Tenkara vs Smallmouth: Free the Fighter!

The Smallmouth Bass may be the perfect Tenkara sport fish

Quite possibly the Midwest's PERFECT Tenkara sport fish!

If there is such a thing as "Smallmouth Fever", Badger has caught a serious case of it! Don't get us wrong, we love the field-craft and rich traditions of trout fishing (both Japanese and American!). But the Smallmouth Bass is a ferocious opponent that may just be the Midwest's perfect Tenkara sport fish. Why is that? Being a warm water fish, it enjoys a range much wider than trout, so it is more readily available to a larger number of anglers. Most importantly - ounce for ounce and pound for pound, NOTHING fights like a Smallmouth on the Hook! 

An opportunity opened up to explore a new section of Left Hand Branch the other day, and it did not disappoint. It was one of those evenings on the water that washes away the last few weeks of stress and reminds you of everything about fishing that you love. I caught about 30 fish in three hours, and while none that I brought to hand was more than 12 inches or so, even those "average" sized stream bass were a BLAST! 

I fished the Classic rod with 12 feet of Badger-Lite line and 6 feet of 6lb test mono. Having the fished this water with the WISCO before, I knew that the rod was overkill for this kind of water - but the Classic is just right for these size bass. Size #6 Pass Lake flies with chartreuse wings (the "Nuclear" recipe") or white calf-tail proved yet again to be devastatingly effective against smallies. 

Greeting me at the turn-style was this sign, posted by the Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance. They are a great conservation group, similar in mission to Trout Unlimited. The sign's title really speaks to me. It's message supporting catch and release is a great way to ensure that we have good fishing for years to come, and the "fighter" nickname really suits the smallmouth attitude. It really stuck with me throughout the evening. Man, I hope if life ever puts a hook in my mouth and starts to pull me into a net, I fight back with the same spirit as a Smallmouth Bass! 

Knee-deep in perfect Smallmouth water!

So, on to the fishing. This section of of Left Hand Branch is spectacular smallie water. Rarely more than knee-deep, it was full of classic structure - a rocky bottom and occasional patches of vegetation that made great holding lies. Casting to visible structure, edges, and current streams was productive. In slower, flat water where structure was harder to see, a steady prospecting pattern of dropping casts every 15-20 feet worked well, often pulling fish from every spot before moving upstream to repeat. 

Dead drifts were effective, but many casts produced nearly instant top-water strikes! Since the water was shallow, most times you could see the fish rocket up for the take, and in the first catch of the video, you'll see the v-wake as the fish launches out of cover to make the strike. Another technique that worked really well was following up a big splashy presentation with finger taps to the cork grip during the drift. This noisy approach drew a lot of strikes, especially when used on the edges of cover.

The bass were really in the mood to feed. Not only did they bite steadily on the flies I cast, but I witnessed some minor "crash" behavior too! I stumbled onto a section of the stream where bass were driving shiners out of deeper water into the shallows where they would attempt the kill. It appeared to be one or maybe two bass hunting, instead of a larger school like we've seen on the Wisconsin river, but it was really cool to see. Check out the slow-mo footage in the video! 

You'll see in the video that I had an intense battle with what would have been the "fish of the day" IF I would have landed it. We had a serious duel there for a while, but then the fly snapped off. I am certain that this happened because I had already caught a mess of fish on the fly and had not bothered to re-rig or even inspect my gear during that time. Especially with bass, I should be checking and making sure that the my gear is in order, because, bass teeth can do a number on tippet sections. That fish did give me a solid fight, so after taking a moment to vent, I rendered him a hand salute in respect. Fair warning fish - I'll be back for you soon! 

- Matt