Although it was not the plan for the year the summer of 2022 until October was mostly focused on smallmouth bass. Preparing for and competing in 5 tournaments, life events that filled up the first summer post-covid, and a few camping trips made the season fly by without realizing it. One of the great things about smallmouth is that they school and so when something is working its obvious and it really works! To find out our top baits for each season keep on reading:
Early Summer
Tubejig
The early summer period can be one of the best for smallmouth. Most of the fish are in shallow and crayfish are flooding the gravel flats going about their spawning rituals. Using a 4" tubejig with 3/8 oz head was the ticket for all of our fish in a 23.75 lb bag in one of the tournaments we fished.
Summer
Dropshot
By the time summer is in full swing smallmouth will have schooled up by size. This makes a great opportunity to catch numbers of big fish without having to race all around the lake. A dropshot was the weapon of choice for tricking schools of smallmouth into biting. Zman TrickShotz, Paddlerz, and Berkley Gulp minnows were the baits of choice. The dropshot was a key component in boating over 24.5 lbs in the first event of the Huron Bass tour.
Fall
Blade Bait
Fall and late fall periods can find smallmouth in huge tight schools. In colder water bait are less active and so using lures that have a tighter action can trigger bites. The blade bait normally shines when water temperatures drop below 50 F but this season we had some extremely good days fishing blades in water 50-60 F. In fact, most fish from the two days in the Huron Bass Tour Championship weekend (where we placed 4th) were caught on blade baits!
If you or someone you know is looking to get into fishing or you just want to become a more successful angler be sure to check out our "Zero To Hero Fishing Masterclass" for courses on everything fishing! The masterclass is built to help you learn how to find and catch fish like the pro's by providing all the information you need and a clear development path! Don't miss out check it out now at www.newwavefishingacademy.com/zero-to-hero
Have you ever wondered why lures don't come with instructions and wanted to know how to fish them? Look no further than our "How To Fish" series where you will learn what each bait is, how to use it, when and where it excels over other baits, our preferred setup to use it on, and the common mistakes anglers make when using it. www.newwavefishingacademy.com/how-to-fish
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