now I just Ice fish it when there is ice. lol
It's has Great smallmouth, nice big gills and Huge pike.
The deep edges of the weedbeds around inside and outside turns
are usually around 16 ft and are the areas I used to target for smallies and northerns.

As someone else mentioned, crayfish will get the job done!
But then again using them is cheating and you'll probably
hurt your arm from catching "Too Many!"

[ulrichdebrus]

Nearly all the smallies I cleaned have craws in their bellies. Also, I find that they often go for smaller bait than bucketmouths, whether live or a small spinner perhaps or Rebel Crickethopper. I got a nice looking one this morning (16 in.) on a leafworm while jigging for gills.

*