I live in N. Georgia and fish TVA lakes in late April and most of May for smallmouth Bass. I tie my own streamers which are farely simple little creatures of deception. I live close to the Lake and can go quickly to see whether or not the bass are up and taking. The question I wanted to ask is when I'm not seeing any bass rise to my streamer , are they actually there and not rising or are they no where to be found on those mornings.Does color matter? Retreive? I am not a pro at this but it is very addicting and have come to enjoy watching the bass take a streamer. Does anyone know of any links that for free will assist in the area of smallmouth bass fishing with streamers? Thank You!!!!
You could contact Henry Cowen for a start. He's a fly guide on Lake Lanier. He's mostly known as a striper fishermen, but I'm sure he fly fishes for spotted bass as well, so he might be able to give you some good smallie tips:
http://www.henrycowenflyfishing.com/
There have been some good books on smallies written. They tend to be more river-focused, but they're worth a try. Look for books by Harry Murray and Bob Clouser.
Good luck!
Smallmouth are very "moody" fish. Most of the time I use woolybuggers in black that seems to work well in rivers - maybe the bass think its a leech. When fishing Lake MI. shores I usually go with something that sparkles and looks like a flashing minnow in the water. The water is quite clear along the shores of Lake MI. As far as retreive, a quick 6 or 8 inch strip with a (5 sec) pause works well anytime. As stated at the beginning, SM/B are really a moody fish - some days you can't keep them off, and other days its like they went into hibernation. Its like any fishing tho, find the active fish when its tuff, some always are.
Click on ( myoutdoortv.com). They have a clip on fly fishing for small mouth. It might help you answer your questions.
Aquatic Species Removal Engineer.
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