I have an ongoing debate with my friend about smallmouth and sun. He insists that they LIKE sun, and it is only the barometric pressure of a bluebird day that stifles them. My experience has been the opposite; the cloudier and nastier the better.

[Ohioguy25]

He almost exclusively prefers target finesse fishing, and so this no doubt influences his thinking. Bright sun drives the fish deep & tight to cover and concentrates them in predictable places, that I can agree on.

 

But to say they actively prefer those conditions is quite obviously not true. The bite is noticeably slower to nonexistent on sunny days, shaded tree lined creeks and skinny rivers are an exception. Barometric pressure is simply another factor working against you on bluebird days.
 

Smallmouth are ambush predators first, visual feeders second. Both play into where and how aggressively they will strike but if they risk being seen by predator or prey, they will hold to cover.  They are simultaneously aggressive as well as timid and spooky, as seen in the need for long casts when the water is low and clear. 

 

Of course all of this is just my anecdotal experience but it seems consistent with everything I’ve read and the behavior of most wild animals. What do you think?

[A-Jay]

 

From Brown Bass Tools

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/?do=findComment&comment=2928027

 

SUNSHINE vs The SMALLMOUTH BASS

 

Back in Chapter II of this deal, I penned the following paragraph . . .

“SMALLMOUTH BASS LOVE FEEDING IN THE SUNSHINE - to disregard this statement will lead to many, many, many fishless trips - over and over and over again.  Can they be caught on cloudy and or overcast & rainy days? - yes.  But if you want to improve your chances of getting bit - At Least Some sunshine will always help.”

That was in December 2018.

 

 At the time, I believed in that philosophy very strongly as so much of own brown bass results (or lack of) seemed to conclude this was mostly the way to go.

Well, after 4 more season on the water and quite a few plus sized brown bass later, I am singing a different tune.

 

Besides some nice smallies, these local lakes are home to big trout, deep water walleye, pike & muskie.  About half the water’s I fish regularly have largemouth as well.  The green bass seem to populate the skinniest water, perhaps out of self-preservation.  And when I get a few LMB, there’s rarely any brown bass mix in with them. This is sort of what discouraged me from even looking for SMB shallow very often. Shallow in these instances means less than 5 feet or so.

 

While First and Last light have been eternally productive, I’ve still slipped my Frabil under plenty of good ones with the sun shinning very brightly; all be it usually deeper than 5 feet.  As a retired human, I can pretty much pick & choose when I am and am not on the water.  Once I got over my ‘cloudy skies phobia’, there has been at least as many brown tanks on the scale hooked with a decent layer of cloud cover or even no sunshine at all. In fact cloudy might even be better for big bass.

 

  Either way, the more it happened the more it made me rethink my approach and in a big man way.  As I did, I realized that I needed to adapt my presentations, timing & mostly locations to fit the conditions.  The biggest factor has to be that, almost like night fishing, I started finding bigger smallies much shallower than I would have ever believed. 

 

  So the cloudier it would be, the shallower I would fish.  Dark bottom area’s turned out to be just as key as when the sun was shining.  Stealth & long casts became even more important.   

Admittedly, none of this is exactly rocket science.

But it has opened both my eyes as well as my own big brown bass fishing opportunities quite a bit.  Especially when one considers ALL the cloudy/overcast days I spent on the beach when I could have been yanking on trophies.  Frankly, I’m a little embarrassed by the whole thing.  #knuckhead  

But that’s how I learn sometimes.

 

Fish Hard

(Rain or Shine)

A-Jay

 

 

[Reel]

There is nothing I like more than to chase the giant smallmouths of the St. ... River on 4 foot deep flats in crystal clear water on a windless, cloudless day.  This is a real challenge.  

[Ohioguy25]

35 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

From Brown Bass Tools

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/?do=findComment&comment=2928027

 

SUNSHINE vs The SMALLMOUTH BASS

 

Back in Chapter II of this deal, I penned the following paragraph . . .

“SMALLMOUTH BASS LOVE FEEDING IN THE SUNSHINE - to disregard this statement will lead to many, many, many fishless trips - over and over and over again.  Can they be caught on cloudy and or overcast & rainy days? - yes.  But if you want to improve your chances of getting bit - At Least Some sunshine will always help.”

That was in December 2018.

 

 At the time, I believed in that philosophy very strongly as so much of own brown bass results (or lack of) seemed to conclude this was mostly the way to go.

Well, after 4 more season on the water and quite a few plus sized brown bass later, I am singing a different tune.

 

Besides some nice smallies, these local lakes are home to big trout, deep water walleye, pike & muskie.  About half the water’s I fish regularly have largemouth as well.  The green bass seem to populate the skinniest water, perhaps out of self-preservation.  And when I get a few LMB, there’s rarely any brown bass mix in with them. This is sort of what discouraged me from even looking for SMB shallow very often. Shallow in these instances means less than 5 feet or so.

 

While First and Last light have been eternally productive, I’ve still slipped my Frabil under plenty of good ones with the sun shinning very brightly; all be it usually deeper than 5 feet.  As a retired human, I can pretty much pick & choose when I am and am not on the water.  Once I got over my ‘cloudy skies phobia’, there has been at least as many brown tanks on the scale hooked with a decent layer of cloud cover or even no sunshine at all. In fact cloudy might even be better for big bass.

 

  Either way, the more it happened the more it made me rethink my approach and in a big man way.  As I did, I realized that I needed to adapt my presentations, timing & mostly locations to fit the conditions.  The biggest factor has to be that, almost like night fishing, I started finding bigger smallies much shallower than I would have ever believed. 

 

  So the cloudier it would be, the shallower I would fish.  Dark bottom area’s turned out to be just as key as when the sun was shining.  Stealth & long casts became even more important.   

Admittedly, none of this is exactly rocket science.

But it has opened both my eyes as well as my own big brown bass fishing opportunities quite a bit.  Especially when one considers ALL the cloudy/overcast days I spent on the beach when I could have been yanking on trophies.  Frankly, I’m a little embarrassed by the whole thing.  #knuckhead  

But that’s how I learn sometimes.

 

Fish Hard

(Rain or Shine)

A-Jay

 

 

Amen 

[Spankey]

I guess everyone’s world is different. River Smallie fishing I’m doing from bright sun to a drenching down pour. 
But like you I prefer dark nasty days. Throw in a rain that starts after you have been out or just getting started. I’ll take that. 
That said I am out when it is a beautiful day and not getting skunked. 
 

[TOXIC]

For me, sun, no sun, cloudy, bluebird, are all just more pieces of the puzzle and you have to find out how they fit together to make them bite.  For example…..through 21 years of going to Lake St Clair for smallmouth in almost every condition imaginable from 80 degrees to being snowed on and everything in between, for the piece of the puzzle that is sun/clouds, I found that the bite did not change but the color of my bait needed to and it is actually counterintuitive.  I’ll use a Senko for example because that’s how I found out the color switch. All other things being factored in, on bright, bluebird or partly cloudy days, a 297 (green pumpkin/black fleck) Senko was the ticket.  On cloudy days, 305 (baby bass) produced the best.  What’s odd is that the 297 is much darker than the 305 and you would think it would perform better in lower light.  Not the case.  So it’s my opinion, that clouds/sun affect color more than willingness to bite.  

[F14A-B]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 

From Brown Bass Tools

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/?do=findComment&comment=2928027

 

SUNSHINE vs The SMALLMOUTH BASS

 

Back in Chapter II of this deal, I penned the following paragraph . . .

“SMALLMOUTH BASS LOVE FEEDING IN THE SUNSHINE - to disregard this statement will lead to many, many, many fishless trips - over and over and over again.  Can they be caught on cloudy and or overcast & rainy days? - yes.  But if you want to improve your chances of getting bit - At Least Some sunshine will always help.”

That was in December 2018.

 

 At the time, I believed in that philosophy very strongly as so much of own brown bass results (or lack of) seemed to conclude this was mostly the way to go.

Well, after 4 more season on the water and quite a few plus sized brown bass later, I am singing a different tune.

 

Besides some nice smallies, these local lakes are home to big trout, deep water walleye, pike & muskie.  About half the water’s I fish regularly have largemouth as well.  The green bass seem to populate the skinniest water, perhaps out of self-preservation.  And when I get a few LMB, there’s rarely any brown bass mix in with them. This is sort of what discouraged me from even looking for SMB shallow very often. Shallow in these instances means less than 5 feet or so.

 

While First and Last light have been eternally productive, I’ve still slipped my Frabil under plenty of good ones with the sun shinning very brightly; all be it usually deeper than 5 feet.  As a retired human, I can pretty much pick & choose when I am and am not on the water.  Once I got over my ‘cloudy skies phobia’, there has been at least as many brown tanks on the scale hooked with a decent layer of cloud cover or even no sunshine at all. In fact cloudy might even be better for big bass.

 

  Either way, the more it happened the more it made me rethink my approach and in a big man way.  As I did, I realized that I needed to adapt my presentations, timing & mostly locations to fit the conditions.  The biggest factor has to be that, almost like night fishing, I started finding bigger smallies much shallower than I would have ever believed. 

 

  So the cloudier it would be, the shallower I would fish.  Dark bottom area’s turned out to be just as key as when the sun was shining.  Stealth & long casts became even more important.   

Admittedly, none of this is exactly rocket science.

But it has opened both my eyes as well as my own big brown bass fishing opportunities quite a bit.  Especially when one considers ALL the cloudy/overcast days I spent on the beach when I could have been yanking on trophies.  Frankly, I’m a little embarrassed by the whole thing.  #knuckhead  

But that’s how I learn sometimes.

 

Fish Hard

(Rain or Shine)

A-Jay

 

 

Those are frigging toads dude, thick trophy fishes for sure.. 

[bowhunter63]

If there hungry There gonna eat 

[Beetlejuice]

Water clarity will effect this, to many variables with each lake being different.  

Smallies are sight feeders, sunny with a light chop I find best, cloudy and windy marks the water up. 

[MickD]

Might vary with where they are, but I've always found fishing better in the sun AND wind.  Dead calm in the sun has never been good, but as long as there is wind, smallies love the sun.  If I had to choose the most important element, I would take wind.   With wind it doesn't matter as much if the sun is out.  

[BigAngus752]

On 10/12/2024 at 10:09 AM, TOXIC said:

For me, sun, no sun, cloudy, bluebird, are all just more pieces of the puzzle and you have to find out how they fit together to make them bite.

^^^This is a champion's mentality^^^  

If you decide that there are circumstances in which you are unlikely to catch fish, then you probably won't. 

 

On 10/12/2024 at 8:55 AM, A-Jay said:

  So the cloudier it would be, the shallower I would fish.  Dark bottom area’s turned out to be just as key as when the sun was shining.  Stealth & long casts became even more important.   

It's extremely rare that I get to fish for smallmouth and your tactics are extremely similar to my tactics for LM fishing in clear(ish) water.  

[Susky River Rat]

I’ve had great days on sunny calm days. I’ve had great days cloudy and windy. I’ve had great days in the rain.  Great days in clear water and great days in chocolate  milk water. I don’t really get to “pick” when I fish so it I only went on what the weather was doing I’d never fish.

 

can’t catch ‘em from the couch

[Spankey]

Windy and breezy are two different things. A breeze will put a ripple on the surface. Windy on a river can/will have the feel of reverse flow or an excelerated drift. Can be hard to deal with. But as some had said if this is your day to be out you have to deal with it. The couch is no fun. You can surprise yourself getting a nice bite in heavier winds. 
I hate it, I don’t like it. No friend of mine. 

[TnRiver46]

Smallmouth like eating from what I can tell, caught em from snow to 100 degrees and anywhere inbetween 

[PaulVE64]

I think smallies hunt more than ambush.

[WRB]

The OP is spot on describing Largemouth bass being more active in low light conditions.

My Snallmouth bass fishing is limited primarily to Canada where Musky are like Largemouth low light hunters and Smallmouth blue bird bright sky they are more active in my limited experience.

Tom

[Shadow1]

On 10/12/2024 at 11:09 AM, TOXIC said:

For me, sun, no sun, cloudy, bluebird, are all just more pieces of the puzzle and you have to find out how they fit together to make them bite.  For example…..through 21 years of going to Lake St Clair for smallmouth in almost every condition imaginable from 80 degrees to being snowed on and everything in between, for the piece of the puzzle that is sun/clouds, I found that the bite did not change but the color of my bait needed to and it is actually counterintuitive.  I’ll use a Senko for example because that’s how I found out the color switch. All other things being factored in, on bright, bluebird or partly cloudy days, a 297 (green pumpkin/black fleck) Senko was the ticket.  On cloudy days, 305 (baby bass) produced the best.  What’s odd is that the 297 is much darker than the 305 and you would think it would perform better in lower light.  Not the case.  So it’s my opinion, that clouds/sun affect color more than willingness to bite.  

I completely believe this is true.  In Canada this past June.  Crazy week with multiple fronts coming thru.  If it was sunny to partly sunny, we caught fish Neko rigging with Senko color 301 (green pumpkin w/green and purple flake) in 7-10 feet of water.  When it got cloudy and some rain fell, we could go Wacky rig blue pearl with silver flake Senkos in shallow water 3-5 feet deep.  We ran that pattern all week and caught some real nice fish, as well as, numbers.

[Ohioguy25]

On 10/14/2024 at 1:21 PM, WRB said:

The OP is spot on describing Largemouth bass being more active in low light conditions.

My Snallmouth bass fishing is limited primarily to Canada where Musky are like Largemouth low light hunters and Smallmouth blue bird bright sky they are more active in my limited experience.

Tom

I wonder if northern/Great Lake smallmouth are less effected by this or more active when it’s sunny due to climate differences. Smallmouth generally seem to prefer 55-65 degree water temps.
 

In southern Ohio this only happens in short windows and inconsistently in rivers, so mid summer when the water is 82 degrees it makes sense why hot, sunny days make them less active.

 

Contrast that with northern Michigan or southern Ontario where the water rarely breaks the low 70s, it sort of makes sense why these same conditions produce an entirely different effect on their behavior than in humid subtropical regions. Just my thoughts.

[WRB]

As  stated earlier my experience with Smallmouth bass is limited with that noted watching tournaments in the Great Lakes area including St Lawrence River bright sunny days the catch rate and weights go up, cloudy weather shuts down the bite.

Hard to argue with tournament results.

The TVA area results are the opposite, cloudy weather tends to improve results.

Tom

 

[Ohioguy25]

29 minutes ago, WRB said:

As  stated earlier my experience with Smallmouth bass is limited with that noted watching tournaments in the Great Lakes area including St Lawrence River bright sunny days the catch rate and weights go up, cloudy weather shuts down the bite.

Hard to argue with tournament results.

The TVA area results are the opposite, cloudy weather tends to improve results.

Tom

 

Yup, exactly 

[Columbia Craw]

You also need to consider the system, moving river or static lake without current.

[WRB]

2024 US Open was held last week at lake Mohave Colorado River lake below Lake Mead/Hoover power supply dam.

Winning weight for 3 days was 61.74 lbs all Smallmouths. Top 3 had 61+ lbs using drop shot w/FFS. Pre/Full moon bright sky, little to know current on the lake.

Tom

[Ohioguy25]

12 hours ago, WRB said:

2024 US Open was held last week at lake Mohave Colorado River lake below Lake Mead/Hoover power supply dam.

Winning weight for 3 days was 61.74 lbs all Smallmouths. Top 3 had 61+ lbs using drop shot w/FFS. Pre/Full moon bright sky, little to know current on the lake.

Tom

Yeah that is consistent with my experience on sunny days, bottom contact.

[Junk Fisherman]

• I have had better success in the sun.  Some of the best days I've had have been when it was cloudy/rainy and then it passed and the sun came out. 

[Susky River Rat]

I think we over complicate fishing.  I think if we look at all our fishing days as a whole they 50/50 prove or disprove theories.  It’s always easy to blame why we didn’t catch fish. The reality is someone somewhere on that body of water was crushing it. No different than when your buddy in the boat is crushing it right next to you and you can get a bite from a mosquito.