Hi everybody. Heading to the river tomorrow and would like some advice. I fish the snake river for smallies, this is a resivoir more than a river. It has little current and can be as deep as 200ft. No cover to speak of just rocks and bluffs. The water temp is 50-54 degrees. The water has turned over and according to the water temp guages at the dams, the water temp has equallized. First question is why are the smallies still in 30 - 50ft of water. I have tried to catch them on the banks and I catch largemouth about 10 to 1. At what point will the smallies head to the banks and be catchable, If at all. I'm puzzeled!

Seems to me they should be putting on the feed bag. I can drop shot them in 50ft of water but sometimes that doesnt agree with them very well. I have tried coves, points, secondary points, flats and bluffs. Water clairty is good 8-12ft. weather has been a bit unstable, with some rain and a bit of wind for the last week. I just started fishing in the late fall so I'm a bit confused. The smallies are deeper than the Largies. Any ideas, Thanks

Don't even attempt to fiqure out a smallie, lol. It will make you crazy. If there is a lot of current and the temps get into the say, 38-44 degree range, fish the eddies on the bank, mainly if the water is really discolored. Start at the end of the eddie and work your way up. Sometimes they are out the tail or more into the eddy. Throw up current for sure. Fish slow, and I mean slow. Other than that I spend most of my time on the main channels and drop offs looking for a hard bottom that contains rocks and or pebbles or sand.

My guess...

With water that deep and clear, I would suspect that the smallies are ganged up and chasing bait, and thus they are probably suspended.

They may never make a move shallow if the bait is not there for them.

Try windblown points and shorlines. If the reservoir has any creeks, try them. Look for the bait and you'll probably find the smallies.

With the water temps you mentioned, I would try a topwater. If that failed I would try a soft jerkbait and a hard jerkbait. Basically anything to mimic bait and get those suspended fish to chase.