Smallmouth Forage In The Gasconade

[EddieRay]

What are the main forage types for the smallmouth bass in the Gasconade River and what do you use to imitate them? Does the main forage change with the season? I'm trying to get as much info as I can about this River because I would like to fish it in the next few months.

[Wayne SW/MO]

What are the main forage types for the smallmouth bass in the Gasconade River and what do you use to imitate them? Does the main forage change with the season? I'm trying to get as much info as I can about this River because I would like to fish it in the next few months.

The main forage at this time is primarily fish, and it will remain that way until the water warms. It does change, they exploit the resource like all predators and take what they need that requires the least amount of expended energy.

[EddieRay]

The main forage at this time is primarily fish, and it will remain that way until the water warms. It does change, they exploit the resource like all predators and take what they need that requires the least amount of expended energy.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I should clarify my question. I've been bass fishing for years in lakes and ponds. I have rarely fished rivers. I am very familiar with all of the general rules of thumb that apply to bass such as looking for the prey that requires the least amount of expended energy. In the lakes I fish, bass generally feed on shad, crayfish, and small sunfish. I assume the bass will feed on crayfish and small fish in the Gasconade as well. What I want to know is what are those small fish, and what lures do you use to imitate them on the river. (I plan to have jigs, hair jigs, and grubs with me when I fish the river but if I'm going to match the hatch with color and size I need to know specifics about the forage.) Which small fish are the main course? Are we talking minnows, small goggle-eyes, sunfish, small crappie, crayfish, or all of the above?

[Wayne SW/MO]

There's the normal population of minnows in the river, but matching the hatch doesn't seem to be necessary. I've had some luck on shad imitations, even though there are no shad in the river that I'm aware of. I'm sure th silhouette and color is the key. As far as "perch" go, pumkinseed, black and goggle eye are common, but the highlights of blue and orange are probably most important.

[Guest]

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[Gavin]

Your LMB stuff will catch plenty of smallies so you dont need to spend a fortune...I'd probably downsize some of the lures though...Fish a Spook Jr. sized walk the dog bait, v. Full Size...Minnow baits in the 3-5.5" range work great, jig & craw...go with something like and Eakins instead of a full sized LMB jig. Cranks, stuff that runs up to 8' deep or so works fine..not often a need to fish deeper...Plastics...Hard to beat a tube in the 2.5-4" range or a 4" Chomper Hula Grub in Green Pumpkin, or a Pearl Zoom Superfluke on a 4/0 EWG.

I couldnt find a link to it, but Al Agnew did a very nice presentation on catching river smallies earlier this year and Phil put it on the site......Maybe someone has a link to it. Cheers.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I'm trying to get as much info as I can about this River because I would like to fish it in the next few months.

I wouldn't overshoot the question guys.

[EddieRay]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate all the replies. This is good information.

Wayne SW/MO makes a good point. I didn't clarify what I mean by the next few months. I am referring to the seasons of winter, prespawn, and even into the spawn but the months of late February, March, and April would probably be the most likely time that I would fish the river depending on the weather of course. I'm sorry for not making that clear. I'm sure that the way I approach this in the Winter will be different from the prespawn and spawn.

I'm in Kansas City so it's a good trip for me to fish the Gasconade. I want to start making two or three trips per year to do some river fishing. I've caught a few smallies out of lakes and as you guys know all too well a largemouth just doesn't fight like a smallie. Any information about any season is welcome.

[EddieRay]

Let those smallies go when you catch them.

That's the plan. I only believe in selective harvest of smaller fish on ponds and lakes that have too large of a population of bass for the forage base. Otherwise, it's always C & R.

[Wayne SW/MO]

At some point you'll have to cross the Niangua in the shortest route to the Gasconade, you might want to consider stopping and fishing it.