start thinking smallmouth

I can't take it anymore, I want to fly fish for smallmouth. I am sick and tired of snow and chasing those darn steelhead....yeah there fun IF they bite and when your not 1/2 frozen! I cant wait to stream smallie fish. I will be concentrating on the rocky river this year with my fly rod, and some flies that I made over the winter. So who has any tips on smallie fishing? Or any flies that you would like to share? Anything at all, I just need to get some smallie news!!

Smallie 14,

If you would show your location on your resume, your entry would be more meaningful to us.

Bob

[Philly]

Tired of snow and cold, chasing steelhead.
Could cover a big area, any of the Great Lake states or even Ontario. Though a quick search seems to indicate Rocky River is in Ohio.
Smallies are probably getting active, now. Here in SE PA, around mid-april I see a lot of the guys fishing for trout using minnows hooking up with smallies.
I'll be out with sink tip or sinking line using minnow patterns. A no name pattern I tie up for fresh and salt water. Use either a Gamakatsu SC-15 or a Drop shot hook. Size 2 to 6. Tied with Mirror Image that I preblend with Angel Hair. Length 1 1/2 to 3 inches. All materials are tied in right behind the eye.
To use proper streamer terminology.
1. tie in a belly wing of white Mirror Image blended with either Blue or Green Pearl Angel Hair.
2. tie in a mid wing of the same material or one with the white mirror image blended with holographic silver angel hair.
3. tie in top wing of blended Mirror Image, either light blue, light green, chartreuse, and two new ones for this year, light pink and orange.
4. Add eyes, I like the dome eyes, either mirage or holographic
5. Coat head area, covering eyes with either epoxy or clear silicone. The epoxy heads with sink quicker. The slicone heads will suspend a bit.
You can also try any of the larger nymphs you would use for steelhead.

[MAC in NEOhio]

Smallie,

I know what you mean...I spent some time last Saturday across town on the Chagrin, fishing (and freezing) along one of my favorite stretches from last summer's smallmouth season. Steelhead are a nice diversion, but give me a native smallie any day.

[atomic_dog]

I have a question for you smallmouth fisherman.

I live on a large reservoir that has lots of smallies in it. There is a wasteway that dumps into the res. and I was told that in the spring they migrate up into this wasteway to spawn. It's pretty fast water, with sections of rocky bottom, opening up into slower, sandy bottomed water. Any idea at what point I might start to expect the fishing to pick up there? We've had a couple weeks of decent weather (upper 50's to upper 60's mostly) and the nights have mostly stayed above the high 30s on up to the low 40s. I don't know what the water temps are like, but I spoke to someone in a boat up in the wasteway a couple weeks ago when it first started to warm up and he said the water temp was about 46. I'd guess it's warmed up since then, though.

In addition to the smallies, the walleye will be moving up into the shallows soon, too. I'm hoping I might be able to find a way to hook into one of them this spring as well.

[deathb4disco]

Check out this site:
[url=http://www.riversmallies.com:647a4]www.riversmallies.com[/url:647a4]

They have a fly fishing discussion board.

[AlexN]

And don't forget perhaps the most famos smallmouth fly of all--the Clouser Minnow.
A.

[yung_canuck3]

yeah, smallmouth are alot of fun, but here in canada the season doesnt open until june 25th so we can't fish for them shile they are spawning, when they are most active.
as far as flies for late summer, nothing beats a purple krystal wooly bugger with dumbbell eyes or a conehead.Decievers on a ful sink like are also deadly.
tight lines and taught thread
mikey