Fishing Report: Clinton County Smallmouth Bass

All told, we landed 16 smallmouth bass and a couple of red eye’s. We ended up catching more Dinks than usual with a few fish pushing 13 inches. My fishing partner hooked a really nice smallmouth but it came unbuttoned just inches from being lipped.
Fishing was interrupted at least once, as we had to sit out a lightening storm that rolled through the narrow valley.

Baits
We caught most of our fish on 5” and 4” Yum Dingers in Pumpkin/chartreuse color. The baits were rigged tex-posed with a small split shot a few inches up the line.

A few fish were also caught on a 2” Storm “Wild Eye Swim Shad” in fire tiger. I like this bait a lot and have caught smallmouth, largemouth, and crappie with it.

Pattern
Given the overcast day we first checked to see if the top water bite was on. Suprisingly it was not, so we quickly switched gears testing other baits.

We found that the fish were definitely keying on baits bounced or dragged on the bottom. We tried fishing dingers weightless for a while but when we added weight the bites came much more frequently.

The most productive spots where 5 feet or more deep and with large boulders almost the size of our 12 foot jon. We tried shallow water areas at the head of pools but had no luck in those spots.

Water Conditions
Very clear 5+ feet of visibility. Water level below normal

Weather Conditions
Overcast with periods of rain and thunderstorms.