Captain Butch shares the five techniques that consistently produce smallmouth on Grand Traverse Bay, plus the beginner mistakes that cost anglers fish.
Grand Traverse Bay isn't like most bass fisheries. The water is crystal clear, the bottom is mostly rock and gravel, and the smallmouth here see a lot of lures. What works on a stained reservoir in the South won't necessarily produce here. After 20-plus years of guiding on this water, Captain Butch has dialed in a set of techniques that consistently put fish in the boat. Here are the five that matter most and how to fish them.
Why Clear Water Changes Everything
Before getting into specific techniques, it helps to understand what makes Grand Traverse Bay unique. Visibility can exceed 15 feet on calm days. That means smallmouth can see your bait from a long distance, which sounds like an advantage, but it also means they can see your line, your boat, and anything that looks unnatural.
Clear water smallmouth are pickier than their murky-water cousins. They'll follow a bait for 20 feet and turn away if something doesn't look right. Finesse matters here. Lighter line, natural colors, and subtle presentations outperform heavy tackle and loud baits most days.
Captain Butch rigs his clients with fluorocarbon line in 6 to 8-pound test for most techniques. Fluorocarbon is nearly invisible underwater and sinks, which keeps baits in the strike zone and out of the fish's line of sight.
Technique 1: The Drop Shot
If Captain Butch could only fish one technique on Grand Traverse Bay for the rest of his life, it would be the drop shot. This finesse rig accounts for more fish on his boat than any other presentation, across all seasons and conditions.
How it works: A small hook is tied 12 to 18 inches above a cylindrical weight at the end of the line. A soft plastic bait, typically a 3 to 4-inch minnow-style worm, is nose-hooked on the hook. The weight stays on the bottom while the bait hovers above, quivering naturally with minimal rod movement.
Why it works here: The drop shot keeps a bait right in a smallmouth's face without requiring the fish to chase. In clear water, where bass can be hesitant, this patient presentation triggers bites that faster techniques miss. It's also extremely versatile. Captain Butch uses it in 5 feet of water during the spawn and in 30 feet during summer.
Best colors for the bay: Smoke, green pumpkin, and natural baitfish patterns. Avoid bright, unnatural colors in clear water.
When to use it: Year-round, but especially effective in tough conditions, post-frontal days, and when fish are relating to deeper structure.
Technique 2: The Ned Rig
The ned rig has earned a reputation as one of the most effective finesse techniques in bass fishing, and it's a staple on Grand Traverse Bay. It's also one of the easiest techniques for beginners to learn, which makes it a favorite on charter trips.
How it works: A small mushroom-head jig (1/8 to 1/4 ounce) is paired with a short, buoyant stick bait like a Z-Man TRD. The bait stands up off the bottom at rest, mimicking a feeding crayfish or goby. The retrieve is simple: cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, and slowly drag or hop it back.
Why it works here: The ned rig imitates the gobies and crayfish that make up a huge portion of a Grand Traverse Bay smallmouth's diet. Its subtle, bottom-hugging presentation appeals to fish that won't commit to a faster-moving lure. The buoyant plastic standing upright on the bottom is irresistible to curious bronzebacks.
Best colors for the bay: Green pumpkin, brown, and goby-imitating patterns.
When to use it: Spring through fall. Particularly effective in April and May when fish are in the shallows and feeding on bottom-oriented prey.
Technique 3: Tube Jigs
Tubes have been catching smallmouth bass for decades, and they remain one of the most productive baits on Grand Traverse Bay. Captain Butch always has tubes rigged and ready because there are days when nothing else produces as well.
How it works: A 3 to 4-inch tube is rigged on a 1/4 to 3/8-ounce tube jighead inserted inside the hollow body. The tube is cast to rocky structure and allowed to spiral down on a semi-slack line. The spiraling fall action is what triggers most strikes, so watching your line as the bait sinks is critical.
Why it works here: The tube's erratic, spiraling fall imitates a dying crayfish, which is a smallmouth's favorite meal. On rocky bottoms like Grand Traverse Bay, tubes look completely natural.
Best colors for the bay: Smoke, green pumpkin, and crayfish orange/brown.
When to use it: Late spring through fall. Exceptional around rocky points, gravel flats, and anywhere crayfish are present. If you can hear crayfish clicking on rocks through the boat hull, tie on a tube.
Technique 4: Jerkbaits
When smallmouth are active and chasing, jerkbaits are the go-to. This technique covers water quickly and draws reaction strikes from aggressive fish. Captain Butch reaches for jerkbaits during pre-spawn in May and again in fall when fish are feeding up.
How it works: A slender, minnow-shaped hard bait is cast and retrieved with sharp rod snaps followed by pauses. The bait darts erratically, then suspends in place during the pause. Most strikes happen on the pause, so resist the urge to keep jerking nonstop.
Why it works here: Grand Traverse Bay smallmouth feed heavily on emerald shiners and other baitfish. A jerkbait's size, shape, and darting action perfectly mimics a wounded minnow. In clear water, the flash and realistic action draw fish in from a distance.
Best colors for the bay: Chrome and blue, natural shad, and ghost minnow patterns.
When to use it: Pre-spawn (May), post-spawn (late June), and fall (September through October). Best on overcast days or when there's a light chop on the water that reduces visibility and makes bass less cautious.
Technique 5: Topwater
Topwater fishing is the most exciting way to catch a smallmouth, and Grand Traverse Bay serves it up beautifully during the right conditions. There is nothing in fishing that matches watching a bass explode on a surface bait in gin-clear water.
How it works: Walking baits, poppers, and prop baits are worked across the surface with a rhythmic retrieve. The bait creates noise and surface disturbance that mimics a struggling baitfish. Smallmouth rocket up from below to attack.
Why it works here: The clear, calm mornings that are common on Grand Traverse Bay from June through September create ideal topwater conditions. Smallmouth in the 2 to 5-foot depth range are looking up and will crush a well-placed surface bait.
Best times: The first two hours of daylight are prime. Calm, overcast mornings with warm water temperatures are the recipe. Topwater becomes less effective once the wind picks up or the sun gets high.
"Don't set the hook when you see the splash. Wait until you feel the weight of the fish. More people lose topwater smallmouth by reacting too fast than by reacting too slow." — Captain Butch
Common Mistakes to Avoid
After guiding thousands of trips, Captain Butch has seen the same mistakes repeatedly. Here are the ones that cost anglers the most fish on Grand Traverse Bay.
Using line that's too heavy. This is the number-one issue. Anglers show up with 15 or 20-pound braid or heavy monofilament. In clear water, bass see it and refuse to bite. Step down to 6 to 8-pound fluorocarbon and watch your catch rate jump.
Fishing too fast. Bass fishing on TV looks fast and furious, but Grand Traverse Bay rewards a slower approach. Let your bait sit. Let the fish find it. The pause is where most bites happen.
Ignoring the wind. Wind positions baitfish, which positions bass. If the wind is blowing into a rocky point, that's where you should be fishing. Calm, windless banks often hold fewer active fish.
Setting the hook too hard. Smallmouth have relatively soft mouths compared to largemouth. A sharp wrist snap is all you need. A full-body hook set will pull the bait away from the fish or tear the hook free.
Learn These Techniques on the Water
Reading about techniques is one thing. Feeling a smallmouth inhale a drop shot while Captain Butch coaches you through the hookset is another. Every charter trip includes hands-on instruction tailored to your skill level. Whether you've never held a rod or you're a tournament angler looking to learn this specific fishery, Captain Butch meets you where you are.
Check out the Trips & Rates page to book a trip, or call (231) 883-2200 to talk through what you'd like to learn on the water.