Fall Lake Smallie Patterns?

[KickNBass]

Anybody have any fall lake smallmouth patterns?

I have a decent feel for largies in the fall but not for smallies (aside from river smallies).

[TonkaBass]

They school really big in the fall. Just keep moving until you run into them and use search baits like jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, topwaters, and the like to find them. Then switch to drop shots, finesse jigs, tubes, flukes or whatever once you find them. Thats what I normally do anyways.

[thatoneguy]

About what water temps trigger the start of the schooling, would you guess?

[RK]

Hiya -

I figure as soon as temps start falling through the 60s you get a serious move, but as soon as we got a cool spell, you could already kind of see them bunching up even though they're still on summer spots (same with LMB for that matter). I think Tonka's right on that the can school up pretty heavy, and you sometimes have to move to find them. Good news is once you do find them, they'll sometimes stay in the same area for a long time. I found one spot last fall that the fish didn't leave for 6 weeks, from early September through mid-October.

At least on the lakes I fish, this is the one time of year when smallies really seem to relate to weeds - they'll move up onto inside weedlines and shallow flats and you catch them mixed in with largemouths if they're also present. Also find them on shallow to mid-depth sand and gravel flats.

Later as turnover hits, the old pattern used to be that fish moved off into wintering holes in deep water and kind of stayed there, but it really seems that's changed, and some of the better smallie fisherman I know (who also happen to be fisheries biologists) have notice the same thing. Fish will actually move back to where you'd find them pre-spawn, (one of them calls it a 'false spawn movement') even in pretty cold water, and fishing can really be good for a while if you hit it right. Right before ice up, they do move off to wintering areas, and stuff like jigging spoons can really clobber them if you find them.

I tend to fish a lot of soft plastics most of the season for smallies, but in fall, hard baits can rule - I fish a lot of 1/2 oz willow leaf single spins, crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits like a King Shad and buzzbaits can be killer to. Also the one time of year I really fish soft paddle tail swimbaits much at all. Cast 'em far and cover water...

Cheers,

RK

[KickNBass]

Interesting posts. A buddy and I have been doing some late fall smallie fishing in the depths with mixed results the last couple years. We were hoping to find fish grouped up but they were pretty scattered.

Got up to the GR area this weekend and did OK. Fished some clear lakes and was able to get some top water action early and late.

And now my 5 year old has already scored his first double bass with a couple little smallies on a devils horse. All by himself...still haven't done that myself...he's already talking about how he almost had three on one cast...better not show him the Alabama rig!

[Raider4ever]

...And now my 5 year old has already scored his first double bass with a couple little smallies on a devils horse. All by himself...still haven't done that myself...he's already talking about how he almost had three on one cast...better not show him the Alabama rig!

Watch out KVD!!!

[CAMAN]

I think they're eating crawfish.

[Deitz Dittrich]

how did that craw daddy crawl in that little hole? Weird.

[Juan Grande]

Ouch and I thought jalapenos hurt!

So what part of the crayfish does the bass actually digest?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Brains!!!!!

No wait.. thats zombies..

[TonkaBass]

I think they can digest the whole thing if the skin exo isnt too hard. Thats what Ive heard anyways...

[Raider4ever]

I think they're eating crawfish.

Where's Sigourney Weaver when you need her?

[RumRiverRat]

I think they can digest the whole thing if the skin exo isnt too hard. Thats what Ive heard anyways...

When they molt crawdads are very vulnerable.

The molt bite can be lights out, the clue is smallies that have scrapes and cuts on their heads from rooting around in the rocks.

When they molt they try to hide in the rocks, I have read various studies suggesting there is a pheromone released by the crawdads that the smallies and largemouth detect.

This Green and Brown were caught at the peak of the crawdad molt back in 2010 on Mille Lacs. The Green was 21" IIRC and the Brown was 20 and change.

The Green I caught had a crawdad partially swallowed, a couple in its belly and parts of several coming out of its vent.