Smallmouth bass: fishing tips by season, habitat and lures

Smallmouth bass fishing tips: biology, where smallmouth live, water temperatures by season, the best lures for rivers and lakes, and the best times to fish.

Smallmouth bass are, pound for pound, one of the hardest-fighting freshwater fish in America. They jump, they dig, and they live in some of the prettiest water in the country: clear rivers, rocky lakes and the Great Lakes. If you've caught largemouth but never a smallmouth, you're in for a surprise.

This guide covers smallmouth biology, where to find them, seasonal patterns by water temperature, the best lures and the best timing. For the basics of rods, line and knots, see how to fish.

Smallmouth bass basics

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is a member of the sunfish family, a close cousin of the largemouth.

How to tell them apart: smallmouth are bronze to brown with vertical bars, often with red eyes. The upper jaw ends at or before the eye. On a largemouth, it extends past the eye.
Size: most fish are 1–4 lb. A 5 lb smallmouth is a trophy almost anywhere.
Habitat: cooler, clearer water than largemouth, with rock, gravel and current.
Diet: crayfish, baitfish (shiners, alewives, gobies in the Great Lakes), insects and leeches.
Native range: the Great Lakes and the Ohio, Tennessee and upper Mississippi river systems. They've been widely introduced elsewhere, including the West.

Where smallmouth live in the US

Region	Famous waters	Notes
Great Lakes	Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Sturgeon Bay (Lake Michigan), Lake Ontario's eastern basin	Big fish, deep rock, goby-eating smallmouth. Drop shots and tubes.
Northeast	Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River, Susquehanna River	Rocky lakes and wide rivers.
Upper Midwest	Mille Lacs (MN), northern Wisconsin lakes, Mississippi River	Clear natural lakes with rock and boulder flats.
Appalachia	New River (VA/WV), James River, Shenandoah	Classic float-and-wade river smallmouth.
Tennessee and Kentucky	Dale Hollow, Center Hill, Pickwick, Tennessee River	Deep, clear highland reservoirs and big river smallmouth.
Ozarks	Buffalo River (AR), Current and Jacks Fork (MO), Table Rock	Clear spring-fed streams and reservoirs.
Pacific NW and West	Columbia, Snake and John Day rivers	Introduced populations; strong river fishing in summer.

Smallmouth bass fishing tips by season

Water temperature drives everything.

Season	Water temp	Where and how
Winter	below 45°F (7°C)	Deep, slow. Hair jigs, blade baits, jerkbaits with long pauses. See bass fishing in winter.
Pre-spawn	45–58°F (7–14°C)	Moving shallower on rocky points and flats. Suspending jerkbaits, tubes, ned rigs. Some of the year's biggest fish.
Spawn	roughly 58–65°F (14–18°C)	Nests on gravel and rock in 3–15 ft. Males guard beds.
Summer	65–80°F (18–27°C)	Deeper rock, humps, current seams. Topwater at dawn, drop shots and tubes in daylight. Rivers fire up.
Fall	cooling into 50s °F	Chasing baitfish. Swimbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits. Fast, aggressive fishing.

Many states have special smallmouth seasons or catch-and-release periods during the spawn. Check your state regulations, and consider releasing bedding fish quickly.

Best lures for smallmouth bass

Tube jigs: a 3–4 in tube in green pumpkin or brown imitates a crayfish. A smallmouth classic for decades.
Drop shot: a small finesse worm or minnow plastic. Deadly on deep Great Lakes and highland reservoir fish.
Ned rig: a short floating plastic on a light mushroom jighead. Simple and effective in rivers and lakes.
Jerkbaits: suspending jerkbaits in cold, clear water from fall through pre-spawn.
Crankbaits: crawfish-colored cranks over rock in spring and fall.
Topwater: walking baits, poppers and prop baits at dawn and dusk in summer, especially on rivers.
Swimbaits: paddle tails on a jighead for roaming fall fish.
Live bait: crayfish, leeches, minnows and nightcrawlers where legal.

Colors: green pumpkin, brown, smoke and natural shad or goby tones in clear water. Brighter or darker in stained water. For a broader list across bass species, see best bait for bass.

Fishing rivers vs lakes

Rivers: smallmouth hold behind rocks, along current seams, at the head and tail of pools and below riffles. Cast upstream or across and let lures move naturally. Wade fishing or floating in a kayak or canoe is a great way to cover water. River smallmouth are often most active in summer.

Lakes: look for rock: points, humps, reefs, boulder flats and bluff walls. In clear lakes smallmouth can be 20–40 ft deep in midsummer. Electronics help, but so does working the first drop-off from a point.

Tackle

Spinning rod, 6'6"–7' medium-light to medium, for finesse lures.
6–10 lb fluorocarbon leader on braid, or straight fluorocarbon. Clear water calls for lighter line.
Baitcasting gear for jerkbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits.

Timing: dawn, dusk, pressure and solunar periods

Dawn and dusk: the best topwater windows in summer. Smallmouth are less light-shy than walleye but still feed hard in low light.
Wind: a breeze on a rocky shoreline pushes baitfish and turns on smallmouth. Calm, bright days are tougher.
Pressure: smallmouth are sensitive to cold fronts. After one, slow down and fish finesse lures deeper. See barometric pressure and fishing.
Moon phase: some anglers time pre-spawn and spawn trips around the spring full and new moons. See best moon phase for fishing.
Solunar periods: a major or minor window overlapping sunrise or sunset is the hour to be on your best spot. Our guide to the best time to fish for bass covers this for both species.

Using the Solunar app

Solunar: Hunt & Fish calculates the day's major and minor periods, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and moon phase from your location and shows them on a 24-hour dial with a 1–4 star day rating. It works offline, which helps on a remote river float or a big lake with no signal.

FAQ

What's the difference between smallmouth and largemouth bass?

Smallmouth are bronze with vertical bars and a jaw that ends at or before the eye. Largemouth are green with a dark horizontal stripe and a jaw that extends past the eye. Smallmouth prefer cooler, clearer, rockier water.

What is the best lure for smallmouth bass?

A tube jig or a drop shot is the most versatile. Jerkbaits are great in cold water and topwater on summer mornings.

What water temperature do smallmouth bass like?

They're most active from about 60–75°F (16–24°C) and spawn at roughly 58–65°F (14–18°C).

When is the best time to fish for smallmouth bass?

Pre-spawn in spring and fall for big fish, and dawn and dusk in summer, especially when a solunar period lines up.