Predator and Prey

Every fish must eat. If you locate the specific prey of a game fish, you have more than likely located your quarry -- this principle applies to all fishing.

With smallmouth the task is simple. Think like a crayfish and you'll catch a smallmouth. In some lakes, crayfish contribute to 95 percent of the smallmouth's diet. Even in crystal clear lakes, where fish usually stay deep, smallmouths are seldom found lower than 40 feet. By less than strange coincidence, all of the crayfish species in North America are also found at less than 40-foot depths.

Next to crayfish in importance are baitfish populations and insects.

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