I grew up in Michigan, and early on one of my favorite fall patterns was sight-fishing for smallmouths. It still is. This isn’t like sight-fishing in spring, though. Then you’re looking for individual fish or beds. In the fall, you’re roaming a sandy flat looking for changes in the bottom composition: a pile of rocks, one big rock, a patch of grass, a stump and so forth.

For some reason, this time of year smallmouths like to hang around objects in the water, whether it’s just a small feature or something as big as a car. They’ll still move around, but it’s like they move from rock pile to rock pile – or whatever – instead of just swimming around aimlessly. So you’re target-casting at objects that are likely to be holding fish.

I put my trolling motor on high and fish spot to spot with a tube, spinnerbait, jerkbait – just about any of the standard smallmouth baits. Good polarized sunglasses will help you see a target because it’s likely the water will be ultra-clear. I wear Typhoons with smoke-colored lenses.

Generally, the best depth is 4 to 6 feet, but in some lakes you can see a lot deeper than that. Anything less than 4 feet, and it’s hard to get close enough to cast to an object without spooking any fish that might be holding on it. The best day to fish like this is a bright, sunny day when there’s little or no wind. Give it a try at your favorite smallmouth lake. Some of the biggest fish of the year can be caught now.