When fishing for smallmouth bass, it is important to learn their habits.

Once you know how the fish lives and behaves, you can more easily catch it. Smallmouth bass all over the country react in the same way to various conditions, whether they are from Michigan or Missouri. Bass don’t know where their pond is, only what temperature the water is and that they are ready to go after a tempting spinnerbait.

Near the end of winter, until the water temperature climbs into the mid-50s, smallmouth bass begin to become active. This is called the pre-spawn period. Because smallmouth bass are coldblooded, they will be less inclined to feed at this time, but once the water warms up to the mid-50s, the largest fish will begin to move out to shallow areas to spawn. The water in these areas will slowly taper out to a depth of 10-25 feet. Bushes, stumps, rocks, and other cover may improve the appeal of a flat to these fish. At this time, big crankbaits and spinnerbaits that mimic crayfish are successful, as well as imitation fish, grubs and worms on breaklines.

Not all bass spawn at the same time, because the lakes in which they live don’t warm up uniformly all the way across. The northwest side of lakes will be the warmest, and thus the area where smallmouth bass will spawn first. Large spawning females will be inclined to take spinnerbaits at this time. When the bluegill are spawning, towards the end of the bass spawning period, baits that mimic smaller members of those species are also very successful. Smallmouth bass tend to spawn on small gravel, in water between 3 and 15 feet deep. These areas must be accessible by sunlight. Larger bass will prefer to spawn in deeper water.

After spawning, bass will be difficult to find until the water warms further. In summer, the smallmouth bass will tend to move to deeper waters with shelter from structure such as bridges and boulders, because very warm water does not retain enough oxygen. After dark, these fish tend to move up to shallower waters to forage on crayfish. Smallmouth bass can use deep water as cover, so points with deep water access can be a good place to catch them even if there are no obvious places for the fish to shelter. In the summer, the best way to catch these deep-hiding fish is to use sinkers to bring the bait down to them. By the time fall and cool water come around, smallmouth bass will move to shallower haunts. They still prefer deeper water than largemouths, but can be taken by topwater lures in the fall. The same lures used in summer will be effective in fall, with the addition of the large, crayfish-mimicking crankbaits.