Winter to Spring Transitions of River Smallmouths

Many bass anglers living in the northern half of the country are starting to see the first signs of waning ice, mostly on rivers and streams. Since many of these water courses are smaller rivers, streams and creeks, they afford the small boat bass angler the perfect opportunity to get in the earliest shot at open water bassin’ for the new year.

Once on the river, the target species .. the feisty smallmouth bass!

Wintering smallies usually congregate in the deeper pools in their area, striving to find the calmest waters available. Once the winter to spring transition kicks into gear, those bass move to specific funnel points to feed in prep for the forthcoming spawn…

In this video, river smallie angler Jeff Little of Blue Ridge Kayak Fishingdescribes how smallmiouths respond to the transition taking positions to “put on the feed bag” before the spawning ritual takes hold…

Getting anxious to prep the boat and hit the water? I know I am