Best Kept Little (Smallmouth)
Bass Secret of the West

When anglers think of the Rocky Mountain states, they conjure up images of cold, clear, mountain streams teaming with rainbow trout, or giant lake trout prowling deep canyon reservoirs. More recently, walleye fishing has gained a large following in the region. One of the areas best angling resources, however, remains unappreciated and under utilized.

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and fish across North America. In many areas of the country smallmouth bass fishing is king. Yet in the Rockies it is almost an after thought.

Lets start our trip. If you're looking for some great smallmouth fishing, you could start at Flaming Gorge. Famous for giant lake trout, this reservoir extends from the damn in northern Utah, over ninety miles north into the southwest corner of Wyoming. Flaming Gorge has hosted Federation, and local bass tournaments and has produced a lake record four pound six ounce smallmouth bass.

From Flaming Gorge we head south across Utah to Lake Powel. Stretching almost 200 miles from southern Utah into northern Arizona, this canyon reservoir has almost 2,000 miles of shoreline. Powel, renowned for its striper fishing, is starting to develop a reputation as a top notch smallmouth bass fishery. This clear water jewel of the West offers, not only world class fishing, but with over 300 house boats for rent and thousands of campsites, it offers tremendous recreational opportunities to anyone who enjoys the outdoors.

Next, we leave Utah and take I-70 east to Denver. From here it is only a sixty mile drive north to Horsetooth Reservoir. While it is the smallest of the reservoirs on our tour, this six mile long impoundment, does not have to take a back seat to any of our other stops for size and numbers of smallmouth bass.

From Horsetooth we take I-25 south and a two hour drive from Denver finds us at Pueblo Reservoir. Pueblo may be the most diverse fishery in Colorado. This 4,000 acre reservoir has maintained high water levels over the last few years and the fishing is better than ever.

If we continue south and then go west at the Colorado - New Mexico border, we come to Navajo Reservoir. Navajo which is well known for its excellent trout and pike fishing, produced the current Colorado state smallmouth record, which tipped the scales at more than five pounds.

While there are other fine smallmouth spots in the Rockies, these five are among my favorites and are representative of the fine smallmouth fishing that abounds throughout the region. Each of these reservoirs has a prolific population of smallmouth bass and offers the potential for 100 fish days. Admittedly many of the fish are on the small side, but the action is constant and there are enough larger fish (three pounds plus) in all of them to keep it exciting. Because of their tenacious attitude even a twelve or fourteen inch smallmouth bass can provide a lot of fun on light tackle.

When fishing these reservoirs, you can use a similar approach on all of them. In the spring the smallmouth will spawn in shallow bays and back waters. A good technique is to sight fish. Using polarized glasses you can actually see the fish on the beds. A soft plastic bait, such as a Berkley power tube can be pitched to the spawning bed. Once it settles to the bottom a gentle twitching action will generally trigger a response. Some of the larger fish can be quite vulnerable at this time. Please release these fish immediately so you disturb the spawn as little as possible.

Once they have finished spawning the majority of the these fish will migrate to underwater humps, secondary and main lake points. Smallmouth bass tend to be home bodies. Once they take up residence many of them will tend to relate to the same piece of structure for the entire summer, as long as it provides adequate forage. Humps or points with a lot of broken rock or some other form of cover will tend to hold more and larger fish. The number one key to catching bigger fish (three pounds plus), is to find spots that are not obvious to every boat that goes by. Take the time to explore, using your electronics. Find the humps and points that don't attract every passing angler.

Once you locate the fish you can catch them using several techniques. I typically have three rods rigged and ready when I'm fishing for smallmouth bass. One will be a spinning rod spooled with eight pound test Trilene XL, with a simple unpainted lead head jug and a three inch curly tail grub. The second rod would be a baitcasting rod with either a crankbait or a surface lure such as a Pop R. I have a jigging spoon tied on the third rod. I use the crainkbait to quickly cover water and locate fish. I will then use the jig to "pick apart" a piece of structure. I use the spoon for fish located on deep humps or the ends of deep points.

If I could only use one lure to fish for small mouth bass, it would be an unpainted quarter ounce jig head with a three inch smoke colored Berkley Power Grub. I have used this presentation to catch smallmouth bass from Massachusetts to Tennessee and from Canada to Colorado. It is especially effective in clear western reservoirs where a more brightly colored lure can, at times, spook the bigger more cautious fish.

You don't need to go to Canada or Tennessee to experience great smallmouth bass fishing. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of this underutilized resource. Smallmouth bass fishing in the Rocky Mountains can provide anglers of all ages and skill levels with a wonderful fishing experience.

For more information on the areas mentioned in the article contact the numbers below.
Lake Powel 800- 528-6154
Pueblo Reservoir (North Shore Marina) 719-547-3880
Flaming Gorge (Chandler) 801-784-3483
Navajo Reservoir (Colorado State Park) 970-883-2208

Note: The author, Terry Wickstrom (fishtec1@aol.com) , serves on the pro staff for several manufacturers and is a member of the Fish/Tec staff which specializes in presenting educational seminars at sports shows and tackle shops throughout the country. He is also an outdoor writer for such publications as Fishing Facts Magazine and In-Fisherman Walleye Insider.