Can you troll for smallmouth bass?
Yes, and on big water it is a legitimate search method. Smallmouth roam more than largemouth — over rock flats, along breaks, and in open water where they follow smelt, alewife or cisco — and a crankbait or minnowbait trolled along the contour finds those fish faster than casting. Walleye trollers on the Great Lakes and large Shield lakes catch smallmouth this way regularly without trying. Treat trolling as the locator: when a rod goes, mark the spot, circle back and cast, because smallmouth travel in groups and a tube, drop shot or jerkbait will take several more from the same school. Bass tournaments prohibit trolling, and once found, the fish are usually on spots small enough that casting is simply more efficient.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about What this means for fishing
- What are the best conditions for a smallmouth trip?
- Why does finesse fishing rule for smallmouth?
- When should I throw moving baits instead of finesse?
- How do I fight a smallmouth — bow to the jump?
- What about barotrauma when I catch smallmouth from 10 m (33 ft) or deeper?
- What is the best season to catch a trophy smallmouth?
- Do smallmouth bite at night?
- Does rain help or hurt smallmouth fishing?
- How do I avoid deep-hooking smallmouth on finesse baits, and how should I hold one?
- Is live bait effective for smallmouth bass?
- Do in-line spinners and spoons still catch smallmouth?
Same topic, other species
- Beyond the basic jig, which other lures catch crappie? — Crappie
- Can you troll for largemouth bass? — Largemouth Bass
- Can you catch a muskie on a fly? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Do perch hit spinners, spoons and small hard baits — or only jigs and bait? — Yellow Perch
- Spoons, inline spinners, or soft baits — when does each shine? — Northern Pike
- Spinners, spoons, or flies — when should I throw which? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- Do walleye hit topwater lures? — Walleye