Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family Centrarchidae of Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular gamefish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stock to many cool-water rivers and lakes in the United States and Canada. The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River, Great Lakes system, and up into the Hudson Bay basin. Its common names include Smallmouth, Bronzeback, Brown Bass, Brownie, Smallie, and Bronze Bass.

Description
The smallmouth bass is generally brown with dark vertical bands rather than a horizontal band along the side. There are 13-15 soft rays in the dorsal fin. The upper jaw of smallmouth bass extends to the middle of the eye.

Lures
In conventional fishing, smallmouth may be successfully caught on a wide range of natural and artificial baits or lures, including crankbaits, plastic jerkbaits (such as Rapala Husky Jerks or Rapala X-Raps), spinnerbaits, and all types of soft plastic lures including curly tail grubs or tubes with lead head jigs. They may also be caught with a fly rod using a dry or wet fly, nymphs, streamers, or imitations of larger aquatic creatures such as crawfish or leeches (see Artificial fly). Floating topwater popper fly patterns and buzz baits are also popular for smallmouth fishing

Bait
Smallmouth bass anglers may also use live bait to catch fish. Live nightcrawlers, minnows, hellgrammites and crawfish are usually the most productive live baits. Live baits are usually more effective than lures if used properly (which makes sense seeing as how they are the fishes natural food, rather then 'imposters').

Fishing Tackle
For river fishing, spinning tackle or fly tackle have been the most popular angling tools for smallmouth in North America for many years. Many fisherman use a 5.5-6.5 foot, medium-fast action rod matched with 6-8 lb. test line. However, fly fishing for smallmouth bass has become increasingly popular in recent years, and most fly fishermen seeking river or stream smallmouth use a 7- to 9-foot fly rod in a #5, #6, #7, or #8-weight size with a floating or sink-tip fly line, depending upon the water to be fished. Fishermen seeking smallmouth in large lakes often use sinking lines of various densities, as smallmouth found in such waters often feed at greater depths. Smallmouth are not leader shy and will take larger lures and flies, though shallow streams and tight quarters may call for a shorter rod and lighter lines than are generally used for lakes or large rivers.