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Seven Tips for Catching Smallmouth on the Housatonic at Corner Hole at 8 a.m. on a Saturday While my Smallmouth angling reputation is not as legendary as that of others1 and my trout angling experience is more voluminus2, I know that you're likely struggling to make the switch from trout to bass and I thought I'd pass along expert-level tips to make you a better angler.
Well that's about all I'm willing to tell you for now.

I hope I won't see you on the water, but if I do, I hope you're fishing where the fish are not.

What are your favorite Smallmouth tips?

1 - Though I'm a more legendary bass fisherman than noodler.
2 - I've intentionally fished for Smallmouth twice. Some would say that's real expertise. Others would mumble and we don't listen to mumblers.
3 - Unless you see a monster swirl there, then take that water. Last Saturday I saw a "head and tail" swirl in six inches of water that made my heart stop. Of course once it restarted I didn't mention it to nobody. Especially not to the guy standing about twenty feet upstream of the swirl fishing the deep run.
4 - Hell, you might even catch a trout. Especially if you target those cold water refuges. They're stacked up like hell in there! Okay, that's not sporting. Don't do that. Intentionally. With weighted treble hooks. That'd just be wrong. Stick to the smallies.
5 - That BS about carp being freshwater bones is just that, BS. Nobody fishes for carp anyway. That's all just more flyfishing carp marketing BS. Don't fall for it.

Bonus Tip: Train a dog to spot the fish for you. This is the only reliable way to fish topwater flies when you can't see the fish. Of course, blow a hook set and that dog is gonna give you crap for a long time.

Posted by Steve Zakur at 6:43 AM Labels: lots of sarcasm, Painfully Obvious Tips, smallmouth, smallmouth bass, tips for catching smallmouth
