It’s no secret that Kevin VanDam, the world’s preeminent bass fisherman, would rather catch smallmouth than any other species. He got hooked on bronzebacks while growing up in Michigan, where many of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the nation exist. Among these is the western end of Lake Erie.
Lake Erie
“The west end of Lake Erie is a great area,” VanDam said. “I’ve fished the mouth of the Detroit River a lot and the western shore of Lake Erie, too.”
Some of the shallow bays produce good smallmouth fishing in the spring. During the summer and fall, the smallmouth prowl scattered grass and rocks on expansive flats 8 to 12 feet deep along Erie’s western shore.
“Jerkbaits and spinnerbaits allow me to cover a lot of water when I’m fishing the flats,” VanDam said. “Look for weed lines and places where one type of rock transitions into another. On sunny days, you can see these things on the bottom.”
Drop shot rigs and other finesse baits also do well. When mayflies hatch, the smallmouth will belt a popper or a walking stickbait on the surface. VanDam claims that 3- to 5-pound smallmouth are common here.
“I’ve had some unbelievable days fishing the spoils near the shipping channel,” VanDam said.
The spoils are rocky humps created by what was dredged to make the shipping channel and dumped on the bottom. The humps sit in 12 to 15 feet of water and are brushed by the current flowing out of the Detroit River. Some of these smallmouth cafés rise to within 6 feet of the surface.
“The biggest thing is the current from the Detroit River flowing in,” VanDam said. “There is also tremendous largemouth fishing in the huge milfoil beds in the mouth of the river in 6 feet of water. It’s great for flippin’, buzzbaits and froggin’.