PRIME SMALLMOUTH TIME

Prime Smallmouth Time Bill Cooper 7-10-24 Anglers will argue until the end of time about when the prime time to fish for smallmouth bass occurs. I tend to agree with an old fisherman I met own the Meramec River a few decades ago. He wryly concluded that prime time was anytime you had time to go fishing. Some bass fisherman swear by wintertime fishing when smallmouth in Ozark streams are concentrated in certain wintering holes. No doubt, stickbait fishing can be phenomenal at times from November through February. Then there are those that promote fishing the spawn. The big thrill at that time of year is sight fishing. Anglers spot big females on the nest and pitch baits that intimidate the fish into biting. Often smallmouth do not intend to eat those baits. They simply want to get them away from the nest. Usually they will grab the bait, attempt to crush or kill it, carry it a couple of feet away from the nest and spit it out. This behavior often makes it difficult to hook the fish. Summertime anglers, often called fair weather fishermen, perhaps shout the loudest. Fish are cold blooded creatures and their body temperatures rise as water temperatures rise. The result is higher metabolism, meaning that fish must feed more often to maintain energy levels. Anglers conclude that fish bite more at this time of year and, therefore, spend more time on the water chasing smallmouth bass. A lot of anglers believe, too, that prime smallmouth fishing times revolve around the barometric pressure. It is commonly believed that during periods of high barometric pressure, bass tend to become more sluggish and inactive, making them more difficult to catch. Conversely, during periods of low barometric pressure, bass become more active and aggressive, making them easier to catch. I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but one of the most persistent myths in fishing is that barometric pressure controls the activity of bass and other gamefish. Although many researchers have tried, scientific studies have been unable to demonstrate that such a relationship exists. Every scientific report I’ve seen, in which barometric pressure was studied, reached a similar conclusion: no direct relationship is evident. I did, however, look at one report that looked at the possibility that changes in barometric pressure were more important than absolute pressure. When the barometer was falling slowly (less than 0.21 inch per hour), 65 percent of the bass that were presented lures struck, while 35 percent did not. On a slowly rising barometer, only 30 percent struck, while 70 percent didn't. But the fishing sample was small. In a larger sample of tracked and observed bass, 29 percent fed offshore on a slowly rising barometer, while 24 percent fed offshore on both a slowly falling and a steady barometer. Schooling and aggregating behaviors are apparently associated with increased feeding and vulnerability to angling. When the barometer was high, 54 percent of the bass observed were aggregated (groups of 3 to 15), 12 percent were schooled (moving synchronously), while 44 percent were alone or paired. When the barometer was low, 57 percent were aggregated, 5 percent were schooling, and 38 percent were single or paired. When the barometer was rising slowly, 64 percent of observed bass were aggregated, none were schooling, and 36 percent were paired or alone. When barometric pressure was falling slowly, 53 percent were aggregated, 20 percent were schooled, and 28 percent were alone or paired. If it weren't for other factors affecting bass activity, the data might suggest that a falling barometer, approaching storm, increasing cloudiness, or a combination of these and other factors increased feeding activity. With a steady barometer, 34 percent of observed bass were within 1.5 feet of cover, 31 percent more than 6 feet from cover, and the remaining 35 percent were in between. A slowly falling barometer found 30 percent in or close to cover, 25 percent away from cover, and 45 percent in between. Various cloud conditions also had an effect on bass behavior. Under overcast skies, bass were observed farther than 46 feet from shorelines in 23 percent of cases, while 19 percent were offshore under broken skies (50-80 percent sky coverage), 33 percent under scattered clouds, and 32 percent under clear skies. Bass apparently found little difference between partly cloudy and clear daytime skies, but most likely moved offshore under bright sunlight. Feeding was seen under overcast (42%), broken (23%), scattered (24%), and clear skies (28%). While overcast skies were clearly associated with increased feeding, clouds, even a broken ceiling, had little effect. The low light of heavy cloud cover apparently makes preyfish more vulnerable to predators and encourages bass activity. Surprisingly, we documented slightly more feeding activity under totally clear skies than under partial clouds. The maximum brightness of clear skies, which creates optimum feeding opportunities for plankton-eating prey, likely encourages maximum preyfish activity, which in turn may stimulate increased predation. The only sure biological fact is that adult bass that have recently fed heavily and are digesting food tend to be inactive or neutral regardless of any environmental factor, including barometric conditions. The length of time since many of the bass in an area fed heavily and the time required to digest that meal are perhaps the most important clues to when a significant proportion of any bass population will next become active. I seldom pay much attention to barometric pressure. However, I pay lots of attention to an approaching front and cloud cover. On a recent trip to the Meramec River, I was betting on those conditions providing a good trip. Bingo! I knew I was on to something when I caught two smallmouth on my first five casts. It was prime time for smallmouth.

BIG SMALLMOUTH ON THE PROWL

Big Smallmouth on the Prowl Bill Cooper for 4-2-25 Smallmouth fishermen in the Ozarks know that smallmouth bass travel many miles upriver in Ozark rivers during the winter to find stable water temperatures, usually around large springs. The Meramec River is no exception and smallmouth in the upper Meramec often head to Maramec Spring. Trout anglers often catch good smallmouth during the winter catch and release season at Maramec Spring Park. I caught a sold 3-pounder there this winter. By the middle of February, smallmouth bass begin to leave the spring fed waters and disperse back down the river. As water temperatures begin to rise they go on a feeding spree and feed up for the spawn, when they utilize an amazing amount of energy. Smallmouth have been migrating for weeks now, but the spring feeding spree really took off a couple of weeks ago. Photos of really big smallmouth have been steadily turning up on social media pages. Damon Spurgeon, of Rolla, enjoyed a stellar day on the Meramec two weeks ago, He caught lots of smallmouth, none of which were under 15-inches. In the process he caught his best smallmouth ever, a whopping 25-inch behemoth. I looked it up on the length charts. The charges said it could have weighed as much as 9.6lbs. However, I think the charts were made for lake fish, which are much stockier than our Ozark rivers smallmouth, which tend to be longer and thinner. Regardless, Spurgeon captured a monster smallmouth, but was not able to take it to be weighed and certified, because bass season has not yet opened on rivers and streams. He could not keep the fish in his possession. But, he knows where it lives. Aaron Click, the owner of Table Rock Tackle, fishes further downstream on the Meramec. He posted photos of several very large smallmouth the same day as Spurgeon. Unfortunately, I mowed grass that day. Several of the pictured fish sported extended bellies, indicating that they were females getting ready to spawn. Smallmouth fishing should remain spectacular until the spawn arrives. For targeting smallmouth bass in the Ozarks during spring, consider jerkbaits, tubes, and crankbaits. Also, single-tail grubs, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics like lizards and baby craws can be effective.  Three favored baits for this type of fishing, especially as the spawn approaches, are a 4-inch Zoom Lizard in green pumpkin, Zoom's Baby Fluke in white, and Yum's 2 1/2-inch Baby Crawbug in black, blue and red. Smallmouths are in a defensive mode rather than a feeding mode -- thus the small baits. The fish will attack any intruder that approaches their nest. In the meantime, short-billed crank-baits in chartreuse and black are often deadly on Ozark streams. This model will run 2-to-4-feet deep. Allowing the bait to dig into the gravel bottom will stir up the silt, and make more noise. Hungry smallmouth will attack these baits with total abandon. Any bait that imitates a crawdad, or a minnow can be effective on any given spring day. When I head to the river, I rig a half dozen rods, each with a different bait. At the top of my list will be a Pico short-billed crank bait, a white or Chartreuse War Eagle spinnerbait, a Zoom Super Fluke in pearl white, a 5-inch YUM Dinger worm in Mardi Gras color, a 4-inch Ki-tech swim-bait on a 3/8-ounce jig-head and a War Eagle Buzzbait with a gold spinner. The topwater bait is usually the least productive, but I do occasionally see big bass chasing minnows. That is when I pick up the topwater rig. If I don’t get a strike within a half dozen casts, I go back to my previous bait. Every smallmouth fisherman will have their favorite bait to throw at spring time smallmouth bass. Decades ago, every angler on the river had a box of jig and pig rigs. Some of the best smallmouth fishermen I’ve every known were die hard jig-n-pig throwers. Black and blue was often the favored color. And the old Uncle Josh #11 Pork Rinds tipped many of those jigs. I've been fortunate enough to log hundreds of miles on Ozark streams, many of those miles in pursuit of smallmouth bass. A good number of those miles have been on the Meramec River. The Meramec is a top producer of bruiser smallmouths. The fertile stream produces smallmouths in abundance from its headwaters to its confluence with the Mississippi, south of St. Louis. First-time anglers would do well to head to Steelville, an hour's drive from St. Louis. Just west of Steelville, off Highway 8, the Meramec River Smallmouth Management Area begins at Scott's Ford and ends at the railroad trestle bridge at Birds Nest Lodge, a float distance of about 15 miles. Smallmouths spawn in April and May. This stretch of the Meramec produces some of its biggest smallmouths before the season opens on Memorial Day weekend. You can still catch and release fish prior to the official opener (which is a popular thing to do anyway). During the spawn, anglers can often sight-fish, which is one of the most enjoyable forms of smallmouth fishing. Nests lie in quiet water near the shoreline. Check behind clumps of willows or near stretches of water willow, a plant about 18 inches tall that grows in dense stands along the shore and into shallow water. Other nesting sites include calmer water behind large boulders and blowdowns. A high-quality pair of polarized sunglasses will help immensely with locating fish. Smallmouths are very defensive when it comes to their nests and eggs, so use lures that feign a threat to the nest, and you'll be in business. Salamanders are notorious egg-stealers, as are minnows and crayfish.The fish will attack the intruders. Rig the baits with oversized hooks. They won't spook fish during their super aggressive spawning mode, and hookups will improve.