With the arrival of autumn, as water temperatures begin to decline because of cooler nights and shorter days, anglers turn their attention to smallmouth bass.
The best fishing for this species of black bass is during the cool to cold weather months, when they tend to be shallower, and more active.
One of four species of black bass found in Kentucky waters, the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) is a member of family Centrarchidae, the sunfish family.
The other species of black bass in Kentucky are the largemouth bass and spotted (Kentucky) bass. The coosa (redeye) bass is only found in Martin’s Fork of the Cumberland River as a relict or is believed to have been introduced there in the early 1950s.
There are several descriptions of the smallmouth bass in the scientific literature.
Ichthyologists believe French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède first described the smallmouth bass in 1802, naming it after friend and French mineralogist M. Dolomieu.
Sometime after 1818, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, who became a biology professor at Transylvania University in Lexington, described the smallmouth bass at different stages of its growth from specimens he took while fishing in the Ohio River and its tributaries in Kentucky.
The smallmouth bass is generally found in upland streams and rivers throughout the eastern two-thirds of the state, and is common in all streams in northeastern Kentucky. (Photo from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Coloration and Size
The smallmouth bass is olive-brown, with a bronze luster. Dark, vertical bars are most conspicuous in young. Its eyes are red, and belly silvery.
Water clarity, the sex of the fish, and its diet are also factors in its coloration.
There are 13 to 15 soft rays in the fish’s dorsal fin, nine to 11 dorsal spines, and 10 to 11 anal spines. The caudal fin of juveniles has an orange base, black middle, and white edge.
The smallmouth’s cheek and opercle have three bronze streaks radiating from the eye.
Males are generally smaller than females.
Most adults are in the 10 to 20-inch range, weighing one to four pounds.
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world record smallmouth bass was caught in Kentucky, from Dale Hollow Lake in 1955.
Common names include bronzeback, brown bass, and smallie.
There are two recognized subspecies, the Northern smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui dolomieui) and the Neosho smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui velox).
In streams, smallmouth bass primarily inhabit cool, clear waters flowing over clean, rocky bottoms. They prefer streams with alternate pools and riffles, with a gradient of four to 20 feet per mile. (Photo by Art Lander Jr.)
Distribution in Kentucky
The smallmouth bass is generally found in upland streams and rivers throughout the eastern two-thirds of the state and is common in all streams in northeastern Kentucky.
Fishery scientists have sampled this bass from the following river basins: Big Sandy, Little Sandy, upper and lower Cumberland, Licking, Kentucky, Green, Salt, and the main stem of the Ohio River.
Additionally, smallmouth bass are present in varying abundance in seven major reservoirs — Barren River Lake, Cave Run Lake, Lake Cumberland, Dale Hollow Lake, Green River Lake, Kentucky Lake and Laurel River Lake.
Geographic Range
The native geographic range of the smallmouth bass extends from Minnesota on the northwest, south to eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas, east to northern Alabama, and western North Carolina, then up the western slope of the Appalachians to New York and southern Canada, and westward through the Great Lakes states.
The prized game fish has also been introduced to many western states, and northeastern states, east of the Appalachians.
Habitat and Food Preferences
In streams, smallmouth bass primarily inhabit cool, clear waters flowing over clean, rocky bottoms.
They prefer streams with alternate pools and riffles, with a gradient of four to 20 feet per mile.
By day, they position themselves in deep holes below riffles, or in the shade of undercut banks, moving to the base of riffles to feed, early and late in the day.
Young feed on zooplankton and immature aquatic insects while adults eat crayfish, minnows and shiners, and insects, both aquatic and terrestrial.
Smallmouth bass are sometimes cannibalistic, and when juveniles are preyed upon by larger fish, turtles and water birds.
Spawning
The male builds a nest in shallow waters, on gravel or rubble. The nest is about 30 inches in diameter.
Spawning begins when the water temperature reaches 62 degrees F.
The male and female pair off in the nest, then swim in circles after the eggs and milt are deposited.
After spawning, the female leaves the nest and may spawn with another male in another nest. Females can lay up to 21,00 eggs. Males guard the eggs and young.
The fry of the smallmouth bass can be distinguished from the young of largemouth and spotted bass by their solid black coloration.
A great winter technique is Float n’ Fly, a finesse presentation targets suspended fish. Anglers fish 1/32, 1/16 or 1/8-ounce lead-head jigs on a long leader below a 1-inch plastic, pear-shaped float. (Photo by Art Lander Jr.)
Fishing Tackle and Techniques
Smallmouth can be caught on a wide range of artificial lures, including crankbaits, topwater propeller baits, hair jigs, plastic jerk baits, spinner baits, and all types of soft plastic grubs and tubes, rigged with lead head jigs.
The best live baits are shiners, shad, alewives, molting (soft) crayfish and leeches, available in northern waters.
A great winter technique, when the water is cold, and bass spend much of their time suspended, is Float n’ Fly.
The fishing technique was perfected in Tennessee in the early 1990s, and can be used to catch smallmouth bass in large rivers and lakes, provided that conditions are right – there’s clear water, and water temperatures are below 50 degrees.
The finesse presentation targets suspended fish and is most productive on smallmouth and spotted bass.
The term Float n’ Fly is a bit misleading, because it’s really a jig and bobber rig, with a 1/32, 1/16 or 1/8-ounce lead-head jig fished on a long leader (10 feet or longer) below a 1-inch plastic, pear-shaped float.
The ideal scenario is a front with wind, which helps break the surface and creates a current. The toughest fishing is on calm, clear days when anglers must fish shady banks.
Anglers use long spinning rods to cast to deep banks. Let the bait settle, with the bobber moving ever so slightly in the wind. Keep the rod tip up and a tight line on the bobber. The fly will wiggle, like a baitfish stressed by the cold. Bass think it’s an easy meal and move off with the fly. Set the hook when the bobber goes down, floats on its side, or moves horizontally.
Most anglers tie their own jigs. Float n’ Fly jigs are lead-head jigs tied with bright-colored craft hair and/or bucktail, with strips of shiny synthetic materials that add flash.
The jigs are meant to imitate baitfish — gizzard and threadfin shad, or alewives. A top hook choice is a bronze finish No. 4 Mustad Accu-Point on a 1/16-ounce jig.
Smallmouth bass are gamers, known for their power dives, and flashy jumps.
Put down the remote, turn off the TV, and get off the couch this fall and winter. Don’t miss out on some of the best bass fishing of the year.
Art Lander Jr. is outdoors editor for KyForward. He is a native Kentuckian, a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a life-long hunter, angler, gardener and nature enthusiast. He has worked as a newspaper columnist, magazine journalist and author and is a former staff writer for Kentucky Afield Magazine, editor of the annual Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, and co-writer of the Kentucky Afield Outdoors newspaper column.
