Making the grade on multiple choice waters

  
Northern anglers have always had the option of fishing for smallmouth or largemouth bass on their rivers or natural lakes, but in recent years population explosions of smallmouth in reservoirs have turned many bass fisheries throughout the country into multiple choice waters. The two species provide more fun for recreational anglers, but choosing whether to fish for smallmouth, largemouth or both becomes a test that competitive anglers must pass to win or finish high in a tournament.

North Carolina Elite pro Dave Wolak gained plenty of experience fishing on rivers and lakes containing both largemouth and smallmouth when he lived in Pennsylvania. His most recent success on northern waters included a fifth-place finish in the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series Champions Choice at Lake Oneida in New York.

During the Oneida event, Wolak caught both largemouth and smallmouth to produce a four-day weight of 57 pounds, 9 ounces.

“I’d fish for one type for an hour and then give the next one an hour, and see which one was biting a little bit better,” Wolak recalled.

Weather usually dictates which species Wolak targets throughout the day.

“Largemouths are more prone to go toward cover, and if you get sunshine it will be easier to pinpoint their strike zone in grass situations or around boat docks,” Wolak explained. “A smallmouth is more loosely related to cover and hangs in bald spots in the grass.”

Wolak has trouble inducing smallmouths to bite in calm, sunny weather, but if the day is windy and rainy, smallies become easier to catch since they get active and roam around in the weed openings.

“Sometimes both of them will bite, and you can just go to your key spots then. On most northern lakes if you can bounce between 3-pound smallies and 3-pound largemouth and get some 4-pounders, you can do well in a tournament.”

The four-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier notices that both species bunch up in the same area on some lakes such as Oneida.

“If you find the right type of grass line, 90 percent of the time you will have just as much of a chance to catch both,” says Wolak, who recalls catching both species from the grass lines of Cayuga Lake in New York.  “You didn’t know what you were going to set your hook on there; it could have been a 4-pound smallie or a 4-pound largemouth. They were all grouped together.”

An outside grass line mixed with rock is an ideal hangout for both largemouths and smallmouths. Wolak rates milfoil as the best grass for finding both species, but he also lists hydrilla and coontail as likely vegetation to hold both species of bass.

While fishing reservoirs south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Wolak usually finds both species hanging around ledges.

“When you get a little bit of current, you will find them grouped up together on some ledges.”

He also locates both species feeding on baitfish that congregate around mussel beds on Tennessee Valley Authority lakes.
 
A crankbait is Wolak’s top choice for catching largemouth and smallmouth cohabitating on southern reservoirs.

“Any time you have some type of ledge situation or mussel beds, the Fat Free Shad is my No. 1 bait.”

Wolak prefers a moving bait to deflect off the ledge or the mussel shells.

“They just seem to want something cruising along. It is an open-water situation so you are trying to trigger a strike from a not-so-active fish.”

When fishing weed lines, Wolak opts for jigs to trick both bass species. 

“Every time you are around a weed-and-rock mix it seems like jigs up north are always hopping.”

A pumpkinseed, brown or other natural-colored jig that imitates a perch or crawfish triggers strikes from largemouth and smallmouth lurking along the weed edges. A crankbait or jerkbait will also produce some fish for Wolak when he starts fishing a weed line, but when the action slows he works the area thoroughly with a 1/2-ounce jig.

“I try to keep my weights a little heavier when I am fishing open water because not only does it get down there fast, but you are also kind of rooting along the bottom.”

He also likes the faster fall of a heavy jig in clear water because it triggers more reaction strikes from bass hanging around the weed line. If he is fishing platforms of docks, Wolak switches to a lighter jig with a slower fall to trick bass suspending under the dock.

The B.A.S.S. pro favors a Craw Papi as a jig trailer most of the time but occasionally tips his jig with a plastic chunk when he wants more of a dead fall from his jig combo. He selects plastic trailers in natural hues such as green pumpkin or pumpkinseed.
 
Pursuing both species in one day can be fun for the recreational angler, but a tournament competitor sometimes has to determine which of the two species will produce a heavier limit. 

“If it is October and you are on a lake that has smallmouth in it, a lot of times the fish will move closer to the bank due to the cooler water.”

Wolak believes lakes that contain both bass species yield heavier sacks of smallmouth during this time.

Largemouths generally produce bigger sacks in tournaments on multiple choice waters, but smallmouths usually provide more consistent action.

“Sometimes you can have a lake with the biggest largemouth in it, but they simply won’t bite or you can’t pinpoint them in a day. So targeting smallmouth bass is just an option to help you survive until the next day.”