# Spring Smallmouth Fishing



## MarkM (Sep 7, 2007)

I started to do a little smallmouth bass fishing last fall with my fly rod and really enjoyed it. I want to do more of it this spring. When does the bass fishing pick up now that a lot of the lakes are starting to open up? Is it a water temperature thing. When do they spawn?

Mark


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## Black Plague (Jan 15, 2014)

Hi mark...I am new to Utah but have fished a lot for smallies and largemouth in the northwest. it seems to me that the water temp needs to hit about 50 degrees for fish to start moving toward spawning locations (some will come sooner) the pre-spawn fish will often hang on the transition zone near drop offs to deeper water. I personally like to use a deep diving crankbait or slow roll a spinnerbait in these spots. oh, or a good tube jig...for the fly guy...I don't fly fish ...yet.... but my friend likes to use natural looking streamers or whooly buggers in olive or crawdaddy patterns...but don't discount chartreuse or reds... of course it depends on the body of water...lake vs river etc. but as the temps move up into the upper 50s it seems like that is when the spawn happens more and then all the way into the 70s ...of note is that it is a lot harder to catch a spawning smally that is locked on a bed than it is to catch a spawning largemouth. it seems that the largemouth will sit and guard the nest a lot more while the smallmouth leave after a week or 2 and let the smaller males hang around. so I think that the pre and post spawners are the easiest ones to catch... if you can get to the spot the week before they actually drop the eggs when they are starting to scout out areas and build a nest, that is when you can get a lot of great reaction strikes that are a whole lot of fun....
however, I think that for every 1 smallmouth bed that I have seen I have probably seen about 50 largemouth beds... I think that this might be because they spawn a little bit deeper...often like 6-12 feet or so. ...so when looking for a spawning location, I like to find gravel beds with some humps and maybe a little structure like stumps or weed patches... finding this area does not mean the fish will be there now...but that they may be there later...so after I find a good looking spot I look for the drop off area and target it...that has historically been where I have caught a lot of my biggest fish. 

then in post spawn they seem to go off and suspend for a while and can be caught using spinners, crankbaits and my favorite topwater!!! .... poppers on 5-7 weight rod will work great for this when the water is around 60+ ....

I talk as though I know something but I have never fished here yet so, it could be totally different... but that has been my experience anyhow...hope it was a little helpful.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Some of the bass guys will get into some smallies earlier, but I tend to start doing well for shallow depth bass here when the water temps hit about 57 degrees. At Deer Creek, that is usually the last week of May, and at Jordanelle, the 2nd or 3rd week of June. The spawn is approximately at the same time. The better fish can be caught pounding the shorelines for the following 3 weeks or so once they start, then they move out some into other areas with structure.


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