Spring Smallies

Targeting Smallmouth in Spring

By Author John Olsen

Smallmouth Bass are one of my favorite species to target. Pound for pound, they fight harder than most fish, and their green color and red eyes look amazing.

Smallmouths, or Smallies as I call them, are native to a few eastern and southern US lakes. In the 70s, fish and game from various states like Arizona started to plant them as an experiment for a new game fish in the 90s. They became very popular game fish and are now in all the lower 48 states and Hawaii. They were recently illegally found in Alaska. Many rivers and lakes have been illicitly stocked with Smallies, like the Green River in Utah. Smallies can wreak havoc on native fish populations.

I live in Northern Utah, so, unfortunately, I'm limited in where to find smallmouths. Before Lake Powell dropped so low, I often took a week-long trip there in May to fish Smallmouth, and it was always a blast!

To target Smallmouth in northern Utah, you have Jordenell, Deer Creek, Pineview, Mantua, and Willard, to name a few. In Idaho, you have Dworshak, Lake Pend Oreille, Snake River, Boise River, and Oneida, to name just a few.

Smallmouth tend to move around a lot more than Largemouth, and they have a different idea of what cover they like. They will hang out on the edge between flats and deeper water to ambush prey. In spring, you want to target the edge of drop-offs for smallmouths.

The three lures I use most in springtime are:

1. A good jerk bait. I like the Rapala Husky Jerk in an 8 or 10

Size. It's smaller than I use for Largemouth because Smallies like smaller bait. The colors I use depend on water clarity and the sun. The clearer and brighter it is, the more brilliant the color I'll throw.

2. A good Swim bait, one of my all-time favorites for Smallies, is the Rapala DT. It has excellent action and a good rattle to it. Color again depends on the sun and the clarity of the water. I'll again go smaller than when fishing Largemouth, so I like a DT4 or DT6. (Rapala should sponsor me)

3. Tube jig. A good old-fashioned 3" Tupe jig bounced from shallows to deeper water is hard for Smallies to resist. As color goes, if it's clear water, I start with a white jig, and if it doesn't produce, I'll go a hot pink for red. If it's a cloudy day or a little murky water, I'll go darker green.

Smallies will move along the shelves, so keep moving and working the water column from shallow to deep.

Rivers are very similar to reservoirs and work from shallow to deeper water.

Smallmouth Cajun Fry

Ingredients:

¼ Cup Hot Sauce (Frank's RedHot Mild Wings Hot Sauce is my go-to)

1 Cup Buttermilk

Smallmouth Bass Fillets

10 oz. Cajun Fish Fry Seasoning Mix

Peanut Oil

Salt

Instructions

In a bowl, combine your favorite hot sauce and buttermilk. Soak fillets in this mixture for no less than 2 hours. Soaking overnight gives the best results. Allow fillets to drip-dry in a strainer before seasoning. In a flat pan, put the seasoning mix and press fillets firmly into the meal on each side. Do this two or three times to create a nice crust—heat oil to 375 degrees in a skillet or deep fryer. Fry the fish until they float and turn crispy and golden (approximately 2 minutes). Once the fillets are cooked, salt immediately on both sides as you remove the fish from the oil. After that, they're ready to be gobbled up! If you are going to wait a couple of minutes to eat, put those puppies on a tray lined with paper towels so they don't get soggy. Serve with your favorite side- Coldslaw and french fries!