Damn Good Smallmouth Bass Fishing Guides

The best smallmouth bass fishing trips are:

• Playin' Hooke Striper Services guided by Johnny P.
• Blue Ridge Fishing Adventures guided by Zach B.
• Dan Nealy's Fishing Buddies guided by Daniel N.
• Louie's Lures Guide Service guided by Dirk C.
• Captain Ken's Wild Wings guided by Kenny L.

Our Damn Good Guides currently offer 84 smallmouth bass trips, and the most popular trips are Pro Bass: Arkansas' Top Lakes guided by Dylan, Bass Fishing Trip guided by Matt, and Yellow Perch And Smallmouth guided by Kenny.

Our guides are rated a 4.97 out of 5 based on 9494 verified reviews on Captain Experiences.

All guides on Captain Experiences are vetted by our team. You can access their reviews, click through trip photos, read bios to get to know them, and preview trip details like species, techniques, group sizes, boat specs and more.

Looking for kid friendly smallmouth bass guides / fishing lessons? Check out our beginner and family friendly smallmouth bass guides.

Lake fishing is the most popular type of fishing for smallmouth bass as well as river fishing, inshore fishing, and nearshore fishing.

The most common fishing techniques are light tackle fishing, artificial lure fishing, and jigging but drift fishing and fly fishing are popular as well.

Prices for smallmouth bass can range anywhere from about $400 to $1,450, but the average price for a half day trip for smallmouth bass is $658. The average price for a full day trip for smallmouth bass is $921.

Hiring a guide provides a number of benefits and many choose to book a fishing guide for a combination of experience, local knowledge, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.

Working with experienced fishing guides who know the best local spots and techniques can dramatically increase your odds of a great day. Having someone who is on the water every day and knows the area like the back of their hand is going to give you the best chances of success.

Booking a guide is also more cost effective, especially if you only get out a handful of times per year. When you consider all of the costs you would incur on your own such as the price of a boat, maintenance, insurance, gas, high-quality gear and tackle, repairs, and more, you’ll find that DIY is sometimes not worth the expense.

Even if you’ve got a great setup already in your home waters, booking a guide also provides a great opportunity to experience new techniques, new locations, or even a chance at a new target species to knock off the bucket list.

The most popular season for smallmouth bass fishing is summer, and most anglers book their trips 18 days in advance.

See here for more information on smallmouth bass fishing licenses, smallmouth bass bag limits, and fishing season regulations for smallmouth bass. When in doubt, your guide will always know all the relevant smallmouth bass rules and regulations.

Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu), sometimes referred to as bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, or bareback bass, are a very popular freshwater gamefish known for their incredible fighting abilities. This member of the sunfish family have a slender but muscular body that make them powerful swimmers.

They range in color from a golden olive to dark brown, that shades into a yellowish white with dark brown vertical stripes or splotches along their body, with dark brown horizontal stripes on their head. With this camouflaging and their powerful swimming, they make excellent ambush predators.

There are two subspecies of smallmouth bass. These include the Northern smallmouth bass (M. dolomieui dolomieui) and the Neosho smallmouth bass (M. dolomieui velox). The Northern smallmouth bass are widespread through North America, where as the Neosho are found in the Central Interior Highlands which are found in southwestern Missouri, northern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma.

Male smallmouth bass usually max out at about two pounds, where as females will on average be three to six pounds. For either gender, smallmouth bass that live in lakes tend to be larger than those that live in streams and ponds.

The IGFA lists the all-tackle world record smallie at 11 pounds, 15 ounces and 27 inches in length. It was caught by David Hayes out of Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee on July 9th, 1955. He brought it back to the Cedar Hill Resort, now known as the Dale Hollow Marina, to be weighed.

Smallmouth bass are native to the Great Lakes and southeastern Canada, as well as areas of the mid-south in Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma. However, they have now been introduced across the United States, other than Florida, Alaska, and Louisiana.

They prefer cooler and clearer waters than largemouth bass, and can be found in both still and running water. When in lakes, they will be around rocky or sandy areas and stumps.

Smallies can be caught year round, however the best time to fish for them is in the summer. Summertime is when they are the most active, since with rising water temperatures their metabolism rises as well. They will be feeding more often, making them more interested in hooking onto your bait.

However, they will also be in deeper and cooler waters in the summer, making them more difficult to find. The spring and fall are other great times to go, although they will be less active, they will be easier to locate as they swim in more open waters.

No matter what time of year you go, early morning or late evening are the best time to fish for them. The calmer the water, the better.

Smallies can be caught by using spinning, bait casting, or fly fishing gear. Although they are smaller than their largemouth relatives, they are still strong fighters. If using a spinning rod, a six to ten pound test line should be used. If using a fly rod a six to eight rod is recommended.

For bait, insects, jigs, minnows, plugs, plastic worms, night crawlers, spinning baits, and flies can be used.

Smallmouth are known to be some of the best panfish you can eat. They have a soft, white flesh, and are caught by fishermen both for sport, but also specifically to eat.

The best way to eat smallmouth is pan fried. To prepare, combine flour, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. In a separate bowl, mix bread crumbs and cornmeal. In a second bowl, whisk together egg whites and water. Then take each fillet, first shake them in the flour mixture, then dip them in the egg mixture, then finally roll them in the bread crumb mixture.

They are then read to fry in oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once golden brown on both sides, serve with lemon wedges.