smallmouth books/dvds?

[mrl0004]

Can you guys recommend some good sources to learn more about smallmouth fly fishing? Mainly reading water and how smallmouth feed, etc. Just a good in depth look at the fish, their tendencies, their feeding patterns, spawning, etc.
Thanks!

[dbradyh]

Here is the best book I have found for smallmouth:
http://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Smallmouth-Bass-Harry-Murray/dp/1558215344/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331521397&sr=8-2
The Bob Clouser book is good as well, but more color photos than information. However, there is more seasonal information than the Murray book:
http://www.amazon.com/Fly-Fishing-Smallmouth-Streams-Bob-Clouser/dp/0811701735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331521504&sr=8-1
Both are worth looking at.
Hope this helps.

[mrl0004]

Here is the best book I have found for smallmouth:
http://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Smallmouth-Bass-Harry-Murray/dp/1558215344/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331521397&sr=8-2
The Bob Clouser book is good as well, but more color photos than information. However, there is more seasonal information than the Murray book:
http://www.amazon.com/Fly-Fishing-Smallmouth-Streams-Bob-Clouser/dp/0811701735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331521504&sr=8-1
Both are worth looking at.
Hope this helps.

Thanks man! I saw that first one, but wanted to hear from someone that has read it!

[MikeA]

The Clouser book is a neat book and there are some good patterns and great photography, but I haven't gleaned alot of useful info from it. When I buy a book about a species of fish I want to learn about the fish, not knot tying, leader selection, how to cast, etc, etc. The clouser book is a good start for a beginner fisherperson.

If you want to learn in depth detailed info about Smallmouth Bass and not how to fly fish,, I recommend this book. The conventional guys have been studying these fish in depth for many years. Just take a look at the authors....
Smallmouth Bass: An In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies

[Fred Mertz]

Having read a few of them, I think the best one out there is by Tim Holschlag.  He covers all the need to know stuff.
Here's a link: http://www.smallmouthflyangler.com/
His book is also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Smallmouth-Fly-Fishing-Techniques-Destinations/dp/0976387603/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331559008&sr=8-1

Clouser's book is good, too, but Tim's is a bit more detailed. 

Hope that helps!

Fred

[bd]

Along Mike's line of just learning about the fish, Tony Bean's Smallmouth Guide is a good book.  It's mostly geared toward deep-water fishing though, so it's probably not the best if you intend to target them on a fly.

The tough thing about most of the general smallmouth books is that they'll be aimed at fishing lakes and deep water, whereas smallmouth fishing with a flyrod is going to be mostly about fishing creeks and small rivers.

Really, smallmouth aren't very different from brown trout, except they'll hit a popper more readily and a dead drifted nymph less readily.

bd

[mrl0004]

Along Mike's line of just learning about the fish, Tony Bean's Smallmouth Guide is a good book.  It's mostly geared toward deep-water fishing though, so it's probably not the best if you intend to target them on a fly.

The tough thing about most of the general smallmouth books is that they'll be aimed at fishing lakes and deep water, whereas smallmouth fishing with a flyrod is going to be mostly about fishing creeks and small rivers.

Really, smallmouth aren't very different from brown trout, except they'll hit a popper more readily and a dead drifted nymph less readily.

bd

Yea, that's what I thought. I am looking more toward learning about them in river and creeks and targeting them with the fly. Sounds like I have quite a few options. Other than poppers on top, what else do you guys have success with subsurface? So far I have only used crayfish patterns.
Matt

[MikeA]

Lots of deep water Smallies move into river systems to spawn. Knowing the fish, it's spawning temps, it's preferred structure, it's preferred spawning substrate, it preferred food, how it deals with sunlight, does it school, how it hunts, when it hunts, how weather affects it's daily routine, etc etc. Most fly fishing books I've got with the exception of a few just don't have that much detailed info on the species and its prey.

[dbradyh]

Black magnum buggers work well early when the water is off color as do heavy clousers.
When the water begins to clear, just about any white streamer seems to work.
Summer and clear water natural rabbit or squirrel strip streamers can do the trick(Cumberland Transit carries some of these). Smallmouth can get spooky.
Large olive hellgramite nymphs work well dead drifted if your water has a good population of the naturals.
Check out this link for more streamer info:
http://www.murraysflyshop.com/flyfishingflies.html
Can't wait for this rain to stop!

[bd]

Other than poppers on top, what else do you guys have success with subsurface? Matt

Mostly bottom bouncing bugs.  Superbuggers in about a #6 size are among my favorites.  Pretty much any carp fly is also a good smallmouth fly, though you can upsize a few notches for the smallies.  Lots of streamers will work - the clouser foxee dace is good.  I also usually carry a few unweighted or slightly weighted large streamers that I can twitch slowly through the water almost like fishing a Slug-go or Fluke.

bd