Friday Facts 01.08.2021
After taking the holidays off to be with friends and family, we’re back!!
A year in the life....
As the Ozarks most sought after gamefish, and the hardest fighting fish that swims, much has been written about fishing for this Bronze Warrior.
But did you ever wonder what a year in the life of a Smallmouth Bass consists of? Where are they in say, January, and where do they go in June?
We’ll examine that and some fun facts in this weeks “Friday Facts”!
Smallmouth Bass
Micopterus Dolomieu
(Cool fact- The Genus name Micopterus is the mix of two Latin words literally meaning small-fin. The specimen on which the name was based had a mutilated dorsal fin and the author of the name consequently believed its fins were small)
Range in the Ozarks:
Predominantly in cool, clear Ozark streams and large reservoirs in the Ozarks.
Life Span: Up to 18 years. Average is well under that.
Growth Rate:
Slow. 3-5 years to legal size in the rivers of the Ozarks. An 18” fish can be as old as 12 years.
Missouri State Record: 7lbs 2oz from Stockton Lake in 1994
Arkansas State Record: 7lbs 5oz from Bull Shoals Lake in 1961
Oklahoma State Record: 8lbs 7oz from Lawtonka in 2012
World Record: 11lbs 15oz from Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee, 1955
Habits and Habitats.
Late winter(Jan-Mar)
Still hanging in winter over holes and avoiding expending energy as much as possible. Smallmouth activity is at a minimum while the water is under 50degrees. River fish still have to feed as they will burn some calories even in mild currents. Look for them in deep pools protected from late winter flood currents by large rock and wood structure.
Spring (April-June)
Once the water temp starts to rise, smallmouth begin moving out of winter spots to feed, with one goal; procreation.
Studies have shown that smallmouth will spawn in the same areas each year, and females are the first to move. When the water temp hits 60(ish) spawning behavior begins in earnest. Males build nests in shallow areas on pea gravel or other soft substrate. They do their thing and males will guard the nest through the hatch, and for a short time while the fry hover over the nest. Post spawn females won’t move far until it’s time to feed for winter.
We’ve seen smallmouth spawning well into June here, and studies show that habitat loss is the biggest factor in poor spawn years, not low fish numbers as some think.
I got some really good underwater footage of a male and female on a nest in late may on CreekX, check it out;
Summer(July-Sept)
Once the need to reproduce is over, fish move to their summer habitat, mainly deep pools below riffles and runs where food is abundant and cover is close.
A radio telemetry study done on Neosho strain smallies in Oklahoma showed that most fish didn’t move far after the spawn, staying within 2-3 miles of their native spawning sites. It also showed that adults moved to the same summer haunts year over year.
The young of the year will group up and stay tight to cover to avoid predation, feeding mostly on plankton and other micro organisms.
Fall (Oct-Dec)
My favorite time of year to chase SmallJaws, fall finds fish slowly migrating to winter haunts and trying to eat everything edible on their way.
For fish above large dams, i.e. Table Rock, Bull Shoals etc, that migration can be 20+ miles to where the tributary feeds the reservoir. For freestone fish, the trip can be as little as 2 or 3 miles. Baitfish, crawfish, large insects, rodents, small birds and the well placed lure or fly are all on the menu in the search for calories.
Once the water temps drop below 50, activity slows and fish become more lethargic.
It’s long year for our smallmouth.
Floods, fishermen, birds, otters, other fish, habitat loss and many other perils had to be avoided for survival. With our help, this Warrior will survive 10-15 of these individual journeys and become that 18 inch trophy every Smallie angler hopes to latch on to.
Free. The. Fighter!!
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