water depth for smallies

[bassmaster4]

I have been fishing a lake for smallies that has been producing earlier in the summer in about 3-6 feet of water. Recently the bite has slowed down so my instincts tell me to fish deeper,how deep should i go?

Thanks in Advance

Bassmaster4

[Cudz]

I tend to find smallies in the 10-17' depth but it depends on a lot of factors. Later in season I fish 20-25' of water and in November I have caught them in over 50' of water. Be careful if you pull a smallie up from anything over 25' air sac issues. fizz might be required.

Depends lots on the lake as well.

[uglyfish]

yup, all depends on the lake ur fishing and the time of year. we fished a tourney on erie sunday and caught most of our fish in 28' of water. but we also found cruising fish in less then 5' and caught more in 40' of water.

[BillsTheBassMan]

Try anywhere from 7' to 20'

[discophish]

3 to 6 feet? Small mouth bass prefer temps around 68-70 degrees. Try fishing deeper. I'm not a bass angler, but this is a true story that happened to me in late July of this year. I was trolling my baits down at 100 feet (actual corrected depth) for lakers in a clear Muskoka lake. Guess what I caught? A small mouth! And I know for a fact that the fish didn't hit on the way down. I knew exactly when the fish struck the lure. I'm not saying fish 100 fow ... but give the deeper parts that are available to you a shot! Good luck.

[Steve Piggott]

I think in Erie there are deep population of bass and shallow population of bass and its all about food.Find food find fish.

[Cudz]

3 to 6 feet? Small mouth bass prefer temps around 68-70 degrees. Try fishing deeper. I'm not a bass angler, but this is a true story that happened to me in late July of this year. I was trolling my baits down at 100 feet (actual corrected depth) for lakers in a clear Muskoka lake. Guess what I caught? A small mouth! And I know for a fact that the fish didn't hit on the way down. I knew exactly when the fish struck the lure. I'm not saying fish 100 fow ... but give the deeper parts that are available to you a shot! Good luck.

Wow that is the deepest I have ever heard. Incredible.

I was out fishing on simcoe the other day for smallies and started in 13' went to 18' went to 22' then I tried 4-7' Caught 5 out of 6 bass at the 4-7' area so it can be a real crap shoot at times.

[OhioFisherman]

On Lake Erie summer time I usually started looking in water 15-20 feet deep. some times they could be shallower or deeper but not often enough to justify looking until I check the 15-20 range first.

 

I really don`t like to fish for them deeper, but have caught them 30+ feet, and as Cudz mentioned if you don`t fizz them they will have a problem.

 

Other waters I have caught them in a foot or two of water, but only at night in the summer. If I know a lake has smallies, I start looking in rocky areas with at least 6-8 feet of water and move deeper.

[singingdog]

You have to be creative and not get locked into a pattern because the fish aren't. On my favorite smallie lake, in the past 3 weeks, I have had big ones from 3' right down to 20'.

 

I think the thing that keep lots of folks from fishing deeper is lack of a good "search" method for deep water. It's easy to cover lots of water that is 10' or less with cranks or spinnerbaits. Lots of folks I see, when they go below 12-15' start fishing more vertically and slowly, which is less confidence-inspiring for most anglers. Try a heavier tube jig, loooong casts and a fairly aggressive "hopping" retrieve to cover lots of deeper water. Heavier lipless cranks, blade baits, and spoons are good for covering deeper water efficiently as well.