| Catching these fish with conventional | | | | where they are located. Angler of the |
| spinning or casting gear is an | | | | Year Award, and one of the best known |
| experience in itself, though there is | | | | and most loved TV fishing personalities, |
| another way to fish for smallmouth bass | | | | Jimmy Houston is a bass legend. Whether |
| that gets overlooked by most anglers. | | | | he's fishing with sports or political |
| That other way as you might have guessed | | | | celebrities or with his children, |
| from reading the title of this article | | | | Jimmy's tips and tales are insightful, |
| is fly fishing for smallmouth bass. | | | | instructive, and laugh-out-loud funny. |
| Catch a minnow with bread if you wanna | | | | Striped bass mingle with both bluefish |
| waste your worm then catch a minnow with | | | | and false albacore as they fatten up on |
| a worm. I would do this in a man made | | | | the shoals of a myriad of baits |
| lake, they have tons of minnows. | | | | including bay anchovies, menhaden, and |
| Rivers are an excellent place to fish | | | | herring. During the fall months we have |
| for bass. Water temperatures tend to be | | | | countless opportunities to attain the |
| more moderate then that found in lakes. | | | | "Northeast Grand Slam" as well as some |
| Rivers provide one of the healthiest | | | | of those 20 lb. Striped bass do not |
| habitats, due to the highly oxygenated | | | | tolerate handling as well as Largemouth |
| waters from the rapid current. In order | | | | bass. Extra measures to minimize |
| to fish bass from rivers, it is best to | | | | handling should be taken when releasing |
| seek out breaks in the current, perhaps | | | | legal or sub-legal sized fish. |
| from a fallen tree, a stump, or rocks. | | | | Largemouth bass like a quiet, more |
| Cranks baits are a good lure of choice | | | | vegetated water than other black bass, |
| since their wobble and flash action | | | | but will use submerged logs or anything |
| attract hungry lake trout. Along with | | | | else similar that's around. Nests are |
| crank baits, spoons, jigs and spinners | | | | built usually in two to eight feet of |
| are also good choices. Crank baits with | | | | water. Largemouth bass are found around |
| are longer/larger lip are made to dive | | | | thick weed beds, but the smallmouth bass |
| and should be used in deeper water. | | | | prefer to hide out where the rock ledge |
| Cranks baits and soft plastics worked | | | | drops off sharply. Largemouth bass |
| slow will produce best. As water | | | | prefer to nest in quieter, more |
| continues to warm the bass will move | | | | vegetated water than other black bass, |
| into their deeper holes along the river | | | | but will use any substrate besides soft |
| channel, sloughs, creeks and grass beds. | | | | mud, including submerged logs. As in |
| Anglers who catch big bass all the time | | | | Guadalupe bass, once the female has laid |
| don't do it because of mere luck. They | | | | eggs in the nest (2,000 to 43,000) she |
| know what it takes to catch lunker bass, | | | | is chased away by the male who then |
| what the big bass are looking for and | | | | guards the precious eggs. |