Pre-Spawn Smallies (Part 1)

Anyone who knows me in the fly fishing world can attest to my love affair with fly fishing for smallies. That is what I truly love to do. I love trout fishing too. However, the hunt for smallies, especially big smallies, has an irresistible charm to it. I like everything about them from the way they fight to their overall personalities. They are considered by many to be the hardest fighting freshwater fish, pound for pound, that exists. How could you not love that? They give it their all every time you hook one. You can't ask for anything more than that.
To begin the series we'll discuss their behavior during the pre-spawn period. As the water temps approach the 50 degree range the smallmouth begin to move from their deep water haunts where they spend the winter months. They move up to feed and to begin looking for spawning grounds. These fish have been fairly dormant over the last few months and they need to feed due to their metabolism increasing. They also have spawning on their minds.
The fish will hold in areas that offer deep water with current breaks and shallow water access. Preferably a long, sloping type bottom versus a steep drop off. They don't have the energy to fight the currents like they will in a couple months. Early in the morning they will be holding deep and will progressively move to shallower water to feed as the day progresses and the water warms. Obviously, the more shallow the water the quicker that it will warm up.
If fishing early in the morning before the water has had a chance to warm, you will have to dredge a fly down deep to have a chance at tempting a smallie to bite. As the water warms he will move up and so should you (we will cover the flies to use during the different parts of the day in Part 3 of this series). You will be covering the entire water column throughout the day. The standard approach is to cast near the banks and to retrieve your fly at a speed that will allow it to cover the portion of water that you want to cover. If you are fishing a crayfish pattern, you want to fish it slow in order to crawl it along the bottom. The fish are still lethargic due to the colder water temps in the morning and they won't chase a fast retrieve. If fishing a suspended streamer pattern, you would use a retrieve that would allow it time to sink to the proper depth, and so on.
This is a constant trial and error type of fishing. From fly selection to retrieval technique, it can change several times throughout the day. Most fly fishing is like this though, so really nothing new to the smallie fishing. With the exception that we are not concerned with insect activity changing throughout the day like we are when fishing for trout. Here it is more about concentrating on your preys movements in relation to water temps and water depth. They can really keep you on your toes!
Well that's it for Part 1. Hope you enjoyed the read. Tomorrow I will post Part 2 which will cover equipment needed. See ya then!