Is Smallmouth Fishing Better than Ever?

 River otters, deforestation, siltation, habitat loss.

We're in an era of Indiana Smallmouth Bass fishing one where one can easily conclude things are better than ever.

In some ways, that is probably true. Angler lure ease of use is increasingly on the side of less skill to catch fish. It is not meant as an insult to good anglers out there.

• Those who have been around awhile will recognize a lot of basic, "plug and play" lures have subtle adaptations that draw more bites than ever. 

1. TRD/Big TRD is revolutionary on finessing river smallmouth any season. Almost idiot proof. Get this, it doesn't tear and the tail floats up from the bottom! Goodbye tube.
2. Whopper Ploppers taught folks if I throw it a long way from me, I'll catch big fish. 
3. Even the new premium hard jerkbaits are so much easier to use and catch fish on than 10 years ago. I learned the key to these baits on Youtube. Guess what, they were right.  

• Social media and advertising has smallmouth fishing looking more accessible than ever. I remember in the beginning being afraid of snapping turtles, so I wouldn't wade deep pools. Not kidding. You can now look up how to do something on Youtube and some great content provider will show you how to rebuild a transmission. This is awesome. I love the idea you don't have to work for the man. People are creating better history documentaries than TV does. And they get paid. Great. BUT. Are we being responsible? I am a hawk when figuring out where someone is fishing from pic and video backgrounds. People want the easy short cut to great fishing. Content providers can open up a crowd of pressure on waters and land owners that can't handle it. "Let's Go" every dink you catch?
• Confirmation bias. I am definitely catching more fish and more biggish fish because of all of the above. Therefore, there are more smallmouth than ever? Right? It is my skill and not me pounding a few good stretches or these almost 'cheat' lures. In fishing I have to constantly check my ego and take a stab at what is really true. Human's own mind will attribute to talent which one could really just attribute to the deliciousness of bacon. What if we're really just more efficient at catching the bass that are there? 
• I know the above is true for me, because my knowledge of where to go is at its near peak. Those above lures made a difference for a lot of people. While the plopper only replaces LC Splashtail 90 for me rather poorly, the Big TRD/Rerange 110/ITO Vision 110 are massive difference makers for me in the same places with different similar lures.
• I'm traveling further and further than ever to catch good bass. Rarely are there good fish near a bridge. On some streams miles and miles of missing big fish. I just go elsewhere but I don't have to like it. Winter holes are often empty now.
• I'm seeing a lot less fish or no fish in pools that used to hold them. Before we say it is just a bad day, or it filled in with sand and fish moved. I'm witnessing the same thing on entirely rocky streams. Empty holes, clear water, lack of rough fish. Miles of piles of fish scales in the form of otter pooh look very incriminating. If you're lucky enough to have a favorite stream with sandy banks, you may notice an increase in this type of footprints below. And if you have, your stream's Smallie population is in dire trouble. More to come on this in a future article as I form better thoughts. Have only started seeing otters the past couple years and only noticed scat since last year.
• More pressure on fish as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, kayak tournies, or just tournies put pressure on fish and increase mortality.
• More new fishermen in recreational kayaks. In the last 4 years, I have had to adapt to places you couldn't kayak through. This is because the increase in kayaks has made it hard to fish unspooked fish on certain streams.