Smallmouth bass
Also called Bronzeback, Smallie
A smallmouth bass is a freshwater black bass (Micropterus dolomieu) known for living in current and rocky habitat and eating crayfish, minnows, and insects.
- Group
- Warmwater & exotic freshwater
- Category
- Species
- Level
- Beginner
- Water
- Freshwater
Last updated
What Smallmouth bass means
Smallmouth bass are predators that hold around rock, gravel, wood, and current seams. They are common in clear rivers and natural lakes across much of the U.S. and southern Canada, and they are stocked or introduced in some places outside that range.
Most fly fishing for smallmouth is built around what they actually eat. Streamers that look like baitfish or crayfish get the most time, and topwater flies come into play when fish are willing to rise. In moving water, smallmouth often set up where they can let food come to them, then slide out to eat and slide back.
Why it matters on the water
Smallmouth relate to structure in a very readable way. If you learn to pick out a boulder field, a ledge, a logjam, or a clean current break, you can cover water with a plan instead of blind casting.
They are aggressive, but they do not always chase far. Presentations that stay in the strike zone, like a streamer swung across a seam or a fly worked along the edge of rocks, usually out-fish long, fast retrieves down the middle.
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Read next
- Clouser MinnowA weighted baitfish streamer with lead or brass eyes that make it ride hook-point-up. It’s used in fresh or salt water to imitate small fish and move quickly through current.
- CrayfishA crayfish is a freshwater crustacean that looks like a small lobster. Trout, bass, and carp eat them, and many streamers are tied to imitate their shape and movement.
- Largemouth bassA largemouth bass is a warmwater freshwater predator known for its wide mouth, heavy body, and ambush style of feeding around cover.
- StreamerA streamer is a fly meant to be moved to imitate a baitfish, leech, sculpin, or crayfish. It is often fished with strips, swings, or a steady retrieve, but it can also be dead-drifted.
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