Pre-spawn bass can be caught all around these rocky areas, both inside the harbors and out on the lakeside. Anywhere rocks have been piled up against the shore to protect against wave action is a good place to start searching for springtime smallmouths on Lake Michigan. Even after the spawn, the local smallmouths stay in these nearshore areas and spend the next four or five months eating and living in the rocky shallows.

Many harbors and marinas have been constructed with an extra level of protection from damaging wind-blown waves. Besides the rocky breakwall that usually surrounds the harbor, a second submerged wall of irregular stones is built 10 or 20 yards in front of the main breakwall. These submerged walls only rise to within a few feet of the surface, and their function is to break the incoming waves to dampen their effects on the main breakwall.

These secondary underwater breakwalls are excellent spots for finding large numbers of spring smallmouths. Depending on water temperature, wave action and boating pressure, the resident bass might be cruising anywhere around these submerged rocks. Sometimes the fish relate to the sides and top of the underwater structure, while at other times they are hovering at the base of the wall where it meets the sand and gravel of the lake bottom.

One of the best places to fish is the trough area between the main breakwall and the submerged wall. Since the fish move freely from the base of one breakwall to the other, this entire area should be worked carefully. Smallmouth fishermen can hop their lures down the rocky slopes of each wall, and quickly find out where the actively feeding bass are located.

SMALLIE FOOD SOURCES
Lake Michigan's smallmouth bass have several abundant food sources that they use throughout the year. As the seasons change, different prey species become available and are eaten by them. Anglers who know what the bass eat have a definite advantage when it comes to selecting lures that imitate the proper forage.

One of the primary forage species that smallmouth bass consume are crayfish. Crayfish are extremely abundant, and they prefer to live in the small underwater crevices and holes in the rocky breakwalls. What could be more convenient for the rock-loving smallmouths? As individual crayfish move around among the rocks looking for their next meal, hungry bass glide in and pick them off one by one.