how to catch a black crappie on a tube jig bait at rocky lake in fishing planet

Ohio offers access to Lake Erie’s shallow, fertile Western Basin, as well as its somewhat deeper Central Basin.īroadly speaking, the Western Basin is the place to be for spring smallmouth action, and the Central Basin’s deeper habitat offers better summer smallmouth fishing.īut that’s also an oversimplified view of Lake Erie’s smallmouth fishery, and it doesn’t really tell the full story. side of Lake Erie’s 850-mile shoreline, Ohio has by far the largest share. Ohio’s state record smallmouth, a 9-pound, 3-ounce monster, was caught from Lake Erie in 1993.

Lake Erie is the undisputed champion of Ohio smallmouth lakes, and a strong contender for best smallmouth lake on the planet. If you really want to narrow down your search to a handful, the following spots are essential for any Ohio smallmouth angler. That’s especially true of rivers and streams, where smallmouths haunt deep pools and current breaks within easy reach of anglers casting from shore.

But many of the waters listed here are great in summer too. The best smallmouth fishing in Ohio tends to be during spring and fall. Their bronze coloration blends right in with the rocky reefs and ledges where they hunt their favorite prey-crawfish. In the same way that largemouth bass love weeds, smallmouths love rocks. And they all offer an abundance of rocky cover. Most have relatively clear, clean water, with access to both deep habitat and shallow spawning sites. The best smallmouth lakes and rivers in Ohio that we’ll reveal here have a few things in common. You can target them in lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams in every corner of Ohio. You can catch them on trout flies from still pools on trickling streams shallow enough to wade across. You can drop tube jigs onto rocky reefs to haul smallmouths up from deep haunts in the Great Lakes. These feisty, hard-fighting fish are abundant in Ohio and offer an incredibly varied array of fishing experiences. There’s a reason why smallmouth bass are held in such high esteem by so many anglers.

How to catch a black crappie on a tube jig bait at rocky lake in fishing planet