Smallmouth Bass

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) goes by many nicknames—smallie, bronzeback, brownie, and brown bass, to name a few—which is a sign of its popularity in different parts of the country. It’s the most trout–like bass, in that it often lives in clean, cold rivers and feeds on insects, baitfish, and crayfish. For these reasons, even the most rigid trout snobs, who wouldn’t deign to cast to a largemouth or a panfish on a farm pond, will tie on a slider to tempt smallmouths to the surface. However, where the bass are encroaching on traditional trout water, often as a result of “bucket biology,” they are often viewed as an unwanted nuisance species.