Contrary to popular belief, Spring Smallies will hit topwater lures. We tested this last week on the Columbia river with both topwater flies and top water lures. What we found is that the early morning bite is not great, but as the day warms up so does the top water action.
We caught fish on both top water flies and topwater lures and just like during summer, fish are waiting at ambush points, across flats, along weed lines, and next to rock walls.
A Gurgler is a great fly for this action and a tiny torpedo or a Bagley Knocker “B” work great on conventional tackle.
We did not catch anything huge, (17” was the biggest topwater fish) but we caught over 30 fish in the 13 - 15” class.
So keep a topwater handy next time you are out looking for Spring Smallmouth.
Thanks for reading.
Bill