# Let's talk bass...



## njsimonson

Kudos to Chris for adding this part to the site!

In the past couple of years I have become a champion for the smallmouth bass. It is by far the most underrated fish in our waters. What other fish, when reaching 3-4 pounds pulls as hard, jumps as high, and provides more excitement? The answer: NONE! (At least in my book!) The Sheyenne provides some great C&R smallmouth fishing. Last year I caught between 15 and 20 bronzebacks in the 16-19 inch range, it was a blast!

And with lots of great smallmouth waters around our area in Southeastern ND, expect to see quite a few posts from me in the spring and summer!

Last spring I also stumbled upon a great little largemouth lake in my area, boy, I tell you, there's no other fishing like topwater bass fishing. The excitement of that is second-to-none. My favorite is a Super Spook Jr. walked across the surface along weeds and other cover. To watch those explosions on the surface is incredible!

I also like Chompers tubes rigged on a 2/0 Rapala hook in Texas rig style, or Texposed, depending on the amount of slop on the surface of the lake, to pull a bass out of the gunk is a real challenge! I'm going to need a longer, stronger rod this year!

So where do you fish for bass? What do you like to use? I know it is a while until the season is upon us, but talking about some hot summer action might make us a little bit more ready for the warmwater months!

Tight lines!


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## Dick Monson

NJ, would you give us a rundown on fishing smallies as most have never intentionally targeted them. I've caught some on the rocks at the dam but always while fishing for something else. Haven't got a clue how to start. Give us a article on river fishing smallies too.

In the early 60s many stockdams were stoked with bluegills and large mouth. The bass were a kick on a flyrod popper. The biggest I saw was about 18" and really gave a tussel to the flyrod.


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## nodakoutdoors.com

The only smallies I can honestly say I've caught were accidental while fishing Sakakawea.

Topwater fishing is awesome. I grew up fishing jitterbugs, hoola poppers and buzz baits with my dad and brother in MN...and what's great is they still work well. Unfortunetly, I don't get to fish for bass as much as I used to.

If you want to have some excellent fishing, try Boyer Lake by Lake Park, MN in the spring. The whole lake is flooded timber so every cast seems like the "ideal cast". One of the best lakes for structure that I've ever fished.


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## Decoyer

West Central MN is one of the best kept secrets in bass fishing in the upper midwest. Every lake in the Pelican Rapids area is loaded with them. One the lake that I fish, it often takes 18-20 lbs of largemouth to win a tournament. Think about that, a 5 fish limit, thats a 4 lb average. Not too shabby for Minnesota. It always amazes me that more guys don't take advantage of the largemouth fishing in MN.


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## bigblackfoot

I hear ya Decoyer, I primarily fish bass in the summer. I cant believe that lack of people that dont take advantage of this wonderfull resource. And my favorite part is you dont have to troll around the lake all day and just wait for a tap.

As far as Boyer yeah it is a good lake but fishing has really slowed down the last few years do to pressure.


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## njsimonson

Dick,

You know just where to get me!

I'll give a quick rundown of my hotspots and some tips to try on ANY river for smallmouth. I don't fish a whole lot of them on lakes, but there are some area impoundments around Valley City which do hold big smallmouth. A full scale article might be a bit much for the message forum, but I'll see if I can't talk Chris into letting me do one as the season approaches.

Smallmouth are notorious ambush predators, they like overhanging cliff-type shores where they can shade themselves. Any steep or rocky embankment with different seams or eddies nearby is always the best place to find them.

Look for rocks or fallen timber or other such structure near the riverbank in late April, May and June to hold bronzebacks. Anything that creates an ambush zone, collects food, or breaks up the flow of the water is a high percentage area. Since smallies predominately dine on crayfish, find rocks, gravel, and stones that will hold the small crustaceans and aquatic insects such as dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, on which the fish also survive.

Smallies, especially in the prime pre-spawn months, are VERY aggressive. From the past several years I have made one determination when it comes to May smallmouth fishing. USE ORANGE! Most smallmouth bass have an orange-red coloration to their eyes which seems to intensify as they stage for spawning. Dominance is established by chasing off other would be suitors. My theory is that the big smallmouth bass, being territorial, chase anything off that is orange.

My bread and butter lure is very simple. A 1/8 oz ORANGE Wazp jighead and 3 in. Mister Twister curly grub in yellow/black dot is my mainstay. When targeting the big fish, I like to upsize to a 3.5" camo storm rattling tube (June, when the fish start to target crayfish) or a Chompers tube. I usually rig them on an 1/8 oz VMC tube jighead, but have had success on 2/0 Rapala/VMC bass hooks rigged texas style or texposed.

The best part about smallmouth in the summer is that if they are present in any given location, they will bite. And the other nice thing, they are usually easy to find, and don't always require a boat. Try looking along shoreline rip-rap, near bridge pilings, cement slabs, or other stone or wooden structure in the water that will attract food, or provide some shelter.

There's one aspect of smallmouth fishing that I cannot stress enough and that is CATCH AND RELEASE! In my home waters there is a good population of 16-19 inch smallmouth bass. Fisheries biologists have determined that it takes 12 years for a smallie to reach 18 inches in length. Taking one out for the wall has a great impact on the fishery, especially the small waters that I fish. Furthermore, with their aggressive style and no-holds-barred attitude, that fish will provide thrilling fights for you and others in the future. Several times last summer I returned to some of my favorite spots to catch the same three smallmouths (16-20") over and over, day after day, and they never quit coming back for more. So the next time you land a big smallmouth, set her free to spawn and live out another season, because it takes a long time for the river to replace her.

A great resource for anglers targeting running-water smallmouth bass is Riversmallies.com. Most of the anglers there are from the south and east, but they provide some great insight into the fish, and have years of fishing experience to help answer any questions. The website has quality articles and the message forums are well-run and full of good folks.

So instead of accidentally bumping heads with a bronzeback next summer, try targeting these cagey fish, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

(I guess this kinda turned into a full scale article, didn't it!?!)


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## stevepike

NJ,

Great post except you gave away a big secret. Orange. 

I am one of the few that does target bass as well. Both large and smallmouth. I blame it on my time in the Corps in California. Caught and released a handful of Largemouth over 10 lb and alot in the 5-10 lb range. I do believe the state record largemouth will be broken in the next 3 years (in ND).

Last year we had the bronzebacks busting our spinners as we trolled for trout. Nothing like seeing a 5 yr old with a 16" on the end of their line. Or a 30+ yr old for that matter.

Great section. If you are ever heading out this way after bass, PM me.

Steve


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## Decoyer

Lyle, where you usually fish bass at? I am usually somewhere in the Pelican Area every weekend.


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## bigblackfoot

Zach, I usually fish the lake park area. I only fish the lakes with very limited access. i like those better no pressure and my little boat can get around good. I found some new hot spots right by fargo this past summer. We will have to hit it up this summer.


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## Dick Monson

nj, I'd like to hear a report from you and the other guys who are fly rod crackers about bass and your experiances. I've had a few northerns on streamers and it was a kick. The Dec issue of DAKOTA COUNTRY has an article by Chuck Loftis- "Why Fly Fishing" that is good for beginers and experianced sports as well. I'll probably never fly fish for trout but I'm only a skip and a jump from the mighty Sheyenne so I am going to try those smallies. I also intend to make a run to Devils Lake when the white bass are in so I can wear out my arm there too.


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## njsimonson

Dick,

I have only caught a couple of small largemouths on the flyrod when panfishing in Detroit Lakes. However, I plan to change that this summer, now that I know what I do about largemouths and their feeding habits, and how the flyrod will work on them.

I do look forward to it. The ice fishing has been so bad for me, that I think a few months of flytying indoors will be the perfect winter activity! I plan on trying to get some orange wooly buggers going for the springtime smallmouth bite. I'll give you a holler some weekend in May or June and we'll take the Grumman up river!


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