In search of a big smallmouth bass pattern on the Juniata River

This 18.5 inch smallmouth engulfed the Tiny Torpedo!

Two weeks ago I posted about a trip I took on the Juniata River and noted that I had lost 3 very big smallmouth bass on a topwater popper. I was getting big bites around isolated weed mats. The big fish were laying in wait underneath the mats and rushing out and exploding on the baitfish. I tried today to recreate that very same pattern with some success. Today there were even fewer weed mats to fish and the winds steady at 10 miles per hour and gusting up to 18 miles per hour shut down the top water bite. I was able to catch 4 nice smallmouth today before the pattern fell apart. The smallmouth bass  ranged from 12 inches to 18.75 inches. It was a great day on the water and I learned a lot over the past two weeks about how smallmouth relate to weeds in the fall.

One of the most memorable events on the trip was having my top water bait attacked on 5 consecutive casts in some “push water” at the end of a long hole. I had paddled upstream just below the push water and wedged the nose of my kayak into  a small clump of rock gravel that raised up to the surface about mid river. The push water was in front of me. The first cast resulted in a big fish breaching the water slightly and then landing on my Tiny Torpedo. I didn’t get a hook in her but I made 3 more follow up casts and all resulted in a flurry of fish trying to terminate the torpedo! Finally, on the 5th casts I managed to hook into a 12 inch smallie. Dang! wished I would have sunk the hook into the first fish! It was tons of fun anyway and my heart was beating a mile a minute!

Sorry for the poor quality pics this week. I still haven’t replaced my camara. I’m in the pocess of shopping around. I’m seriously considering a water proof camcorder that does still pictures as well. That would be cool to post some video of my fish and still!!

Times Fished

• 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Weather Conditions

• Mostly cloudy but alternated between brief overcast and sometimes intense sun
• Air temperatures ranged from 38 degrees to 53 degrees during the trip

Water Conditions

• Clear
• Normal levels for this time of year
• Water levels had risen last night less than a foot and peaked. During the trip it was on a slight fall.
• Water temperature 58 degrees

Baits Used

• Suspending Jerkbait
• Soft Jerkbait
• 3″ stick-o
• Tiny Torpedo

I fished the Tiny Torpedo 98 percent of the time. I felt like that was my best chance at a big smallmouth based on my last trip to this section of the Juniata River. I did catch one fish on the 3″ stick-o.

Fish Caught

• 12 inch smallmouth bass, Tiny Torpedo
• 14.5 inch smallmouth bass, Tiny Torpedo
• 15 inch smallmouth bass, 3″ stick-o
• 18.75 inch smallmouth bass, Tiny Torpedo

Comments on Pattern

Well, there’s an old saying “never fish yesterdays fish”. I feel like my pattern of fishing isolated weed mats from 2 weeks ago was running out this week because of the weed dye off but it was still a decent pattern. The wind did complicate matters significantly. In the coming weeks as the weeds dye off even more and the  water cools, it will be time for a change of tactics again. I’m also sure these big fish will be relocating. I’m definitely going to try to find them. There’s at least one 20 inch smallmouth in that section of river and I’d like to catch her!