Can smallmouth live in small ponds or in truly cold northern lakes?
Suitability depends on the whole annual habitat, not simply “northern”, “cold” or “small”. Successful reproduction, summer growth, food and winter oxygen all matter. A northern lake can support shallow summer smallmouth; its latitude alone neither guarantees a population nor forces the fish deep.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about Territory & aggression
Same topic, other species
- Why do crappie nest in colonies instead of spreading out like bass? — Crappie
- How do largemouth do in moderately fertile (mesotrophic) lakes? — Largemouth Bass
- Are muskie territorial? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Are perch territorial at all? — Yellow Perch
- Do pike defend territories? — Northern Pike
- Is there really a pecking order among trout in a pool? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- Are walleye territorial? — Walleye