Smallmouths in winter

[Acemac]

I am getting board of catching all the walleyes I can handle and want to start a new search for metro smallmouths, but I have no idea where to even start. what type of structre can you find them this time of year?

[RumRiverRat]

The River in Monticello for Smallmouth.

[Acemac]

Guess I was thinking more through the ice on a lake but thanks for the idea.

I mostly fish tonka so I am looking to go after them there just curious what they do this time of year in a lake.

[EBass]

They catch smallies on Mille Lacs. A smallie through the ice on Tonka would be a feat! Good luck!

[Presco]

There's a YouTube video out there somewhere (I think its been posted here before) of a guy catching a massive smallie through the ice on Tonka.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

From what I hear, someone correct me if Im wrong, but they get pretty lethargic and school up pretty tight in deep water. Im guessing deep is a relative term, but I say around 30'. Id practice a little restraint if you do find them bunched up, stressing them out and bring them from the depths in winter could be a death sentence.

I vaguely remember reading an article in In-fisherman a while back touching on the subject.

[OnAFly]

They will sit on rock piles in deeper water. Find mid lake humps and you've got a shot. I accidentally caught a nice one today on a 20ft hump around 40ft of water. I thought it was going to be a massive walleye, but I was happy either way. Got a good picture out of it anyways.

[Raider4ever]

+1 on the mid lake humps. I know a nice one that comes out of 24 fow up to about 13. The SMB I pull out of it are nearly always in the 16-18 fow area. These do not seem to get lethargic as I have caught (and released them because yes, I know the season closes.) while fishing walleyes and pannies on the hump Jan-March (Yeah, I don't ice fish in December or April. You can, your call.).

[Stick in Mud]

In my many years of fishing on Mille Lacs, I've only caught one through the ice. I'm sure some guys catch more, but I don't hear about it. And I ice fish the Miss River in the winter, and when I drop the camera down, sometimes you can nearly hit the fish with the camera and they won't move. Near Monti you can catch smallies, but it's not through the ice. I don't know anyone who's caught one in the Miss through the ice, though, and there've been times on the camera when I could just about snag the buggers. I'm sure some of them do bite, and better fisherman than I am might catch some, but I don't know if it's realistic to specifically target them. Just my measly .02.

[RK]

Hiya -

TUTF is correct regarding wintering smallmouths. They go nearly dormant, and basically survive the winter on stored energy - they're basically in starvation mode. They don't actively feed, but can be triggered into biting. I kind of cringe when I see guys on TV targeting ice smallies, because everythign I've heard from biologists on the subject - and that includes some of the best smallmouth researchers in the world - is that it can really hurt their chances of surviving the winter or spawning successfully the next spring.

Warm water discharges like Monticello are a different case obviously, but personally targeting them through the ice isn't something I'd do.

Cheers,

RK

[tencountff]

Me and my brother in law caught these two and one more while fishing for walleyes in 18fow. Two holes produced the 3 smallies, a bunch of perch, 5 rock bass and 3 walleyes (one was a 19in) from 3:30-5:30. Good times!

[tencountff]

woops thats a diff eye. heres the other smally

[Wanderer]

Nice catches. Good multi-species spot!

I have to agree with RK on this one. Some fish aren't 12 mo/yr fish and pummelling a wintering school of smallies only has the potential for disaster.

While lake trout fishing in Ontario last weekend I was working a shelf near a steep drop. In a hole that marked 37 feet I pulled up two 16 inch smallies in a row. I did think that was pretty cool and I enjoyed catching them but was glad there weren't any more in the area. If there were I would have left it.

Tired of catching walleyes? That's a problem most people don't have.