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 First published December 5th 2005 - More than 3 years ago
Getting the Jump on Smallmouth A well-established routine adapted for use on picky smallmouth bass in clear shallow water.
It was after several sessions of frustration on the water that I began to take a well-established routine and adapt it for use on picky smallmouth bass in clear shallow water. Once I became confident with the method in its new application, I began to catch more shallow fish, even in waters that had been host to the heavy pressures of bass tournaments on the same day.
Sounds easy enough, right? Well, there are a few prerequisites for this technique to be effective. First, this is ultimately sight fishing. Water clarity and light penetration can be limiting factors, so a good pair of polarized glasses is a must, and a cap with a brim helps too. Second, since the water is typically shallow, your presence as an angler must go undetected. If this isn't possible, then your presence should be as unobtrusive as possible. Dress in neutral colors, keep a low profile, and use any available cover to mask movement. If fishing from a boat, eliminate excess noise that could be transmitted through the water column by achieving propulsion via drift, electric motor, or oars. Once these factors are taken into account, the method can really start to prove its worth. To keep in spirit with the method, I will continue to call it the jumping nymph technique; however, since I will be describing a system that can be used for bass, the fly may not necessarily be a nymph. With that in mind, I'll start by describing general fly presentation. The most common presentation is more or less horizontal, i.e. the fish are far enough away that you make a cast and retrieve the fly back to your position. Smallmouth bass in shallow water are nearly always active and on the move searching for food. After spotting a fish or group of fish, try to time the cruising speed and path for the best possible cast. Depending upon water depth, water clarity, and the speed of fish to be intercepted, this could mean casting anywhere from ten to thirty feet ahead of the moving targets in anticipation of their movement. When a fish is within a reasonable distance of the fly (usually a foot or two), gently lift it off of the bottom with a smooth strip.
Sometimes the initial jump of the fly off of the bottom will alarm the fish. When this happens, learn from the experience. You now know that the bass are very spooky, and that future presentations will require jumping the fly perhaps a bit earlier and more subtly. As time passes, the bass may start to become a bit more aggressive, and the initial jump will have to go back to being more deliberate. Let the fish and their reactions to the fly dictate which presentation you use. I usually try to use a more subtle approach on my initial presentation; if I don't draw a reaction and am fortunate enough to have a second shot at the same bass, I pick up the intensity of the next presentation in hopes of getting some attention. I find this to be better than a very aggressive initial presentation that has the potential of spooking a smallmouth, leaving little or no opportunity for a second chance. While the horizontal presentation of the jumping nymph is by far the most common application, there are a few circumstances where the presentation will become nearly vertical. When angling from a boat, fish will sometimes follow the fly to almost directly underneath the craft. And when angling from shore or wading, some fish will follow and then nestle up tight to the bank or relatively close to you. In these situations, keep the fly near or on the bottom and then manipulate it nearly straight up and down. It's imperative to be as inconspicuous as possible with this method because you are simply much closer to the fish than in the horizontal method. Instead of casting it out and away, work the fly off of the bottom with very little (if any) fly line. In some cases, just leader, tippet, and fly need to be beyond the rod tip. The same general technique applies here, with the necessity of added subtlety. To avoid rod movement, manipulate the fly by stripping it up and down with the line hand. Again, don't take the fly from the water while it's still close to a fish that's apparently lost interest. Ripping the fly from the water at such a point will only serve to put that fish on alert, and when one becomes spooked it has the potential to spook others. The environment of the smallmouth bass, particularly in relatively shallow water, is quite conducive to the jumping nymph method. Gravel bars, reefs, rocks, bays, and edges of weedbeds in lakes and rivers are prime spots to apply it. Since we are talking about sight fishing in shallow water (up to about six feet deep), the time of year is an important factor in determining just how practical this technique will be. I have had success from spring through fall, with most of it coming during the fall. Since smallmouth tend to spend a majority of their summer daylight hours in deeper water, early and late in the day will find more fish cruising in the thinner waters during that season. But when autumn arrives, bass start to feed more aggressively in anticipation of the approaching winter. When water temperatures start to cool, smallmouth frequent relatively shallow water for very prolonged periods of time throughout the day. The shallows of lakes and rivers have an ecological diversity of food items that is tough for bass to pass up, particularly at this time of year.
Fishing on bright days affords the best possible sighting of bass in the water. However, during the summer months, fewer bass will tend to be roaming the shallows during the prime sighting window. Fishing on overcast summer days means that more bass will be roaming the shallows, but they will be harder to spot because of the obvious decrease in available light. Given a choice between the two summer options, I would opt for the overcast day and fish armed with amber or pale yellow lenses and the confidence that more smallmouth will be available in the spots I am searching. New techniques are constantly evolving to improve success with catching difficult fish, but we should never be too quick to ignore an older technique that has proven itself in certain situations. The innovative use of an older method can be just the answer to a flyfishing problem. While this technique may not have been developed with bass in mind, it is certainly effective in the right conditions. The next time the smallmouth are shallow and uncooperative, try to get a jump on them with your fly. Let the fish dictate the nature of your retrieve, and you might be surprised with the results.
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