Learning To Catch Smallmouth

Texas may be known for its largemouth fishing, in fact the largest bass I’ve caught in my life was from a private lake in the Lone Star State, but there are also opportunities to catch one of the pound for pound hardest fighting freshwater fish there is, the smallmouth bass. They are most often found in cool, clear lakes, reservoirs and streams, most notably in places like Lake Texoma, Lake Whitney, the Brazos River, and other similar waterways. 

On spinning gear they can be caught in a similar fashion to largemouth with your typical topwater lures, crankbaits, tubes, dropshot worms and the like. Their prey items range from frogs and mayflies to shad, shiners, sculpins, crayfish and hellgrammites. They are commonly known for being “cool water” fish but given the opportunity and lack of other competing predators, they can operate just fine in warm water conditions. To learn more about these fearsome fighters, I recently went out on the water with guide Nick Minesinger of Schultz Outfitters to catch them in an entirely different fashion, on the fly rod. 

Fly fishing is often thought to be based around targeting trout and saltwater species such as redfish, permit and tarpon, but there is a growing trend of fishing for smallies on the fly because as stated by Minesinger, “smallmouth are going to fight a lot harder than trout and from a fishing standpoint if you’re a dry fly trout fisherman and you’re not in trout country, go fish for smallmouth. They will eat bugs and hunt them the exact same way and they will sip them as gingerly as the most wild mountain cutthroat you can find.” I saw this first hand as we drifted down the river, catching one smallmouth after another. We pulled modified wooly buggers through the water and out of nowhere the aggressive smallmouth bass smashed the flies and we fought them hard, all the way to the boat. 

The most asked question of all time when it comes to fishing is, what gear do I need? In this case, Minesinger suggests, “A six weight rod with a floating line would be a really good place to start. You have a little bit of beef to throw a little bit of size. If you’re really interested in throwing bigger streamers, stepping up to a seven or eight weight would be a really good place to go but we are throwing some three and four inch flies today and some poppers on six weights and we are doing just fine.” Doing just fine is no understatement. While out with Minesinger, my friend and I managed to pull in fifty smallmouth over the course of a few hours, all on the aforementioned equipment. 

As often is the case, we’re all on a budget, and luckily I have found a few great options for the angler looking to start catching smallies on the fly. As soon as I was done fishing with Nick, I ran out and grabbed myself an eight weight to add to the collection so I could start chasing smallmouth on my own. The two top picks I would recommend are the TFO NXT Black Label combo and the Reddington Wrangler combo, both ringing in at around $170 to $250 respectively at the time of this writing. Both have warranties in the chance that you break them and they both come with everything you need to get out on the water, minus a few flies. Instead of buying a rod in every weight I started with the five weight and then purchased an eight weight when I eventually needed to throw larger flies, but don’t let the weight worry you too much. You can still catch fish no matter which rod you start with. 

Most of us are used to seeking out largemouth bass in their typical hiding places along drop offs, weed edges, rock piles and other various structure, but when asked how to find smallies on rivers, Minesinger details how they are different in some regards. “Smallmouth  are very current dependent creatures so definitely look for moving water vs backwater swampy stuff. That is where you’re going to find most of them. Smallmouth also really like structure. Any wood, rocks, grass, anything like that keep an eye on. As the season progresses they go from crushing bait fish to a lot more subtle hunting of damselflies and hunting smaller pods of bait and things like that.”

I have caught smallmouth on my own with conventional tackle in the past both in rivers and in lakes, but chasing them on the fly was an entirely different experience. Standing on a drift boat as it gently cruises down a crystal clear river, casting big streamers and watching smallies flash up out of seemingly nowhere is something I think everyone should get to enjoy at least once in their life. Not only is the challenge greater, but it is an entirely different experience than standing on the deck of a bass boat or casting off the side of a kayak and feeling your line get slammed in the depths below. There is just something about watching the fish predate on your fly and hit your line that is downright enjoyable. 

Whether you blow the dust off the old five weight sitting in the corner of the garage, order a new combo kit online or go out with a guide, fly fishing for smallmouth, and frankly all species of freshwater fish is a thrill. I have found that it helps break me out of my habits that I so often fall back on when spin fishing, and as Minesinger told me on our trip, “I think traditional anglers pick up fly fishing so much faster than people who start out as fly fisherman. They have a good foundation and understand how fish act already, and that’s 90% of the battle.” So if the thought of trying fly fishing has ever crossed your mind, I would encourage you to go out and give it a shot. Texas has an abundance of wonderful smallmouth fisheries that are calling your name. Go out and try them!

Paul Fuzinksi (Aptitude Outdoors)