Whenever talk turns to smallmouth bass fishing, Lake Erie is naturally included along with a discussion on dramatic changes in Lake Erie’s ecosystem that have effected how bass fishermen now tackle the lake.  Many techniques that Erie anglers may have grown up with a quarter century ago are not nearly as effective today. 

In the last 15 years, particular western baits have influenced the course of Lake Erie smallmouth fishing.  Without a doubt, the western-bred tube has had greatest impact on Erie bassin’.  By the early 1990s, the tube jig had become the number one smallmouth lure on the lake.   But the Great Lakes bass angler faces continuing shifts in Erie’s environ that call for different techniques.  While certain western techniques have been modified for use on the Great Lakes, some homebred Erie techniques may prove useful on the clear water out west as well. 

Lake of Change 

EverStart 2001 National Champion Joe Balog is a leading authority on Lake Erie smallmouth fishing.  His father was a charter captain in the early 1980s during the Western Basin walleye boom, so Joe literally grew up fishing Erie.  In 1990 Balog turned to tournament bass fishing, and quickly established a reputation as a Great Lakes thinking-man’s pro. 

“Three things immediately come to mind when reflecting on Erie then and now,” explains Balog.  “First is the incredible change in transparency of the water.  During the early 1980s in the Western Basin, we could only see bottom in about 3 feet of water.  Today, following several calm days, it’s possible to see bottom at 15 to 20 feet.  This has changed smallmouth feeding behavior, resulting in bass becoming more sight-dependent.”   

The second item has been shift in smallmouth prey.   According to Balog, 20 years ago smallmouth fed heavily on crawfish along with minnows.  As water clarity improved, primary emphasis shifted to open-water preyfish like emerald shiners, alewife, gizzard shad, and smelt.   

“But now with the establishment of the most-recent non-native species, specifically the round goby from Europe, there has been another major shift in predator/prey relationship.  Fisheries biologists tell us that today the bottom-hugging goby is the number one prey for smallmouth through the late spring and summer.  Furthermore, a diet of gobys has added growth to smallmouth, raising the average weight of bass.” 

And finally, Balog points to fishing pressure as a factor impacting the bass populations.  With the notoriety given to this outstanding bass fishery, the number of anglers chasing bass has increased substantially along with the number of tournaments in some sections of the Lake.  

Increased water clarity, different predator/prey relationships and increased angling pressure have created the need for different presentations. 

Erie Drop Shot 

Recognizing that the western drop-shot technique was a clear-water pressured-bass technique, Balog began experimenting with it on Erie several years ago.   

“With some modification, it became my number one presentation for those near-calm days in July and August when I’m probing individual rocks, rock piles or wrecks in water 25 to nearly 40 feet deep,” explains Balog.   

“But I was pleasantly surprised to discover this spring that it was an exceptional coldwater technique as well.  With water temperatures only in the high 30s and low 40s during late March and early April, I had some remarkable days with a drop shot rig.  On one trip I had four smallies over five pounds.” 

Balog’s drop shot rig consists of a #2 or #1 round-bend short shank hook such as a Gamakatsu Octopus or steelhead bait hook tied 10 to 15-inches above the weight.  “I don’t like an overly long lead, nor a real short one.  Rather I want the bait visible just above the cover being fished, which is generally individual rocks or small piles of cobble.” 

Balog chooses Bakudam weights, but says any weight with a swivel clip at the top will help reduce line twist.  One modification is to go with a 3/8-ounce weight rather than the often used 1/8 or ¼-ounce.  “Rarely are there absolutely dead calm days on the Great Lakes, and even under ‘calm’ conditions, there is always current movement in Erie.  I’m fishing primarily between 25 and 40 feet, so the heavier weight helps me stay in touch with my bait.” 

Balog insists on 6 or 8-pound Berkley’s Vanish fluorocarbon.  While line invisibility may come into play, it’s the reduced stretch and high abrasion resistance properties that make the case for fluorocarbon according to Balog.  “Zebra mussels can fray regular monofilament in an instant,” he adds.  

Wider is better when it comes to Balog’s reel selection.  “Compared to monofilament, fluorocarbon does not lay well on the spool of many of today’s smaller spinning reels.  I want a wide spool – not a long spool – to help reduce line twist.  Ideally, the spinning reel spool should be the same diameter of the throwaway storage spool, but realistically you must settle for the largest spinning spool you can get.  I use Diawa 2500 SS spinning reels.” 

After experimenting with a variety of different drop shot baits from worms to small lizards, Balog went to work with two other famed Erie smallmouth anglers to design a new drop shot bait specifically for Lake Erie.  “Anglers realized several years ago that smallmouth were feeding heavily on gobys.  Several manufacturers brought out generic goby colors in their tubes.  However, we felt that with a slower, in-place drop-shot presentation that a stronger goby profile bait was needed.  After more than a year of studying gobys on the bottom with my underwater camera, the key characteristics and various color phases this fish were provided to Poor Boy’s Custom Baits to create the Drop Shot Goby series.” 

This is a 4-inch hand-poured bait with a flat tail and a large head – both key characteristics of gobys.  A secondary advantage to the big head was discovered during field trials – the hook does not rip out of the meaty head as easily as in other hand poured worms.  "Instead of one bait per fish, you can catch multiple fish on this bait,” notes Balog.  “Those four smallies over 5 pounds I caught this spring were all taken on a single Drop Shot Goby bait!” 

Offered in ½ dozen custom colors to exactly match the various phases of the goby – color phases ignored by other manufacturers – plus several baitfish colors, Drop Shot Gobys will be on the market this summer.  “Smallmouth still feed on baitfish at particular times of the year, especially early and late in the season, so having patterns to match shiners, alewife and smelt are important.  This will be a hot shape anywhere that smallmouth feed on darters, too” adds Balog. 

While a drop shot presentation can be effective in a variety of situations including a simple cast-and-drag retrieve, Balog says it really shines for pinpoint fishing of isolated rocks and small vertical drops common to the Lake Erie bottom. 

“As great as smallmouth fishing can be on Erie, there are also the days that bass are particularly tight-lipped.  With so many bass now focusing on bottom dwelling gobys, some smallmouth will always be tucked tight to structure and to shipwrecks.  With good electronics, I can identify these small ledges, rock piles and other low-rise vertical structure, see one or more fish on it, and drop my bait right to them.  I drag the drop shot rig up to the vertical structure and shake the bait without lifting it over the ledge.” 

According to Balog, the perfect scenario is watching the bow-mounted Garmin 320C color graph as his drop shot rig descends to the target in 25 feet of water, dancing the bait in place and watching the bass move over to take it.   “For the angler, it doesn’t get any better than this!”  

Spoonin’ Smallmouth Erie Style 

Ron Perrine is the owner of Bass’N Bait Company and a twenty-year veteran of Lake Erie bass tournaments.  In the late 1980s he developed the first spoon with an internal rattle: the Rattle Snakie Jigging Spoon.  This is the spoon Randy VanDam used in 1993 to catch the 9 lb. 8 oz. Ohio State Record Smallmouth while fishing with Ron.  Perrine definitely has some spooning knowledge to share. 

“Many anglers think of jig spoon fishing as only effective in cool water.  But I am just as successful with spooning in the post spawn and summer period as in the early spring,” acknowledges Perrine. 

Before diving into the lure presentation, Perrine insists consideration must be given to the rod, reel and line combo for effective spooning.  “I use a baitcasting outfit with 15 to 20-pound test line.  Line visibility is not a factor that concerns me with this technique, even in the clear waters of Lake Erie.  Whether the bass see the line or not, I don’t know.  But I do know that heavy line does not keep them from striking the spoon.  Heavier line is important for a solid hookset with a ½ to ¾-ounce lure, and thicker diameter line also aids in slowing the drop rate of the spoon.” 

In terms of rods, Perrine recommends a spooning rod with a stiff tip and stiff butt, but “give” in the center of the blank.  Too much flex in the tip will not provide the right action to the spoon or solid hookset, and an extra-fast taper on an overly stiff rod can result in a broken tip. 

Perrine uses a custom-made rod with Tennessee side-wrap guides, explaining the line coming off the bottom of the tip is less likely to wrap the tip when working the spoon than on a rod with all guides on top.   

The Rattle Snakie is a lead spoon with an embedded glass rattle. The exterior is dressed with prism tape for flash and color.  With one flat side and the top slightly peaked, the spoon rocks back and forth on the drop.  It is available in sizes from 1/8-oz. to 1-1/2 ounce. 

“For spooning smallmouth on Erie and other lakes, I use the ½-oz. and ¾-oz. sizes most often to fish 15 to 30 feet of water.  On fairly calm days or when fishing shallower than 15 feet, I will downsize to a 3/8-oz. model,” explains Perrine. 

Color choices depend on the conditions.  For clear water with bright skies, Perrine favors a silver or gold finish.  For clear water with overcast skies, the green prism finish gets the nod.  In dingy water, it’s the chartreuse finish.  And when fishing 40 to 50 feet, Perrine favors the glow-in-the-dark model that turns a greenish tint in deep water.   

“When it comes to locations for spooning, I’m strictly a structure fisherman. I’m searching for encounters with a school of bass, not individual fish.  I hunt breaklines using the combination of a PinPoint trolling motor and depthfinder to stay on a contour line course projected by a C-Map in a Si-Tex Chart, looking for those quicker-than-usual beaks.”   

Although being able to follow breaklines is critical, the contour change itself isn’t the secret to success during the warmer water period of late spring and summer.   Two other factors must come together as well.  

“First, wind must be blowing on the structure,” continues Perrine.  “Now, I’m not talking about a big blow, but a breeze.  A light chop or at least a riffle on the surface is necessary to activate the second factor – feeding baitfish. 

“I am very attentive to any type of baitfish activity.  The classic example is finding a school of yellow perch suspended over a breakline, off a point, or in a trough between two structures.  With the wind blowing, perch rise from the bottom to feed on emerald shiners or other young-of-the-year preyfish.  Smaller bass – one to two pounders – will be in the mix as well.  However, the bigger smallmouth will be positioned below the perch and baitfish – usually near the bottom – to nab any injured baitfish that drift down or yellow perch that stray from the school.  Sometimes I can spot the bigger bass on the depthfinder, but many times I cannot due to the signals from the perch school.” 

A typical scenario would be a perch school visible on the depthfinder at 17 feet over a 22-foot bottom.  Like Balog, Perrine watches his spoon descend on the depthfinder screen.  When it reaches the depth immediately below the baitfish, he jigs the spoon up and down for perhaps 15 seconds.  Sometimes a good-size bass will grab it, but usually it will be a bass under 2 pounds.   

If he cannot see the spoon drop, Perrine simply counts it down, knowing the drop rate on 15-pound line is 2 feet per second for the ½-oz model and 3 feet per second for the ¾-oz. model. 

After checking this intermediate depth, he continues dropping the spoon to the bottom where his work begins in earnest.  Perrine does not rip the spoon.  Instead he employs a rapid upward sweep (almost a jerk), moving the rod tip from the 8:00 position to the 10:00 position.  This causes the spoon to jump 28 to 36 inches, with rattle ticking on the way up and way down.   During the return descent, he follows the spoon’s natural rate-of-fall with the rod tip so slack line does not form.   

The technique is sometimes referred to as semi-slack line descent, with just a hint of slack line in order to ‘see’ the line jump or twitch when a strike occurs.  “Letting the spoon free-fall back with coils of slack line prevents you from detecting a strike that always occurs on the drop,” adds Perrine.   

Perrine is convinced it’s the perch/baitfish combination that attracts the attention of the biggest smallmouth.  That was the situation that resulted in the state record.

During cold water of early spring and late fall, a more subtle spooning technique is applied.  Perrine refers to it as ‘lift and lower’.  “Bass are not in a chasing mode, so I lift the spoon about six inches off the bottom and then lay it back down – nothing more. However, pro staff member Jim Duckworth holds the spoon just off the bottom and shakes it, achieving impressive success on the clear water reservoirs of Middle Tennessee.  Either way, the rattle plays an even greater role in attracting coldwater bites than during the summer.” 

During cold water presentations, Perrine attaches the spoon with a quality snap-swivel.  But as soon as the water temperature hits 50 degrees smallmouth become more aggressive, allowing Perrine to initiate his higher sweep and drop technique.  For this technique he attaches the spoon with just a duo-lock snap and ties a quality ball-bearing swivel in line about 36 inches above the lure.  This arrangement helps to reduce line twist better than a snap-swivel at the lure.

Past Articles

EAST MEETS WEST ON LAKE ERIE
TACKLING RIVER SMALLMOUTH IN THE FALL
INDIGENOUS BAIT
SUPER SHALLOW SUMMER
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT
CRANKY SMALLMOUTH
TINY TORPEDO
LAKE ERIE “BEST” FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS
HOW TO CATCH THE BIGGEST SMALLMOUTH OF YOUR LIFE
IN QUEST OF CENTER HILL SMALLMOUTH
LOVE THOSE HELLGRAMMITES!