Smallies, bronzebacks, or brown bass, whatever you call them, smallmouth bass have gained a reputation for their willingness to eat a fly and their fiesty attitude. For most, smallmouth fishing consists of wading the various rivers and creeks throughout the country in search of an eager bass sitting in a riffle or pool. While wade fishing for smallmouth can be incredibly fun, it’s only half the puzzle. Dialing in big water smallmouth can open up an entirely new fishery. In the Midwest and Northeast, large bodies of water like the Great Lakes have consistently been pumping out trophy-caliber fish year after year. To get a better understanding of how to target these bass, we fished with Captain Jeff Liskay, a veteran smallmouth guide, who, over the years, has dialed in fly fishing for deep water smallies. Whether you’re targeting these fish in the Great Lakes or applying this to your local bass waters, these six tips with Cling Fishing will keep you on fish all summer long.
Who is Captain Jeff Liskay?
Captain Jeff Liskay is an Ohio native who’s fished Lake Erie and the surrounding water bodies his entire life. He started fishing Lake Erie, like many do, using conventional gear, pioneering new trolling techniques for steelhead and making a name for himself on the competitive walleye circuit. With this same passion for innovation, he picked up the fly rod and quickly started experimenting with new techniques.
Liskay played a pivotal role in the early days of swinging flies for Great Lakes steelhead. Soon after, he started experimenting on Lake Erie, developing methods to catch drum, walleye, and smallmouth bass. He currently owns and operates Great Lakes Fly Fishing and shares his passion for the Great Lakes with anglers through guided trips, fly fishing courses, and speaking events. Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Jeff and learn what it takes to catch deep water smallmouth bass.
6 Tips to Catch More Smallmouth
1. Dial in Your Lines
The single most important aspect in smallmouth bass fishing is your fly line, according to Liskay. It allows you to reach the depth the fish are holding at, especially in big water like the Great Lakes. Jeff’s go-to line is a 250-grain shooting head sinking line that he pairs with a 7-weight rod. This line allows him to reach fish that may be holding on offshore reefs. It also allows him to still fish for bass on flats, albeit with some modifications to his stripping cadence. When fish are holding shallow, Jeff switches to a two-hand retrieve that lets him get the fly down to the fish’s level without snagging on the bottom.
Jeff also preaches learning exactly how your fly line sinks. He recommends ignoring fly line boxes and their stated sink rates. A variety of factors, such as wave action and fly weight, will affect how quickly the line sinks. Instead, he likes to throw the fly line out and watch and count how long it takes the fly to hit the bottom. Since most strikes occur when the fly hits the bottom where fish are sitting, this lets him know exactly how long to wait before he starts retrieving the fly, depending on the conditions and the fly he has tied on.
2. Master the Vertical Presentation
A key trigger for smallmouth bass is a vertical jigging presentation. While many conventional lures like the ned rig or blade baits are designed to be fished up and down, most flies and fly lines are not. As water temps creep up towards the mid 70s, smallmouth become more active, and this vertical presentation is a big trigger. When this happens, Liskay switches to a 15-20 foot leader, consisting of a 20-pound butt section with a 16-pound piece of tippet, and he finishes it with a weighted tungsten fly. “It can be a real pain to cast, but once you get the hang of it, it’s super effective,” says Liskay. “When you pause it, the fly drops, creating the vertical presentation like spin fishermen do.”
3. Stay Organized
A large part of fishing big bodies of water is staying organized to better adapt to the ever-changing conditions. One moment you may be fishing a reef in 30 feet of water, the next you’ll be fishing a shallow flat for cruising fish. Having the tools and flies Jeff needs at his fingertips is essential for making quick changes and staying on fish. For this, Jeff has outfitted his boat with various Cling Fishing accessories, including the Boat Bar, the Delta, and the Double Stack. “Organization is everything when I’m out fishing, especially with clients,” says Liskay. “I’ve started using Cling’s magnetic accessories to keep my flies and tools organized and within reach for quick adjustments on the water.”
His Boat Bar is mounted on the gunwale, holding tools such as hemostats and spare flies. He keeps the Delta in his boat bag, so no matter what boat he’s fishing out of, he can store flies to dry or change to later. Lastly, he mounts the Double Stack on his person, keeping a place within arm’s reach for spare flies—a major upgrade over putting them in hats, pockets, or cup holders. Changing flies to the conditions is key to catching fish consistently, and having everything accessible and organized maximizes the time your flies are in the water.
4. Don’t Be Afraid of the Bobber Rig
One trick Jeff always has in his back pocket is an indicator rig for deep-water smallmouth, particularly when the bite is slow. He rigs a small crayfish pattern on an indicator rig set slightly deeper than the depth of water he’s fishing. This technique works especially well when it’s wavy on the lake. The indicator floats over the top of the crayfish pattern and can be bumped and twitched to pop the fly off the bottom. When fish are really finicky, this is often the only thing that will draw a strike.
5. Take Care of Your Flies
Jeff never leaves home without a flea comb and bodkin, two common fly tying tools. The combination of fish slime and a few fish can really do a number on your fly. Rather than tying on a new pattern, he uses the comb and bodkin to brush out the fibers and restore the fly to its original profile. While you can do this with your hand, using these tools is a much more effective method. It’s also a good idea to buy a spare bodkin and flea comb that lives in your fishing tackle, rather than stealing it from your tying setup. This way, you never forget to bring it along.
6. The Pause is the Cause
Liskay’s most important tip for smallmouth fishing is mastering the cadence of your retrieve, or in his case, lack thereof. The biggest trigger for a smallmouth to bite is the pause between strips, but all too often, he sees anglers fall into a rhythm. That rhythm is where he believes most anglers get it wrong. Smallies like erratic movement, and a rhythmic retrieve doesn’t offer that. Instead, he prefers to mix things up with a strip and a pause, followed by two strips and a longer pause. Whatever you do, stay aware of your strip and mix it up throughout the retrieve. Often, when fish are selective, a change in cadence and an emphasis on the pause will result in a hit.
Jeff is also a firm believer in using the rod to impart action to the fly in tandem with stripping. Most anglers keep the rod stationary and rely on stripping alone to entice a bite. However, with 50 feet or more of fly line out, you may only move the fly a few inches. Instead, rip the rod back towards you while stripping. This moves the fly further and faster, adding to the erratic movement that smallmouth like. Then move the rod forward to its original position on the pause, allowing the fly to fall and the feathers or fibers to move around and open up. This stripping technique maximizes the amount of movement in your flies, resulting in more eats from fish.
Final Thoughts
Learning to fish for deepwater smallmouth is one of the best and often overlooked ways to improve your bass fishing on the fly. Even if you don’t live on the Great Lakes, the tips and techniques Liskay relies on are applicable to your local waterbodies. Try these tips this summer, and give your local trout a break from rising water temps—you may just catch your new PB.
