Chasing shallow-water smallmouth is one of my favorite types of fishing. There's something about sneaking up on a big bass, fooling it with a well placed cast, and then watching the acrobatics show…
Any fly angler who has ever battled a smallmouth bass knows that these are fish were made for the fly rod. They're aggressive, take flies readily and fight like fish twice their size.
But if you…
Fly fishing for smallmouth bass is one of my favorite summertime activities. My only problem is deciding whether to fish them topwater or subsurface. Topwater bass fishing is definitely exciting but…
Will Rollins, of Vienna, Missouri, has spent his entire life in that little central Missouri hill town. Much of his time, however, he spent happily chasing smallmouth bass on the nearby Gasconade…
Most savvy anglers understand that lures are tools, and that given situations often dictate the appropriate choice, be it a spinnerbait, crankbait, jig or some other style of bait. But just as there…
Tube-bait has been garnering attention and catching boatfuls of fish for a record number of years.
Tube baits and smallmouth bass are a match made in fishing heaven. Representing their preferred…
"I'll yank a good smallmouth from under this log coming up," said my long time fishing buddy Vern Clemens.
We drifted lazily down the Gasconade River in the Missouri Ozarks. Clemens handled his…
The other day I was reminded that it's often best to trust your instincts. Thanks to a high-water imposed layoff, it was my first guide job on the Allegheny River in around two weeks.
The morning…
When it comes to river fishing, there's one thing you can pretty much count on: change. In my April 10 blog I described my first productive river smallmouth bass trip of the year — one brought on by…
It's mid-March. There's snow on the ground as well as the mention of more in the weather forecast in the northeast. Winter seems reluctant to give way to spring here in western Pennsylvania. But it…
Immediately following the spawn is not usually a productive time for catching smallmouth bass. They are exhausted from the rigors of courtship and tend to be a little fickle. But they can still be…
