One of my favorite times of the year is upon us. There’s no doubt that if you want to target trophy smallmouth on the Shenandoah, the pre-spawn is generally what people get excited about. However, the fall is a close second for a good chance to put your hands on a sizable smallmouth bass. You’ll hear anglers talk about “wolf packs” of small mouth and the term “fall feed bag”. They’re referring to mature fish grouping together to compete for calories as they prepare for their trip to wintering holes.
Unfortunately, what sets this part of the year apart from the normally damp pre-spawn is we are generally dealing with the aftermath of a dry summer. Which means, we have the challenge of low and clear water. This can make for some technical fishing. While these fish are eager to feed, they aren’t as apt to when they can see you flailing a fly rod around in your brightly colored sun shirt from 50 yards away. With a little care, you can overcome this hurdle and find success.
Tackle for Trophy Smallmouth
First, we will address tackle. I fish an 8 wt Scott Session paired with a Ross Animas reel. This is my go-to combo all year, but it’s time to shine is now. The reel is equipped with a SA Sonar Titan Sink 3 for larger portions of the river like the South Fork of the Shenandoah and the spool carries the same line in intermediate for small, shallow portions like the North Fork where I want the fly to get down but don’t want it hanging up on every rock.
Leader choice is simple, use the Murray’s Big Game Leader in 15 lb. test. I know you’re thinking, “that’s a big diameter leader for spooky fish”. There are several reasons I use the large leader. I like the durability of this leader after a day of running it over rocks, ledges and other structures. The other reason we will cover in the next paragraph.
Now we need our flies. Much like the pre-spawn, I feel like I can’t fish a big enough fly for these larger fish. We have started stocking 3 specific flies with pre-spawn and the “fall feed bag” in mind. The CJ Sluggo, Galloup’s Dungeon, and Galloup’s Mini Dungeon. This is why we are using 8wt tackle and a big leader to turn these over. These big articulated streamers may seem like a lot for someone who has been fishing a size 6 fly all summer, but you must give them a chance and stay consistent with them. They will pay off and when they do, it’s addictive.
Big Flies for Big Smallmouth
Finally, how do we get these big flies in front of our fish? I stay out of shallow riffles and stick to big ledges and pools in between the riffles. These aren’t the same fish you’ve been targeting in the summer. The water is cooler and is carrying more oxygen. Therefore they don’t need to keep their face in the aerated water. Larger smallies tend to “hunt” more this time of year but will also revert to their ambush/opportunistic style of feeding throughout the day. The goal is to cover as much of the pool as you can but also focus on anything that sticks out as a possible feeding station. The feeding stations may be downed logs, larger rocks that are big enough to provide cover to a larger fish, ledges and so on.
As I go down the river, I’ll be blindly casting across the pools and stripping in pretty fast with intermittent pauses. These fish will generally hit the fly on the move, but the wary fish can be triggered to strike on the pause. When you are stripping fast, you really can’t move it too fast. Keep in mind, conventional lures move way faster than you can strip, and these fish still hammer those. Now, when I identify a target area of a possible feeding station, I will cast up far enough upriver and far enough away from it that when I do the same retrieve it will bring the fly within the strike zone of said feeding station.
You don’t want to cast directly to said feeding station, as to not run off these spooky fish. This has been quite the productive method for me. I hope you can apply this to your success as well. Your shoulder is going to hate you, but the reward of a citation smallie on a fly rod will make you forget about the torture you have endured.
Things to keep in mind for trophy smallmouth
- These fish tend to be in groups. Once you catch a fish don’t write off the pool. Back out and allow it to calm down. I have caught other sizeable fish out of the same hole by allowing it to settle out after a fight.
- Articulated flies with trailer hooks are key. During pre-spawn, large fish will strike head first or broad side the fly so the front hook will suffice. However, I have noticed fish will short strike from the rear in the fall. My belief is they are playing catch up and trying to stun the bait fish so they can turn it to eat it head first. That’s where the trailer hook pays off and will hook the fish on the initial strike. If the fish does miss on the first hit, get erratic with some short and fast strips with some pauses mimicking a stunned bait fish. They will often hit it again if they didn’t get stung from a hook.
- If all else fails tie on a size 6 pearl marauder and catch blue gill to keep from getting skunked.