Going after the smallmouth bass

There is quite a bit of concern among local anglers that the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) introduced illegally in many of our local lakes will supplant our trout fishery in these lakes. Our area has traditionally been a trout fishing area, but the introduction of smallmouth has potentially changed that for the foreseeable future.

Smallmouth bass were first brought into California in 1874 from Lake Champlain, Vermont and the St. Joseph Rive, Michigan and planted in the Napa River and in Alameda Creek. I subsequently spread and was introduced into a number of waters through the central and northern parts of the State. Illegal introductions have made the distribution even greater.

Smallmouth bass spawning usually occurs at water temperatures between 62-64º F, but they have been found spawning at 53º F. In the Midwest the smallmouth spawns from the middle of May through June (water temperatures between 55-75º F). The male smallmouth may build several "practice nests" until he finally settles on one as suitable. The nest is usually a large, perfectly circular, clean gravel structure. Nests are usually located near shore in lakes and downstream from boulders or some other obstruction that offers protection against strong current in streams. Depth of nests will vary depending on water clarity and fishing pressure.

Each time that I fish one of our outlying reservoirs I see more anglers specifically targeting the bass. Such was the case when a group of us gathered for a local Tahoe Truckee Fly fishers outing about a week ago at Prosser Lake.

Whether it was the cold night before that dipped near 28 degrees at one of our attendee's place or the fact that the rate of release was just increased from the dam; the fishing was not very good. The trip leader had indicated that the fishing had been quite good for the past couple of weeks, but by the time I arrived no one had caught anything.

A couple of people were fly -fishing from shore while the others were out in tubes or pontoon boats. When my partners and I got our crafts inflated we put into the calm morning waters.

I decided to go with a type II sinking line. The other anglers had been using floating lines with or without indicators. This had been successful for them in prior outings, but was not working that morning. Flies that had been successful were crayfish and damselfly imitations.

Since these patterns were not working that morning I decided to go with a baitfish pattern. The streamer that I chose was one that had worked for me many times in the past, particularly on trout.

I was rewarded by the tug at the other end of my line. Smallmouth always give a good account of themselves no matter what size that they happen to be. A fish such as the nine-inch fish that I caught pull much harder than a trout of a similar size. Some consider the smallmouth the best fighting freshwater game fish pound for pound.

We only managed a two fish, both smallmouth, among us this particular day. One of the other anglers caught about a 12-inch fish that really gave the angler a good tussle on his five-weight fly rod.

The good news about the smallmouth fishing is that it is usually good when trout fishing begins to wane due to warmer temperatures. While we they may adversely affect the trout fishery, in the short term, it certainly gives the angler an option during the warm month of August for fishing our local lakes.