crash, going to be in lake winneesaukee (moultonboro) the last week of august.dedicated saltwater guy that fishes this lake once a year. done ok with smallmouths on oppers at dusk and worms under a bobber for the kiddies. but i was wondering if you could impart any wisdom on how best to seriously target smallies. i also think there's some yellow perchand i hear they eat well. any knowledge to share? respond here or to a pm if you need more info. thanks in advance, g.
crash...help
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So many options...
Hey Gebby!
It comes down to conditions. As with any type of fishing.
Your doing the right thing with poppers at dawn and dusk. But Mid-day smalllies can be tough to get a bead on.
One thing that has helped me is determining what they would be feeding on during the day. Basically, are they looking up or down for their food?
A smallie favorite is crayfish. Tubes, hair jigs, and crankbaits, mimic crawfish pretty well. These are a smallie fishermans staples. Try to match the color of the crawdads. Of course, target the rocky structure that would hold these bottom dwelling critters.
In the Reservoirs I fish, smallies are feeding on Sawbellies. These silver baitfish travel in schools and you'll find smallies schooled up under them. Jigging spoons, cranks, rat-l-traps in silver/black or silver/blue then work.
Smallies are weird fish, and 've caught them on wierd things. Pink spinnerbaits, Clear crankbaits, even muskie sized inline spinners.
Then you could also cheat and use a live minnow under a float.
Hey Gebby!
It comes down to conditions. As with any type of fishing.
Your doing the right thing with poppers at dawn and dusk. But Mid-day smalllies can be tough to get a bead on.
One thing that has helped me is determining what they would be feeding on during the day. Basically, are they looking up or down for their food?
A smallie favorite is crayfish. Tubes, hair jigs, and crankbaits, mimic crawfish pretty well. These are a smallie fishermans staples. Try to match the color of the crawdads. Of course, target the rocky structure that would hold these bottom dwelling critters.
In the Reservoirs I fish, smallies are feeding on Sawbellies. These silver baitfish travel in schools and you'll find smallies schooled up under them. Jigging spoons, cranks, rat-l-traps in silver/black or silver/blue then work.
Smallies are weird fish, and 've caught them on wierd things. Pink spinnerbaits, Clear crankbaits, even muskie sized inline spinners.
Then you could also cheat and use a live minnow under a float.
crash, thanks for the timely response. so its just structure, diet and habitat, huh? just kiddin. thats kinda what i thought. and i do let the kids cheat with the bobbers, saw a 4ish pounder from the five year old last year. 100 degrees, 12 noon, 10 feet no structure, go figure. u figure the yellow perch share the same habitat? thx,g.
Yellows...
Nah Yellows tend to hug the bottom more then smallies. Usually a tad deeper also. They are a sucker for small minnows. Look for spots that have weedy structure and a mud flat nearby. They'll hang in the weeds during the day and cruise the mud flats to feed.
But back to smallies...
On hot days like these smallies will suspend (Hence the looking up to feed part) and you can put a hurtn on them with live bait. Some of my best big fish days have been targeting these suspended fish. They have to eat to keep up with thier metabalism. But, be very careful with these fish at this time, you can kill them real easy in this heat. I try not to lift them out of the water and use circle hooks.
Nah Yellows tend to hug the bottom more then smallies. Usually a tad deeper also. They are a sucker for small minnows. Look for spots that have weedy structure and a mud flat nearby. They'll hang in the weeds during the day and cruise the mud flats to feed.
But back to smallies...
On hot days like these smallies will suspend (Hence the looking up to feed part) and you can put a hurtn on them with live bait. Some of my best big fish days have been targeting these suspended fish. They have to eat to keep up with thier metabalism. But, be very careful with these fish at this time, you can kill them real easy in this heat. I try not to lift them out of the water and use circle hooks.
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