Does rain help or hurt smallmouth fishing?
Rain can reduce light, add flow and change visibility or temperature. Those changes can help a shallow feeding pattern, or disrupt it if water becomes abruptly cold, very muddy or difficult to hold in. Compare the affected area with nearby stable water. Rain or falling pressure alone does not promise aggressive feeding.
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?
- How do I avoid deep-hooking smallmouth on finesse baits, and how should I hold one?
- Is live bait effective for smallmouth bass?
- Can you troll for smallmouth bass?
- Do in-line spinners and spoons still catch smallmouth?
Same topic, other species
- What does the crappie year look like at my latitude? — Crappie
- I missed a fish on a good spot — is it worth going back? — Largemouth Bass
- Do weather, barometer, and moon phases matter for muskie? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Why are perch the perfect species to start a kid on? — Yellow Perch
- Can I really catch big pike from shore? — Northern Pike
- Should I keep trout or release them? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- How do I plan a walleye year at my latitude? — Walleye