Finessing Clear Water Smallmouth With The Fuzzy NuggetZ

I live for sunny, calm days in the spring, chasing smallies on the Great Lakes or back home while guiding on Lake Mille Lacs. These clear-water fisheries can be ornery at times as spring winds move warm and cold water around, but working with what Mother Nature gives you is the key because, I assure you, they’re always biting somewhere. 

Sunny days are my favorite because those big pre-spawn females are already relatively shallow and want to use the sun to warm themselves up. They tend to suspend a lot under these conditions and, best of all, they’re on the hunt. 

I do use forward-facing sonar at times, but I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m not afraid to use my eyes to spot them. In fact, I can often tell much better which way a fish is actually facing, which greatly improves my chances of catching it. 

A stealthy approach is my best friend, and my go-to bait for this situation is a nail-weighted Z-Man® Fuzzy NuggetZ™. I use a slightly longer rod than some anglers, a 7'5 ML, along with super-light braid as my main line. This allows me to make longer casts while maintaining accuracy. I generally fish a very light nail weight, rarely exceeding 3/32 ounce, and only need a short fluorocarbon leader in the 8- to 12-pound range. 

When I locate a floater, the key is not to throw the Fuzzy NuggetZ right on top of the fish. Instead, I cast it 10 to 12 feet in front of it, preferably in the direction the bass is facing. The goal is to avoid spooking the fish and instead place something natural-looking in its path that instantly puts that shallow, wary bass into hunt mode. 

I’m pretty open when it comes to color choices because I’ve found they all work. I’m generally a green pumpkin guy, but when we were still developing the bait, I had a mixed batch of color options and caught fish on all of them. That built a lot of confidence in the entire lineup, though I’ll always start with whatever best matches the forage they’re feeding on. 

Presentation is simple. I basically just dead-stick the Fuzzy NuggetZ as it sinks and let the bait do the rest. The erratic skirt movement and slow-sinking ElaZtech® body almost seem to tantalize them. A quick snap of the rod or a subtle shake while the bait hovers above the fish will often trigger a strike from a reluctant bass, but if the presentation is right, most never let it reach the bottom. 

-Josh Douglas, Bassmaster Pro Angler