The Mystery Of Winter Smallmouth

[MOsmallies]

There is no doubt in my mind that they move out of smaller tributaries and into mainstem rivers, probably not all of the smallies in the stream but a large percentage. Especially if the tributary has marginal wintering habitat. They also will move to spring outlets or spring fed creek mouths. It is a mystery how far they will migrate, but I think that some will move a lot farther than you would think. If the stream has good wintering habitat interspersed throughout it's length then they probably don't migrate very far, but if it is marginal habitat they may move miles. For example, fish in the current river probably don't move very far--lots of good winter habitat and it receives plenty of spring water. Smallies in the black river may have to migrate miles to find suitable winter habitat.

Back at the end of June, I caught a tagged smallmouth out of the Black River. For reference, this fish was 13.5". When I mailed in the tag, the MDC sent me back a little information on my fish....

When they tagged the fish, it was 13" or a little shorter (If I remember correctly) and it was tagged about 10 or 11 miles downstream from where I caught it. This post has got me thinking that when the tagging took place (March or April I'm guessing) that the Smallies may have still been in or near their wintering holes. This smallie was tagged about a mile above K Bridge where the river really begins to widen and deepen. There are quite a few good, deep wintering holes down around K Bridge, but there is also a couple good wintering holes near where I caught the fish.

This in no way proves long winter smallmouth migrations, but it could show long migration patterns for some smallies out of wintering holes and back into their summer lairs. Just thought I'd share my personal observation for what it's worth.

Paul

MOsmallies

[Flysmallie]

This post has got me thinking that when the tagging took place (March or April I'm guessing)

They couldn't tell you the date that the fish was tagged?

[MOsmallies]

They couldn't tell you the date that the fish was tagged?

If they could they didn't... I guess I should have asked. I may try and contact them again.

[Tim Smith]

I suspect this conversation is going to fall prey to local idosyncracies. Fish have metabolic needs and they're rewarded or punished for meeting or not meeting those demands. All systems differ at least a bit in how risk/reward is distributed.

How far they travel or if they travel during winter probably has a lot to do with the individual system and how stable and high temperatures are and how much food is there over the winter.

The systems I know in Illinois do seem to have denser concentrations of fish in wintering holes and smaller streams have fewer fish when it's cold (although they tend to stack up around thermal refuge like sewage treatment plants and you can still catch a few in the deeper holes).

[Guest]

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[Al Agnew]

I suspect this conversation is going to fall prey to local idosyncracies. Fish have metabolic needs and they're rewarded or punished for meeting or not meeting those demands. All systems differ at least a bit in how risk/reward is distributed.

How far they travel or if they travel during winter probably has a lot to do with the individual system and how stable and high temperatures are and how much food is there over the winter.

The systems I know in Illinois do seem to have denser concentrations of fish in wintering holes and smaller streams have fewer fish when it's cold (although they tend to stack up around thermal refuge like sewage treatment plants and you can still catch a few in the deeper holes).

Yeah, Tim, it probably is a matter of different individual fish and different stream systems. What holds true for one stream system might not for another, and some fish may move, some may find a hidey hole and hunker down for the winter.

In a way, it probably doesn't matter much. Either the fish in some of the smaller streams just aren't there, or they are hunkered down and inactive. Either way, you ain't gonna catch them, so the lesson there is to not expect to catch many fish in those streams.

Here are some observations over the years since I've started seriously chasing winter smallies...

1. Before I got really interested in winter fishing, my wife and I were floating upper Big River in the dead of winter, snow on the ground, and we had to bust inch thick ice in a long pool before we reached the take-out. I took a rod along by didn't catch anything. The water was so clear you could see the bottom clearly everywhere. I watched for fish. I saw exactly one smallmouth. It was jammed up against a big rock in the crevice, wedged in so closely it couldn't have moved if it had wanted to. And it was totally still, even when we paddled right over it. Water was about 5 feet deep. The fish was heavily marked as if it had purposely camouflaged itself as much as possible. That was one fish, in a seven mile float.

2. A few years later, floating the same stretch, again in the middle of the winter but we'd had warmer weather, so there was no ice. There are several deep, slow pools in this stretch that are possible wintering water, and underground water enters the river in a couple of these pools from the flooded mines underneath. I caught a couple of 16 inch smallies, didn't see much else.

3. Paddled upstream from the bottom of this stretch during cold weather, intending to fish right where that warmer mine water came in. Caught two nice largemouth around the warmer water, no smallies, and didn't see any smallies. Saw several more largemouth around the warmer water.

4. Fished a shallower stretch with few possible wintering pools. Caught one 15 incher. Saw no more fish.

5. Fished a section farther upstream several times the last few years. Good wintering pools. I always seemed to find small schools of mixed smallmouth and largemouth, maybe 4 to 6 fish in each school. Only one school per pool and some pools that looked good had nothing. I'd usually catch one fish out of each school. This stretch is full of fish in the summer, of course.

6. Decided one time, when the water was a foot or so above normal and murky, to fish one of my favorite small wading streams. This stream runs directly into the Mississippi, and there are only about four miles of it that hold smallmouth in any numbers. Below there it's all spotted bass, above there it's too small for much of anything. Few decent looking wintering pools even in the downstream section. No water over 4 feet deep in the smallie section. But there are a couple of pools with big rocks that I thought might hold smallies over the winter, and I figured the higher, murkier water might bring them out. Sure enough, in the first pool I caught a nice 15 inch smallie and a 12 incher, along with a half dozen big goggle-eye. Second and last pool produced only a couple of goggle-eye. In the summer, those two pools usually hold a half dozen 16-19 inch smallies apiece.

7. There is a small stream close to home, actually so small I don't bother to wade and fish it. There is a long stretch, maybe a half mile, of shallow, fast, bedrock bottom, with an occasional smallie or goggle-eye that lie in the crevices in the bedrock. None of that water is over a foot or two deep even in the crevices. At the downstream end there is one nice little pool, up to six feet deep, with big rocks. I used to trap minnows in that pool in the winter to use walleye fishing. In the winter, that pool would hold a couple dozen smallies from 8-14 inches and a horde of goggle-eye. Way more fish than it would have in the summer. I'm convinced that every fish that lived in the bedrock stretch above moved down into that first little pool in the winter, and perhaps no farther.

[bronzeback miner]

Interesting insights here. I have always wondered about those streams that run into our reservoirs like James, Flat Creek, Beaver etc if the smallmouths migrate downstream to the lake and shelter in the deep still waters of the lake? If so how would they 'know'? A newly hatched fry in the spring is somehow to know that 30 or 40 miles downstream is the ultimate winter hibernating pool? Thoughts?

[Chief Grey Bear]

The only real way to find out if they migrate in the winter or not or how far, would be to chip them. And do it on different sized waterways. I think it would be really interesting.

I happen to speak with one of my contacts today and this is exactly what the MDC is doing.

[cwc87]

I havent been on here in awhile. Anyhow, this thread about the travels of smallmouth has really kept my mind thinking. Especially, since I caught a tagged fish a good 25 miles from where it was tagged yesterday. Here goes my insight: last winter-spring we had some small floods but nothing great big and the water table from all the winter snow(moisture) was a bit above normal so the water flow was a good constant flow going into the summer(mid June). I fish the meramec and its tribs on a regular baisis so i pick and choose the best days to fish (during the week). I caught alot of bigger smallies in the meramec last January thru-the first week of May. Then, like a light switch I could not find any big smallmouth in the meramec or at least were i could get my jet boat to them.

So, the first week of June came and I took my four year old out on his first creek trip and I caught a $75 tagged fish on a 1/2 mile float trip. That fish was a 18incher and in the clear water I saw a few others the same size. Throughout the summer I tried to find big smallies in the meramec but no luck it seemed they all swam up to the headwaters or into its to major tributaries.

Now, after seeing the report at the begining of this thread about a tagged fish that was caught way down river from where I caught my tagged fish yesterday I am getting a good feel of our migrating smallmouth. Not saying that all smallies migrate but now with the evidence in front of me I know what and were they go. Just my 02cents worth.

[Mitch f]

I havent been on here in awhile. Anyhow, this thread about the travels of smallmouth has really kept my mind thinking. Especially, since I caught a tagged fish a good 25 miles from where it was tagged yesterday. Here goes my insight: last winter-spring we had some small floods but nothing great big and the water table from all the winter snow(moisture) was a bit above normal so the water flow was a good constant flow going into the summer(mid June). I fish the meramec and its tribs on a regular baisis so i pick and choose the best days to fish (during the week). I caught alot of bigger smallies in the meramec last January thru-the first week of May. Then, like a light switch I could not find any big smallmouth in the meramec or at least were i could get my jet boat to them.

So, the first week of June came and I took my four year old out on his first creek trip and I caught a $75 tagged fish on a 1/2 mile float trip. That fish was a 18incher and in the clear water I saw a few others the same size. Throughout the summer I tried to find big smallies in the meramec but no luck it seemed they all swam up to the headwaters or into its to major tributaries.

Now, after seeing the report at the begining of this thread about a tagged fish that was caught way down river from where I caught my tagged fish yesterday I am getting a good feel of our migrating smallmouth. Not saying that all smallies migrate but now with the evidence in front of me I know what and were they go. Just my 02cents worth.

Well, apparently thats 2 fish that aint heard the news!