The fishing world is abuzz about Gallagher’s 10.15-pound smallmouth from Lake Erie. Word of the record-setting fish spread quickly since the Nov. 3 outing with his son, Grant. Back at the same Port Clinton, Ohio, ramp three days after the catch, Gregg was retrieving the trailer when a stranger called out.

“I’ve been overwhelmed to say the least,” Gregg said. “I’m a really shy, non-attention seeking person. I went from nobody knowing who I was to being called ‘The Big Bass Guy.’ I didn’t realize the guy was talking to me. I had to think about it for a second.”

The 54-year-old high school business teacher in Fremont, Ohio, wished it was his son who caught the bass. After all, Grant put in the work to find the behemoth, which ranks among the top 5 ever caught. Grant, a former Bassmaster College Series angler at Adrian College who competes in some regional events, was ecstatic to make such a mark in fishing, and doubly so to do it with the man who started him fishing.

“I still don’t think it’s really hit us,” Grant said. “It’s just truly a blessing. We’re both men of faith. For it to happen to us, we couldn’t be more grateful. We’re overwhelmed by all the messages and calls.

“It really hasn’t set in. When you talk about a 10-pound smallmouth, it doesn’t even seem fathomable.”

Fog day, fishing day

The day of fishing shouldn’t even have happened, Grant said. Thick fog that Thursday morning made travel so bad that school was cancelled. On past “fog days,” the Gallaghers have gone fishing.

So Grant, a second-grade teacher in Hudson, Mich., texted his dad to get ready. Grant had some prep and a 75-mile drive to Fremont, where Gregg had hooked up his son’s Bass Cat for the half-hour drive to Lake Erie.

The fog had burned off and it turned into a beautiful day by the time they launched around 11:30. Gregg, a “converted walleye guy,” started at their deep area near Pelee Island with an A-rig and single swimbaits, which had worked well over the weekend. Grant advised him to switch bait and follow the plan he’d developed.

“The last couple weeks, we’ve been figuring out there’s some giant fish that are roaming with these shad. They’re pelagic,” Grant said. “They don’t live on rock piles. They literally live chasing bait.”

With the trolling motor on high and watching for clouds of shad on his forward facing sonar, Grant came across the magic school. He landed a 5-pounder that had 20 to 30 follow it.

“It still gives me goosebumps thinking about,” Grant said. “I scanned one more time, and there’s one big blip out there. I yelled to my dad, ‘Pitch out there.’ Those big ones like to be left alone. He was all by himself.”

Gregg’s first cast with the bait — “a very popular soft plastic” that Grant said will remain secret for now — didn’t get to the bottom. The big guy bit, and Gregg set the hook on a fish that seemed too heavy to be a bass.

“I thought it was a sheepshead so I horsed it, hoping it would either come off or I get it to the boat as quickly as possible so I can keep fishing,” Gregg said.

“We’re not taking it serious because we didn’t think it’s a smallmouth,” Grant said. “Then that line starts to race up. And we just look at each other, and that’s when the schoolgirl voices break out.”

“I’m a very quiet, reserved person,” Gregg said. “It’s kind of embarrassing watching that video.”

On a video, the two are hooting and hollering. They knew they had a giant, something bigger than they’d ever caught before, but not necessarily a record … yet.

“We both went into shock. We’ve never seen anything like that,” said Gregg, acknowledging neither have topped 7 pounds. “It made a couple, I’d say, weak dives. I’ve had much smaller fish fight harder than that one did. He scooped it up and put it on his bow, and we couldn’t believe what we caught.”

“The fight was really anticlimactic,” Grant said. “He pulled her right up to the surface, and it was so big. It tried to jump but it couldn’t even get out of the water. It was a very easy fight compared to normal smallmouth.”

Now what?

After the shouting but still full of excitement, the Gallaghers weighed the fish at 9.87 pounds, although Grant’s scale is known to weigh light. With unusual cell signal, a call connected to friend and guide, Capt. Ross Robertson, who informed them the Lake Erie record is 9.84.

“I don’t really want to go in,” Gregg said. “I’ll just take some good pictures and release. What do you do with a 9-pounder? I’m not going to skin mount it.”

Again cell signal allowed a call to Jason Clemons, who operates Clemons Boats in Sandusky and lets Grant run a Bass Cat Jaguar as part of a pro staff deal. Clemons came from a couple miles away with an accurate scale that registered the bass at 10.16.

“I look at Grant. I guess our fishing day is over,” Gregg said.

“Oh my gosh, what do we have here? This is a record-setting fish,” Grant said. “We’ve got to get a hold of somebody on the mainland.”

As they headed in, Robertson hooked them up with Travis Hartman, who runs the fisheries research station in Sandusky for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Hartman, waiting with a cooler to keep the fish alive, helped them get to a certified scale and start the verification process in Ohio and Canada.

The world record smallmouth is David L. Hayes’ 11-pound, 15-ounce beast caught in 1955 from Dale Hollow Lake on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. The lake also produced the second-largest smallmouth (10-14) and another 10-8 there tied for third with a fish caught out of the Wheeler Dam Tailwater in Alabama. Gallagher’s fish would be the fifth largest, supplanting a 1951 10-pounder from Hiwassee Reservoir in North Carolina.

The catch, which was 23 ¾ inches long with a girth of 19 3/8, will overtake Randy VanDam’s Ohio record of 9-8 from 1993 and replace the current Ontario Province mark of 9.84 set in 1954 by Andy Anderson.

Great Lakes smallmouth have been growing larger since the introduction of invasive species, zebras mussels in the 1980s and gobies in the 1990s. The 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series event on the St. Lawrence River was won by Jay Przekurat with a total of 102-9, the first time 100 pounds was eclipsed with smallmouth.

Paul Mueller landed a 7-13 in Lake Ontario in 2020, the largest smallmouth the Elites have seen in competition, although Canadian Elites Cory and Chris Johnston have long said there are bigger smallmouth there.

“It was an absolute giant,” Bassmaster TV analyst Mark Zona said, “but I’m not surprised at all, especially coming from the Great Lakes in the fall.”

“I think the biggest surprise is that it didn’t happen sooner … Great Lakes smallies get bigger every year with goby and zebra mussels, and I don’t think it’s going to stop. I do feel every Great Lake has 10-pound smallies swimming in them now.”

Chris Johnston agrees, however, he said Erie was less likely than lakes like Ontario or Simcoe because it’s known more for quantities of 5-pounders.

“It’s a giant, a freak of nature,” Johnston said. “A 5-pounder is big, and you’re doubling that?”

Looks small for its size

Grant said he’s kind of disappointed that in most of the photos of the leviathan, it doesn’t appear as massive as it does in real life.

“Those pictures don’t do it justice. That’s what still kind of makes us upset,” he said. “I can stick my whole fist down its mouth. That doesn’t make sense. It was like a totally different strain of smallmouth. We’ve been pretty diehard smallmouth guys the last five years — it was a true unicorn.”

With the recent walleye scandal on Lake Erie where tournament anglers were caught stuffing weights into fish, the Gallaghers weren’t surprised that Ontario officials wanted the fish X-rayed. It passed, of course. It was also verified as a pure smallmouth, and a scale master and witnesses signed off on the weight.

Ohio DNR officers told the Gallaghers the fish is probably around 15- to 17-years old, is most likely done spawning and is quite possibly a male. The state is keeping the fish to conduct studies.

“We are really heart-broken we didn’t get to release it,” Grant said. “We kept it super healthy, unfortunately, the state wanted to test it. There’s a good chance it’s a giant male.”

Gregg said it would have been great to know that fish is back roaming the depths of Lake Erie. He seems reluctant to accept the accolades of having his name in the record books, continuing to credit his son.

“It’s cool and everything, I just wish Grant would have caught it. It was his boat. He put the time in,” Gregg said. “I’ve been with him a lot, but he’s been the one graphing and he keeps perfecting and perfecting.”

“As a dad, I want no career in fishing. I love to fish. Twelve months out the year it’s a passion. It’s fun. I’m a teacher first. I just love to fish. Grant’s the one that put the time in.”

Sure, Grant would have liked to land it, too, but he’s pretty stoked with putting his dad on the record fish. He’s been working to get youth into bass fishing, informing his students about the sport and taking out friends and high school anglers.

“It’s really special for me,” he said. “The fact that I got to take my dad, the guy that got me into fishing, and that happened to us. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it, because that was a bit of a God wink. That’s what puts a smile on my face at the end of the day.”

Gregg said it’s been a satisfying journey watching Grant progress as an angler, and he’s proud of the man he raised.

“He’s my favorite fishing partner since 5,” he said. “We’ve been a package deal. Everybody knew if they’re coming with me, Grant’s going. Or if I’m going with you, Grant’s coming with us.”

Grant is certainly pleased to return the joy of fishing to his father.

“This is my first year playing captain for him,” he said. “This has been a really good week.”

Seth Feider must agree. I had to chuckle when the 2021 Bassmaster Angler of the Year muttered “stupid smallmouth” during the Bassmaster Elite Series tourney on Lake Champlain last July. But there is a time — yes, outside the spawn — when smallmouth movement becomes predictable, even reliable. Hit the right waters at the right times, and odds are you’ll find stacked fish feeding aggressively. 

That window is mid- to late fall on rivers in those parts of the country where water temps slide from the 60s into the 40s as winter takes hold. In most cases that means Northern waters, but not always. There are variations to consider — river size, water depths, dam locations, forage and more — but the puzzle is worth putting together, because once you have it figured out, the fishing can be incredible.

Keys to understand

It’s important to understand something about river smallmouth in colder climes: They move, a lot, especially in fall and spring.

Smallmouth migration to wintering areas has been studied and confirmed on many waters, including the Snake River in Idaho, Wisconsin’s Wolf River, the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania and many others. Some of these studies date back as much as 60 years, though most are more recent. 

In one study, conducted in 1994 on a stretch of the Mississippi River in Minnesota that I fish often, 30 adult smallmouth were surgically implanted with radio transmitters then tracked for a 12-month period. 

Research showed smallmouth migrated an average of 18 miles each fall to wintering areas, usually targeting deeper-water areas downstream of where they spend their summer months, but there are upstream migrators as well.

One fish in the study traveled nearly 25 miles in just 14 days, passing through three dams in the process.

In a different study, this time on the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, smallmouth traveled up to 56 miles during their fall migration.

Fall movement is closely tied to seasonal change, whether it’s the shorter days of fall, dropping water temperatures or a combination of both. 

I rely on water temps more than the calendar as fall has been staying warmer for longer, at least where I fish. Even so, fish locations remain predictable during normal water level years as temps eventually begin to cool.

When surface temps dip below 60 degrees, smallmouth activity increases. Fish begin to move and feed more often, but not all follow the same script. 

As fall progresses, smallmouth start to congregate in schools and stop in predictable locations — deep pools, eddies, rock humps, outside bends — en route to wintering holes. These stops may last days before the fish move to the next stop on their push to their winter holding areas. 

Migrating fish may leave long stretches of water virtually smallmouth-free, particularly shallow stretches of rivers with limited habitat for overwintering fish.

Warming trends that raise water temps rapidly can actually hurt the fall (and spring!) bite. I’ve started calling these warming trends “reverse cold fronts” because fish respond in the same way: The bite slows.

Once waters reach the low 40s, smallmouth have settled into their wintering holes. In rivers with dams, one of the most commonly used holding areas is found in the deeper, slacker water above a dam. 

But don’t think you need to target the area immediately above the dam. Some of the best spots may be miles above the dam, especially in shallow rivers with few pools or a deep main channel. 

Most rivers tend to see large concentrations of adult fish in small areas that offer the magic combination of depth, hard bottom, slack water, stable temps and ample forage (mostly crawfish).

Finding fall smallmouth

After a lifetime of chasing river smallmouth across several states and multiple Canadian provinces, I’ve learned all waters are unique, but they also share characteristics with other fisheries, even those thousands of miles away. This allows you to take what you learn on the waters you fish and apply it to other fisheries.

Small, shallow rivers are very common across the country, and many are sleeper smallmouth fisheries because few anglers bother to fish them, though that is changing. One river I fish often in the fall is so shallow about the only place you can float a bass boat is above the river’s only dam and maybe 2 miles upstream, but it produces giant smallmouth every fall.

Another river is a much larger water body with a channel deep enough to support boat traffic, but smallmouth still congregate in big numbers each fall in the deeper areas above the dam. Deep, outside bends are key on this particular river.

Key presentations for fall migrators 

When you target fall smallmouth, start the day with a plan to focus on key areas to avoid areas that are likely holding only a few or even no bass. This is not the time to run long stretches of featureless bank or work midriver riffles looking for fish. Instead, look for areas with potential to hold larger schools. 

Your electronics are key. On rivers that are mapped, use mapping to locate potential hot spots: outside turns with deep water, larger eddies, pools, wing dams, mouths of feeder streams and deep holes immediately above the dam.

Forward-facing sonar and side imaging are important, especially for locating areas of rock and current breaks.

Fish location will determine which presentations make sense to use.

If fish are shallow and active, topwaters can be dynamite early to midseason. Poppers, buzzbaits, rear-props and walkers all have their days, especially when fish are relating to shoreline rock and overhead cover. Occasional pausing to allow the bait to move with the current often triggers bites from bass that will ignore a moving bait. 

I am a fan of cranks in the fall, especially when fish are holding over rocks that break into deeper water. Models like the Berkley Frittside 5 or 7 are ideal for shallow fish, while the Berkley Dredger 10.5 is a great option for fishing the 7- to 10-foot range.

Craw patterns are always a good choice with cranks, but baitfish patterns can also be dynamite. 

Fish crankbaits on a medium or medium-fast action rod to maintain more contact with the bait. This allows you to work breaklines more effectively and detect leaves and other debris commonly hooked in fall rivers.

I like slower reels in the fall, starting with a 6.4:1 or 7.1:1, but if the fish allow, I will bump up retrieve speed when possible. Ten-pound fluoro is a solid line choice on baitcasting gear.

Last fall, fishing with Bassmaster Editor-in-Chief James Hall on a stretch of the upper Mississippi River during a windy, brutally cold late October day, we found smallmouth stacked over shoreline-connected rock splines that ended in 12 to 14 feet of water. We also found schools of smallmouth holding in deep depressions midriver.

We caught several bass throwing cranks, but most of the fish were small. A switch to swimbaits killed the bite completely, and a move to jigs and craws yielded the same results. 

So, we switched to a drop shot. It was the right move. We caught several big fish on Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worms. The key was going heavy enough (3/8 ounce) to pin the rig to the bottom to prevent most snags and working the bait slowly when a fish approached. 

Garmin LiveScope showed both fish and their response, making it easier to trigger more bites. 

Other soft baits are historically good producers. I like 2.5- and 3-inch tubes, swimming grubs and small swimbaits fished on a mushroom-head jig from 1/16 to about 1/4 ounce.

Swim jigs and traditional football-head jigs are good options. I like heavy football heads when working deep rock in areas of faster current. Tip them with a craw trailer or a smaller swimbait and work them downcurrent, staying near the bottom.

Now is the time!

Expect this bite to last for several weeks on most waters, peaking when water temps are in the 50s and high 40s, then slowing when temps slide into the low 40s. Plan to hit spots that produced earlier, as good spots typically reload as new fish move in when others move on. 

Smallmouth activity slows once water temps hit the low 40s, making fish tough to catch no matter where you are in bass country.

To find good water near you, spend an hour or two with your electronics and study mapping of the rivers before you go. You may unlock a key to great fall action in places other anglers simply ignore or don’t even know about, and that bodes well for great fishing.

Originally appeared in Bassmaster Magazine 2022.

It’s really important that you know the difference when you’re trying to get a bass to eat an artificial bait.

Largemouth feed primarily by vibration and sound. Smallmouth feed primarily by sight and smell. Those are important distinctions to remember. When I’m picking baits for smallmouth, two things top the list. One, does the bait appeal to a smallmouth’s sense of smell? Two, is the bait’s color realistic and easy to see?

Smell

Berkley has been on the cutting edge of the smell and scent revolution for decades. They started with PowerBait. Then came Gulp! Now they’ve evolved to PowerBait MaxScent. Many other companies have created scented baits and application scents as well.

When I’m smallmouth fishing, I never, never, never ever throw a soft plastic bait that is not scented. It’s that important. Yes, largemouth and the other black bass species use their sense of smell, but not as a primary feeding response like smallmouth do.

I’ve done many taste tests while fishing with friends and even co-anglers where one of us will fish a scented bait and the other a non-scented bait. Whoever is fishing the scented bait typically gets three times as many bites. The right scent can actually draw a smallmouth to the bait.

When I left home for the recent Elite tournament on Lake Oahe, I had two dozen rods in my boat locker rigged with a wide variety of MaxScent baits. They included the Flat Worm, Hit Worm, The General, Lil’ General, Tube and more.

Sight

Smallmouth utilize their eyes more than any other species of bass. They have to see the bait to eat it. I consider three things when I’m picking a lure that will catch a smallmouth’s eye.

The first is color. In clear water you really have to dial in the color of whatever the smallmouth are feeding on. Depending on where and when you’re fishing, that could be things like herring, gobies, crawfish or yellow perch. The cleaner the water, the more closely you’ve got to match the hatch, so to speak.

On the other hand, I often use shock colors to draw bass from a distance. A shock color doesn’t mimic anything in particular, it’s just a bright color that smallmouth can see from far away. Colors like bright chartreuse, bright white, bright orange and bubble gum can create an aggressive response, especially when smallmouth are in groups.

Fishing conditions are number two on my mind. Low early morning and late evening light, and cloudy, rainy conditions tend to be good for largemouth bass. That’s not what you want for smallmouth. You’ll catch more smallies on sunny, slick, calm water. These conditions allow the bass to see your lures better. Some of the best smallmouth days of my life – 30 to 50 fish days – were under those conditions.

My third consideration has to do with speed and rate of fall. I put those hand in hand. Speed is how fast you retrieve a bait. The rate of fall is how fast a lure sinks on a semi-slack line.

Although the best conditions for smallmouth bass are calm and bright sun, the downside is that they are more likely to distinguish that your lure is a fraud. You can use speed and rate of fall to counter that.

With a lot of my smallmouth fishing, I want that bait coming in fast, such as speed cranking, burning a spinnerbait and working a jerkbait or topwater faster than you would with other bass species.

I increase the rate of fall by using heavier weights with drop-shot rigs, tubes, Ned rigs, micro jigs and other sinking lures. The smallmouth don’t get a good look at a bait that sinks fast and attack reflexively.

You can learn more about how I fish for smallmouth and other techniques at www.mikeiaconelli.com or www.youtube.com/c/goingike.

While those hefty limits of whopper smallies will almost exclusively come from a boat, there’s no question anglers afoot can also enjoy solid smallmouth opportunity.

Legitimate heavyweights can occasionally fall to shore-bound anglers, but even those of lesser girth still pack that smallmouth punch. This makes a fun target for kid trips or just a casual addition to a picnic, family hike or a brief window of opportunity during work travel.

Current events

Smallmouth scenarios vary greatly, but the key element for bank fishing opportunities is moving water. While a lazy largemouth likes to park its backside in a quiet corner most of the day, the high-strung smallmouth craves current — it’s the DoorDash of the fish’s world.

During his college years at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Elite angler Brandon Lester caught quite a few Tennessee River smallies from shore. His advice: Target current breaks such as bridge columns, barge tie-ups, big boulders or laydowns and play the hand you’re dealt.

“When you’re fishing from shore, you don’t have the option of running five miles down the river and hit different spots,” he said. “You have to learn to make the most of what’s in front of you.

“If I’m fishing a tournament, I may fish a dock, catch one and roll on to the next dock 10 miles down the lake. If I’m fishing off the bank, I may sit there and fish a (current break) for 30 minutes and try to catch every fish on it.”

Bridges with fishing decks offer golden opportunities, as they provide a front-row seat to the combination of current and constricting structure (aka “choke point” or “neck down”).

Tackle ’em in the tailrace

Generally, the recipe for smallmouth consistency includes swift water, baitfish and current breaks. Nothing embodies this like a tailrace — the downstream side of a dam. While major hydro-electric structures offer greater quantity, don’t overlook the more modest dams controlling small rivers and streams.

I recently exploited such a scenario in the charming hamlet of Madrid, N.Y. where the Highway 345 Bridge crosses the Grasse River. An overflow dam just west of the bridge creates a small but vibrant tailrace sandwiched between the drop and the bridge.

From a small fishing platform at the bridge’s northwest corner, I tempted a handful of spunky rock bass and a limit of smallies. Certainly not a competitive limit but a limit nonetheless.

Despite the river’s rambling pace, the overflow dam’s tailrace maintained a low roar of white water turbulence. I nabbed a mixed bag by fishing a drop shot with a 4-inch straight tail Roboworm in current seams between the dam’s water control structures.

My better fish came from behind a large subsurface rock pile that bulged the water and created a backside eddy. Firing a 3.5-inch swimbait parallel to the dam, I let the rushing water sweep my bait past this sweet spot and consistently connected as it reached the kill zone.

Air travel limited my tackle options, but a Daiwa Travel Combo spinning outfit proved functionally effective and conveniently mobile. The 7-2 medium telescoping rod comes in a canvas case with plenty of room for several soft plastic containers. I packed swimbaits, as well as drop-shot and Ned rig baits, into a Ziploc bag and packed it all inside the rod case.

Opportunities abound

Smallmouth often spawn in deep water, but it’s not uncommon for river fish to use shallow, downcurrent coves off the main run. Anglers walking riprap banks can easily reach the fish pulling into calm, protected waters.

For example, Waddington, New York’s Whitaker Park at the mouth of Little Sucker Brook, where B.A.S.S. Nation and past Elite events have launched, offers the ideal habitat. Same goes for the next little cove downstream — on the east side of Clark Point in Little Sucker Brook Park.

A dream in a stream: Bassmaster Elite rookie Cody Huff grew up around countless Ozark streams flowing through the hills and into local lakes. Far less pressured than major rivers and highland reservoirs, these streams hold a largely untapped brown fish bounty.

“These streams flow all the time, and they’re loaded with smallmouth,” Huff said. “They don’t get really big — they’ll get up to 2 to 2 1/2 pounds. Ever since I was a little kid, we’d walk the creeks for them.

“There’s quite a bit of current, so we always threw small baits and let the current wash them behind rocks. We’d catch those smallmouth on light line and ultralight spinning outfits and always had a big time.”

Small crankbaits, swimbaits and Ned rigs are Huff’s choice for creek smallies.

“These creeks are the same every single day, but you can do this anytime the water has warmed up enough so you don’t freeze when you walk in the water,” Huff said. “It’s a great way to cool off in the hot summertime and have fun.”

Captive audience: Elite pro Mark Menendez describes a seasonal occurrence with big-time smallmouth potential.

“When the Ohio River floods, it fills up a lot of little creeks that aren’t a boat length wide. Then when the water falls, Kentucky (spotted) bass and smallmouth will get trapped in small pools.

“That’s when you put on an old pair of tennis shoes and go wading. The ones that you’ll catch are good ones.”

Menendez suggests tiny crankbaits like the Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow or a 1/16-ounce jig head with a 3- to 4-inch finesse worm.

Food required: With the exception of spawning movements, smallmouth presence is predicated on baitfish. Smallies aren’t window shoppers; they come to eat, and if there’s no food, there’s not smallmouth.

Consider where baitfish and other forage comes from and fish accordingly. Specifically, look for your inflows. In addition to dam outfalls and lock canals, creeks and rivers bring food, so expect the mouths — particularly those crossed by bridges — to attract plenty of smallmouth attention.

These gluttonous predators also eat plenty of crawfish, and if you can reach a bank where overhanging willows are dark with mayflies, you can bet the smallies are in there chewing. Topwater poppers are hard to beat, but Bassmaster Opens pro Harvey Hornes takes a different approach by throwing a Ned rig to target bottom-oriented smallmouth preying on the emerging mayflies.

However you target smallmouth from shore, the most important element is perspective. If you find a few chunks, great, but this is casual stuff — a nice break from the sport’s more demanding side.

Best part about smallmouth: Even the little guys bring plenty of attitude, so even if you don’t catch anything Instagram-worthy, it’s time well spent.

Me? I get excited about all of them. Whatever the predominate species of bass that lives in a given lake is the one that gets me fired up.

For example, if I’m going to a good largemouth lake – one that has a reputation for producing quality bass – that really gets my heart going.

All I can think about is their habits during that time of year and what cover they might be associating with.

That’s one of the things I like about largemouth is they are cover-oriented and like to ambush bait that wanders by. It doesn’t matter whether my lure is deflecting off something or if I’m jerkbaiting over grass — imparting action in my lure to get that reaction bite is something I really enjoy about largemouth.

Spotted bass are a different animal. They’re less predictable as they can get shallow or suspend over deep water. It’s a species that doesn’t get very big but one that can get pretty aggressive.

The spots in Lake Lanier tend to be the exception as far as size and a place I enjoy fishing them. They can get big there, probably because the introduction of herring has given them a high-protein food that promotes growth and adds weight.

On the other hand, all bass react differently in herring lakes than they do in shad lakes. The bass in herring lakes are more pelagic, meaning they roam more and can be found just about anywhere. You might find them around shallow cover or suspended around channels and deep standing timber.

All that aside, I enjoy catching spotted bass when everything sets up perfect. One example, dirtier water that will move them shallower and tighter to cover. Also, during the prespawn and spawn they move shallow and become aggressive. When you have to finesse them over 40 feet of water, man, that’s tough fishing.

That brings us to smallmouth, my absolute favorite. My affection for them developed at my first Bassmaster event in 1992 on the St. Lawrence River. I went up there to pre-practice and fell in love with them.

They are so aggressive and fight so hard. When summertime arrives in Texas and I can get away, I want to go north and fish for them in the bigger bodies of water, like the Great Lakes.

Don’t get me wrong, I like southern smallmouth too, but the bigger smallies are more prolific in the North.

Even though you can catch a lot of smallmouth on drop-shot and Ned rigs, you are still playing to their aggressive nature. If you get a bait around them, they will bite.

Yet, contrary to what some anglers believe, you can throw a bigger bait, reel it fast and catch big smallmouth. If you’ve never had a big smallie crush a spinnerbait when you’re burning it back to the boat, you owe it to yourself to go experience that.

Somewhere along the way, Schultz’s competitive nature – spawned from his collegiate swimming career at the University of Wisconsin and nearly 50 years of playing racquetball – took over. “The process of setting goals and then putting in the effort to achieve them is what makes winning possible,” he says. “It was all those swimming practices and thousands of hours on the racquetball court that led to my improvement and, ultimately, the successes I enjoyed in competition. So, after catching my first smallmouth bass in 1994, I began setting goals for myself with respect to my smallmouth fishing. About 15 years ago I set the goal to catch and release 1,000 smallies per season. Then I set the bigger goal to catch 25,000. I have committed the time to work towards each of these goals each season, and while I haven’t always achieved them, the process has helped me become a better angler.”

When the ice receded and revealed Schultz’s open-water arena earlier this year, his smallmouth log listed over 24,000 catches. Schultz knew 2021 could be the year he hit 25K. An August sojourn to Lake Michigan’s storied Green Bay put him there.

“I love river fishing, and rivers have accounted for many of my catches over the years,” Schultz says. “But I wanted to be up on Lake Michigan in Door County to maximize my chances for a bigger fish for number 25,000. So, with just two fish to go, that’s where I headed.”

Schultz says fishing on the morning of August 4 was slow, but he wasn’t discouraged. “I caught a small, 2-pound smallie for number 24,999,” Schultz says. “And shortly after noon I got what I was hoping for.” The bass Schultz refers to – a fat 4.5-pounder – came on a 2.5-inch tube in about 6 feet of water. Like the rest of the smallmouth he had caught and logged over the previous 24 years, the historic bass came on a St. Croix fishing rod – specifically, a 7-foot, 3-inch medium-power, extra-fast action St. Croix Victory casting rod.

“A fishing friend of mine had wanted to be out with me to video the catch, but I had to drop him off early and I was fishing by myself,” Schultz reports. “I used my RAM camera mount on the windshield for a couple pictures, put the bass in the livewell, and then put a video camera up to record a short video to document the historic catch!”

A St. Croix pro-staffer, Schultz has had a relationship with the Park Falls, Wis., based rod crafters and has been fishing with the Best Rods on Earth for 24 years now. “It’s been really rewarding to be involved with an American company that’s done so much for anglers over the years,” says Schultz, who has been involved with many of the company’s rod introductions but has never been as excited as he was by this year’s Victory Series launch.

“These rods are really special because they bring American-crafted, technique-specific, high-performance fishing to any bass angler. They released the first eight rods in the series earlier this year, then announced at ICAST that they’d be adding 17 more models to the lineup. All those new rods just became available to anglers last week, and I’m looking forward to adding a few of them to my arsenal.”

Schultz’s simple passion for chasing smallmouth bass has grown into speaking at over 100 sports shows and fishing clubs, writing dozens of articles, and communicating regularly with thousands of other smallmouth enthusiasts on social media. “This journey has been so much fun,” he says. “I place a high value on being a part of the smallmouth-angling community and love interacting with other anglers.”

You may be wondering what’s next for Schultz. “I’m having my best numbers year yet,” he says. “I’m still just out there having fun, continuing to learn, and trying to become a more effective angler. The 25,000 landmark catch has come and gone. I’ve already caught and released over 2,500 smallies this season and expect to end the year with my tally at close to 27,000.”

I spent 12 days practicing and competing, and even though I cashed a check and finished in 28th place, I was realized that I was inadequately prepared to handle the big water. Here are some of the key things that I wish I had known before I headed north: 

Quality footwear (not flip flops)

I’ve always worn flip flops in the boat, but in rough water flip flops don’t provide enough support. My feet were sliding around in the flip flops, and my footing was unstable. I switched to a light, waterproof hiking shoe and the difference was incredible when it came to stability and comfort in the big waves. 

Proper mapping

Everything is bigger on the Great Lakes, and trying to find fish on Lake Ontario without the best available contour lines was literally like searching for a needle in a haystack. I didn’t even realize that I had bad mapping until a fellow competitor showed me his mapping during pre-practice. I immediately ordered a chip that covered both the United States and Canada, and the difference was incredible.

Bug spray

Between the mosquitos and biting flies, I nearly went insane swatting at my ankles and legs until I stopped by the convenience store and purchased some insect repellant. In the middle of open water, the fish slime attracts a crazy number of flies.

Wind app on phone

Wind direction and speed is critical when it comes to fishing big water for both fishing and safety. I found that the wind direction and speed from basic predictions was unreliable, and I got caught miles offshore when the wind switched direction and started blowing. Downloading the Windy App on my iPhone really helped me decide where and when I could run the big lake. 

Let someone know where you’re going that day

The further you go into Lake Ontario, the less cell service you have. I’m used to fishing bodies of water where there are docks, marinas and other signs of human life. When you’re fishing alone 20 miles offshore, it can be a lonely feeling. After getting stuck in 6-plus foot waves one day in practice, I started telling at least one fellow competitor the general area that I was planning to fish that day. This was just in case something happened they would know where to start the search. 

Bring more than you think you’ll need

When it comes to smallmouth fishing up north, it’s hard to beat the basics like a drop shot or Ned rig. I practiced for 10 days prior to the start of the tournament, so I was on the water for 12 days when it was all said and done. I thought that I brought enough drop-shot weights and baits, but five days in I realized that I had to start rationing if I was going to make it through the tournament without running out. I had roughly 50 of the correct-sized drop-shot weights when I arrived, and I finished the tournament with just three. 

Research where the ramps are

There is no such thing as a “short run” on 1000 Islands and Lake Ontario. There are all sorts of both public and private boat ramps scattered throughout the area. After burning through a full tank of gas each of the first three days of practice, I started trailering to ramps closer to areas that I planned to explore. That allowed me to idle more and fish longer without worrying about fuel. It also allowed me to fish areas during windy days without putting myself or my equipment in jeopardy.   

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The only rational place to be during a weather event this depressing is indoors. But then, smallmouth bass junkies like Chris Noffsinger and me aren’t all that rational. Shrink-wrapped in Gore-Tex yet still shivering in the clammy windblown mist, we were on a small inland lake, casting topwater lures and putting a righteous whoopin’ on trophy-class bronzebacks.

The soundtrack of that miserable, messy morning still plays in my mind. First I hear the staccato plip-plip-plip of Noffsinger’s Zara Spook dog-walking across the surface like a drunk stumbling out a tavern door. Next there’s the dull, soggy blurp-blurp-blurp of my Whopper Plopper as its rotating tail slaps the water, practically begging a fish to smash it. Finally there’s that sudden, percussive KA-BOOSH as a big smallmouth reaches the breaking point and delivers the killing blow! Regardless of the weather, that, my friend, will warm you up in a jiffy!

Aggressive reaction

“Most bass anglers who have any experience catching smallmouth know how aggressive these fish are compared to largemouth,” Noffsinger, a veteran Interlochen, Mich., guide (northernadventuresfishing.com) and former Bassmaster Opens competitor, told Bassmaster. “If you’ve targeted both species during their spring spawn, you know that a smallmouth will often instantly attack a lure dropped onto its nest, while it may take forever to coax a bedding largemouth into biting.” Noffsinger says the same aggressive streak that a smallmouth exhibits in spring will resurface in the fall, which for us thrill-seeker bass nuts translates into some truly awesome topwater action. “When conditions get right, slinging topwaters in fall is not merely a viable option for catching a giant smallmouth; it can be your best possible option,” he swears. “And while largemouth most often respond to a surface presentation in low-light conditions, fall smallmouth will hit topwaters all day long, even under bluebird skies. They’ve just got a real short fuse when it comes to something moving over their heads.”

In both the sprawling Lake Michigan bays and smaller inland lakes where Noffsinger guides, many smallmouth spend the summer in superdeep water. “You’ll catch smallies 60 feet deep on a drop-shot rig in August, but once the days grow shorter and the water temperature drops to around 65 degrees, they’ll transition to shallow offshore structures. Here, they’ll fatten up for the winter by gorging on crawfish and baitfish, and their shallow location puts them in prime position to plaster a surface presentation.” Noffsinger says this deep-to-shallow migration occurs anywhere from mid-September to late October, depending on the region. “In my area, prime topwater time occurs when the surface temp hovers between 62 and 58 degrees; this is when I’ll catch many of my biggest fish of the year. It’s a rush catching a lunker smallmouth on any lure at any time, but catching one on a surface bait in fall is beyond awesome!”

Full-meal deal

Forget the tired axiom “smallmouth/small lure.” Where surface baits are concerned, big autumn smallies crave a full-meal deal. “Once the days grow shorter and the water temp drops, these fish get dead serious about packing in the groceries prior to moving to their deep winter haunts,” Noffsinger said. “This is when you want to be throwing a big, noisy walking bait like the River2Sea Whopper Plopper 110 or a cigar-shaped stickbait like the 4 1/2-inch Heddon Zara Spook. These beefy, aggressive surface plugs work especially well on windy days when there’s some chop on the surface; they create a lot of commotion and can trigger hellacious reaction strikes.” Noffsinger retrieves walking baits at a steady, slow-to-medium clip without pauses and presents stickbaits in classic walk-the-dog fashion, varying the retrieve cadence until he determines what the fish want. He throws full-sized topwaters on a ­­6-foot, ­­8-inch medium-heavy G.Loomis baitcasting rod paired with a 7.1:1 Shimano reel spooled with ­­30-pound Vicious No Fade braid; the braid is tied directly to the plug with no leader. 

“Finessing” a strike

In calm conditions, superclear water, bright sunlight or whenever the fish grow hesitant to strike, Noffsinger may downsize his surface offerings. While it’s a stretch to call any hard surface plug a finesse bait, compared to a wiener-sized Whopper Plopper or a slender Lucky Craft Splash Tail, a compact Rebel Pop-R definitely leans toward the finesse end of the spectrum. “Most guys use a Pop-R for largemouth during summer on weedy lakes, but I’ve caught some wall-hanger smallies on it in the fall,” Noffsinger said. “I don’t target grass all that much for smallmouth because these bass don’t relate to thick cover nearly as much as largemouth do. Instead, I’ll throw the Pop-R on the same shallow, relatively barren offshore structures where I’ll fish the bigger, noisier topwaters. In clear water, smallmouth will often slash at these baits instead of inhaling them; they’re attracted to the feathered tail.” In tough conditions, Noffsinger also relies on small prop baits like the Splash Tail and Heddon Baby Torpedo. “I especially like these minnow imitators on calm, sunny days. Short, erratic twitches of the rod tip make their tiny propellers sputter and reflect light, mimicking an injured baitfish struggling on the surface.” Noffsinger fishes small surface baits on a ­­6-8 medium action G.Loomis spinning rod with a 7.1:1 Shimano reel spooled with ­­20-pound braid; in this “finesse” application, he adds a ­­2-foot leader of ­­14-pound monofilament. “Don’t use a fluorocarbon leader with a surface bait,” he advises. “Fluorocarbon sinks; mono floats.”

Glory days

Once the lake temp dips below 55 degrees, Noffsinger finds the fall topwater bite tapers off dramatically, and other lure styles, including jerkbaits and metal blade baits, become more viable as the fish gravitate to their deep winter haunts. “If you’re really serious about tangling with a big fall smallmouth, monitor the lake temperature closely starting around mid-September,” the guide advised. “Once it edges into that magic 62 to 58 degree range, make sure you hit the water rain, wind or shine, and hammer the heck out of those key shallow structures with topwater lures. I guarantee it’ll be a blast in more ways than one!”

In fall, big smallmouth will plaster surface baits rain or shine, all day long. Michigan guide Chris Noffsinger bagged this beauty on a prop bait.

Prime targets for fall smallmouth topwater action

Not sure where to sling a surface bait in fall? Veteran Michigan smallmouth guide Chris Noffsinger recommends these key offshore structures. 

Shallow flats — “Autumn smallmouth will gravitate to big main-lake flats ranging from around 3 to 6 feet deep to gorge on crawfish and baitfish and will crush a surface lure. Flats with a mixed bottom composition (clay and gravel, sand and scattered grass or rocks, etc.) are best since they attract the most varied forage.”

Sharp vertical dropoffs — “Smallmouth relate to dropoffs the way largemouth relate to thick cover. Dropoffs are visible with the naked eye in clear natural lakes; the water looks blue or green on the shallow side and much darker along the drop. Use your electronics to locate dropoffs in murky reservoirs. Retrieve a surface bait parallel to the drop; if smallies aren’t feeding in the adjacent shallow water, they’re probably suspending in deeper water close to this critical edge.”

Rockpiles and humps — “Any high spot surrounded by deep water is a high-percentage smallmouth topwater target in fall. If they aren’t on top of the structure, they’re probably suspending somewhere off the sides; either way, they’ll smash a surface bait.”

Points and roadbeds — “In reservoirs, long, slow-tapering clay, gravel or chunk rock points and submerged roadbeds that eventually intersect a deep channel are both prime fall smallmouth haunts. Work a noisy walking bait or stickbait across either of these structures, and a whole pack of big smallies will often swim up and chase it.”

Originally appeared in Bassmaster Magazine 2021.