Find and Catch Smallmouth on Goby-Imitating Swimbaits

Jonathan Dietz takes to the expansive flats of Lake St. Claire and teaches us how to find and catch smallmouth bass keyed on eating round gobies relating to isolated rock piles. With a background in fisheries biology and a passion for Great Lakes smallmouth, Dietz understands the massive influence of round gobies as a key forage. But this isn’t a Great Lakes or goby-specific tactic. His swimbait tactics excel on nearly all fisheries with bottom-oriented forage such as goby, sculpins, and darter minnows, making his swimbait tactics an overlooked producer nationwide.

TACKLE LISTING (retail links)

TARGETING ISOLATED STRUCTURES

While grass beds and yellow perch can be the prevailing pattern on Lake St. Claire, hard-bottom areas consisting of rock and gravel are essential goby and smallmouth habitats. Dietz uses 360 and forward-facing sonar (FFS) to find “rough patches” and put his bait on target. Cross-cueing both technologies produces the best results. It’s often the case that bass are sucked to the bottom, hiding in and among the rock and not visible on FFS. MEGA 360 shows the best rock patches and individual boulders where bass relate so you can make targeted casts. As Dietz demonstrates, the bass then rise to reveal their presence on FFS.

LIFELIKE GOBY IMITATIONS

Dietz introduces the Z-Man Gobias, an ultra-lifelike goby-imitating swimbait, as his lure of choice for these conditions. He explains why this soft plastic-encased swimbait commonly outperforms other proven finesse smallmouth tactics. As a moving bait, its design allows it to snake through rocky and grassy cover with minimal fouling while coving water. Clear water and pressure also highlight the need for realism to fool and trigger bites. 

EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUE

While finesse smallmouth tactics and spinning rods are the primary tools of the smallmouth trade, Dietz likes sizing up to casting gear when fishing the Gobius. He breaks down his equipment setup for his finesse power fishing technique, including his rod, reel, and line. Dietz favors a fast 8.1:1 reel for rapid line pickup, essential for imparting erratic speed changes to the bait and reeling in fast to make new casts to hot fish spotted on his LiveScope.