Targetting smallies amid sunfish

[mikesl]

Hi all

I have a great little warmwater stream fishing hole near my house... absolutely packed with redbreast sunnies and bluegill. like hundreds.... splash a popper down and you can;t count to 3 before it gets hit hard.

They provide plenty of enterntainment for me and the kids, and are fun to catch ... to a point.

I have suspected for some time, and confirmed today that there are some decent smallmouth in this same water. level was low and i was wet wading it and saw them cruising past.

I tried a few things today (mostly clouser type crawdad) but just can't get the smallies to take an interest in anything i throw their way, and the sunnies hit everything so aggressively anyway that it is nearly moot.

Any tips for times of day, presentation, fly/streamer types likeley to target the smallies over the sunnies?


Also a nice carp in this area too.... for what its worth.

will take non-flyfishing recommendations inbto consideration as well

 

[Berks]

Well you found the fish, now try to catch them...

You can try a couple of things. Increase the size of your offering. Try something larger than the panfish are willing to take. Also, the smallmouth you’re seeing in the hole may not be in feeding mode. Try repositioning into an area with a stronger current and tossing a BH black bugger.

 

[Fishidiot]

Berks wrote:
Increase the size of your offering. Try something larger than the panfish are willing to take.

^ This.

In my experience, panfish are also much less likely to hit minnow shaped flies like a Clouser Minnow than flies that resemble nymphs or crayfish......so try a CM about 3" long. This is bigger than most of the sunnies will eat (or hook themselves on) but will appeal to the bass. A bigger popper would be a good plan too. It's also been my experience that bass in small streams tend to hit well at mid day - nevertheless, you might try the popper in the evening. Poppers allow you to see fish hit at the end of a long cast, which is tough with a streamer (bass often pick up a streamer and spit it out without the angler ever detecting the strike). Long casts will insure you don't spook the fish and the combination of evening conditions should get you hooked up with some bass.

 

[dc410]

I pretty much agree with the larger offering theory but I have caught many redbreasts on size 4 Clouser Minnows as well, they are very aggressive. It may possibly be more a factor of the type of water than the offering. I was WW fishing this evening and had a bit of trouble hooking up with the smallies as well. This evening was a virtual redbreast rodeo! They were hittin' hard and they were hittin' everything. I enjoy catching the Redbreast sunnies so I actually took advantage of the situation. The colors on some of them are absolutely stunning!

I did manage to catch four SMB and I noticed that three of the smallies I caught were taken in much faster water. The fourth smallmouth was a 4" 2012 brood fish that I took on a size 10 White Wulff in the slow water while I was actually targeting the Redbreasts that were hitting the top. I usually have trouble catching smallies in the frog water and it seems that this is where the sunnies like to hang out. If I am fishing a swifter run with a backwater eddy I like to fish the seam between the currents but I try to keep the offering right on the seam or just into the faster water for hooking up with smallies. This time of year, cast one over into that backwater eddy and we are back to the redbreast rodeo.

I actually fish all of the different types of water and cover because the one thing that I love about WW fishing is that you never know what you are going to hook up with next. Tonight was an awesome evening even though I only caught four smallies I also hooked up with lots of Redbreasts, Rock Bass, a Largemouth Bass and a gorgeous little Pumpkinseed sunnie.

 

[Swattie87]

My experience with mid-summer Smallies in deep, slow water is very similar...they're very tough to catch. They're not spooky...they'll cruise by within feet of you, but they won't hit anything you throw at them. As some of the previous posters have mentioned, try targeting some of the mid depth runs with more current. Look for almost "Trouty" looking lies. They won't get as good of a look at your offering in that kind of water and will generally be more aggressive to strike this time of year. That much current will usually be enough to keep the Sunnies away too - they don't like direct current.

I had a very similar outing this week...Smallies cruising the deep, slow holes right in front of me but the only places I caught Smallies were mid depth, moderate current runs.

 

[BelAirSteve]

Bigger flies = bigger fish

 

[boychick]

Increase the size of your offering

Start by going bigger. Try fishing that hole at dawn or dusk when the bass will be on the feed. Also try fishing the areas in the shade durring the day.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

There is a pace that the Smallies will hit a top water popper and only the largest and fastest sunnies/rock bass etc. will chase. So you may want to speed up the action. Biggest Smallie I got this year at PennyPack Park was around a pound. I put my popper right next to the bank and with one tug it was on.

 

[mikesl]

Thanks all

Been trying the bigger is better strategy which helps keep the little redbreasts off but no luck on the smb

Got our first smb on a trout magnet on my 3yo's 18" toy rod at me on nest among so that was good

Will take the advice to try current for the bass

Thanks

 

[mikesl]

Ps redbreasts themselves are pretty fun on poppers and buggers

Especially in warm weather when they go nuts

But it does get old after a while

Agree they are gorgeous fish though

 

[the_last_waltz]

big long conehead bunny leech.......wormish

huge orange/brown/tan/olive streamers with perverted names and a little flash

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I have found that Smallies do take notice of other fish being caught and become lock jawed. And also once you catch one of the smallies and put it back you normally will have to either change lures or locations.

 

[wgmiller]

Conversely, largemouth DO take notice of other fish being caught and the caught fish can become a target for the LM. If you can find largemouth, watch a hooked panfish really stir things up.

Couldn't agree more with increasing the size of your offering for smallies. Don't be afraid to tie up a big ol bugger in the 2/4 range and drop it on the bottom or dead drift it. That should help to keep a lot of the panfish off of it. Aggressive panfish are just a part of the game sometimes when fishing for other WW species. The topwater bite can be particularly frustrating at times.

 

[marcq]

I don't fly fish much for smallies but when I do I strictly target areas where they are going to be eating. haha. but seriously I would say fish around structure. the fish that are cursing around are not really looking to feed. they stage up in places where it is easy for them to grab something.
if I had a situation where I saw fish in the open or a fallen tree or large rock in the water I would cast to the structure. you can bet those fish are looking to score a meal with the least amount of effort as possible. this is my over all theory with bass fishing. they are lazy fish.

buggers are a go to in my book. if you want to fish topwater find some pads or weeds. good luck getting them out.

for non fly fishing tip. 4 inch sinko is all you need. Texas or wacky rig

 

[melvinthefisherman]

Catch a few of the sunnies on the popper first. Being a creek fisherman i find in the summer when the smallies are sluggish a sunnie feeding frenzy can turn them on. Bass are curious creatures and sunnies acting crazy sure gets there attention and gets them hype. Try using the sunnies to your advatage it might make the bass jealous enough into striking

 

[sandfly]

My experience with mid-summer Smallies in deep, slow water is very similar...they're very tough to catch. They're not spooky...they'll cruise by within feet of you, but they won't hit anything you throw at them.

they have full bellies from feeding at night !