BOOKS OF THE BLACK BASS

The Smallmouth Bookshelf

©1994, 2008

Note: some of the material on this page is duplicated from the Fly Fishing and History pages.

The Smallmouth Bass may have first been introduced in literature in 1664 by Pierre Boucher when he included "Ochigans" in his list of fish. Boucher was a Frenchman who put together an early book on the Natural History of The New World. The Black Bass was called "Ochigan" and later "Achigan" by the early French settlers. I have seen the word "achigan" described as "ferocious" and in another case "the fish that struggles."

In the early days of our country there were no books written on angling because there was little time for sports angling. These early settlements were filled with church people and they were too busy building a life for their family to spend time on such a trivial thing as angling. In many villages and towns it was a crime to waste time at fishing for sport and the fish in the local ponds were considered emergency rations and were protected. Even as late as the mid 1800s books on angling were published anonymously or under pseudonyms by clergymen, doctors and other professionals because they didn't want to raise public scorn for the impropriety of such a book.

From 1800 to 1890 much of the literature on American fish was written by scientists and ichthyologists. This is called the Doctor Period of Black Bass History and Classification. During this time there were also some books by travelers who fished and hunted their way around the Eastern U.S. and Canada. Many believe the Smallmouth Bass was their subject when Charles Lanman, Lt. Campbell Hardy, and Samuel Hammond, all wrote that the Black Bass of the St. Lawrence is the "gamest fish" that swims. Englishmen Parker Gillmore and F.G. Aflala both praised the qualities of Bass in their books and both knew the Smallmouth Bass well. One problem with many books written during this period is the authors wrote of "Black Bass" or used another local name and failed to identify the specie. Here are some names used in books for the Smallmouth Bass; Achigan, Achigan Petite, Bouche, Black Bass, Bronzeback, Brown Bass, Gold Bass, Green Bass, Jumper, Littlemouth Bass, Ochigan, Oswego Bass, Perch, Redeye, River Bass, Smalljaws, Swago Bass, Tiger Bass, Trout, Trout Bass, True Bass, and Welshman. To confuse things even more, some of these names were also used for the Largemouth Bass.

John J. Brown's American Angler's Guide and Thaddeus Norris' The American Angler's Book were two of the first thoroughly American books on fishing for sport and both featured the Black Bass. Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, Henry W. Herbert, Charles Hallock, William C. Harris, and others also covered the Black Bass in their books but complete coverage didn't come until Dr. James Alexander Henshall's Book of the Black Bass in 1881.

When Henshall came out with Book of the Black Bass, the Black Bass was established as a game fish for all time. Dr. Henshall appreciated both the Largemouth and Smallmouth but in most of his writings he just talked of the Black Bass. Also, contrary to what many believe, Dr. Henshall loved the two Basses equally and felt it was the body of water that decided the fighting qualities of a Bass and not the specie. Before the publication of this book, Dr. Henshall wrote under the pseudonym "Oconomowoc" and went to great lengths to hide the fact that as a medical doctor he frequently spent time fishing. In his autobiography he told us that his medical practice caused him to travel the countryside so he always carried a few flies in his pocket. He had a bamboo buggy whip that served as a rod and once it was back in place no one was any the wiser. He later wrote that when he visited his patients on horseback he concealed a jointed fly rod in his rolled up umbrella. He also carried a click reel in his pill bag and had a fly book disguised to look like a prescription book that he carried in his coat pocket.

How about some trivia? In May 1902, the first story that Zane Grey ever sold, A Day on the Delaware, was published by Recreation magazine. This was not a western story but one about Smallmouth fishing and Grey later wrote that the thing he loved best and knew most was Black Bass fishing. He considered himself a Black Bass expert and agreed with Dr. Henshall about the fighting qualities of the Black Basses. He also felt his story, Fighting Qualities of the Black Bass published in Field & Stream, May 1912, would settle the dispute for all time. A 1909 Grey story, The Lord of Lackawaxen Creek, concerns the repeated efforts of Grey to land a "wolf-jawed, red eyed, bronzebacked black bass" who reigned over the Lackawaxen Creek that empties into the Delaware River at the tiny village of Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. Seventy-five years later this Smallmouth story was printed in a miniature book format and it will be included later in this piece.

The first book devoted to the Smallmouth Bass came out of Toronto, Canada in 1910. The Small-Mouthed Bass was written by a bait fisherman and college professor, W. J. Loudon, who based the book on his personal observations during the prior ten summers. Loudon suggests that the Jesuit Missionaries first used, in 1655, the word achigan to describe the Bass, this word coming from the language of the Ojibway tribe. Loudon covered distribution, food, habits, propagation, habitat, how to catch and maintain live bait, and angling methods. He mentions that in 1878, he took twenty-seven Bass with thirty-six frogs in less than an hour. Loudon also says to give the Bass plenty of time to swallow the bait so you can be sure of catching him. A meat fisherman for sure! Fifteen years later in 1925, Clarke Venable came out with Fleetfin - An Idyll Of A Little River. This is not an angling book but a delightful little book covering the life and experiences of a Smallmouth Bass.

During these early years there were scientific studies done on the Smallmouth by John R. Dymond, Jacob Reighard, Percy Viosca Jr., T. H. Langlois and others, but it wasn't until 1938 that everything was tied together by Carl Hubbs and Reeve M. Bailey. The Small-Mouthed Bass included all available scientific information with a short chapter on angling thrown in.

Still not much for the bookshelf but we'll keep moving forward, From the 30s through the 50s no major books were devoted to the Smallmouth. In 1935, Gunther Milton Kennedy provided the Smallmouth chapter in Mortimer Norton's Angling Success. Wallace Gallaher, Ray Bergman, Sheridan R. Jones, John Alden Knight, Joe Brooks, Jason Lucas and Robert Page Lincoln all produced important Black Bass books that included Smallmouth tactics and techniques. Lucas didn't differentiate much between the Basses because he felt the same methods would catch either when they resided in the same body of water.

The State of Maine published a little booklet, The Maine Smallmouth by Paul Watson, in 1955 and it is still available today. Over the years there have been several small booklets published by State Fish and Game Departments, some of them are: The Missouri Smallmouth by John L. Funk, 1958; Smallmouth Bass Streams in Wisconsin, 1964; Smallmouth Bass by Edward Schneberger, 1971 (Wisconsin); Major Smallmouth Streams of Arkansas, 1984; and Bass Largemouth and Smallmouth by Greg Breining, 1988 (Minnesota). Many states have also published information sheets, folders and reprints of magazine articles on the Smallmouth and they are available for the asking. The Department of Lands and Forests, Toronto, Ontario, Canada issued Smallmouth Bass by Hector H. MacKay. This booklet was extracted from the 1969 revision of MacKay's book, Fishes of Ontario.

 

In 2004 I found a neat little book from 1961.  Fishing at Stony: With particular emphasis on smallmouth black bass fishing . . . and . . . comment on the fishing history of Lake Ontario’s Stony Island, the Galloo Islands area, and Henderson Harbor.  No author and no publisher shown.  Tells how the Smallmouth  Bass become the fish of choice after the cisco and lake trout had disappeared from the area. 

 

BAKER, CHARLES G. – Mountains and Streams.  A small booklet done on his 75th birthday-July 4, 1965.  He states "I have fished pretty much all over the country, West, South, Canada and West Virginia. I affirm there is no fish equal to the Smallmouth River Bass. So here is a tribute to him.”

 

The Smallmouth River Bass

 

The larger smallmouth river bass

Is quite a wilely creature

He knows the tricks and uses them.

He must to stay a feature.

 

With all the dubbs and amateurs

who seek him day by day,

He has to use his tricks and schemes

To eat so he can play.

 

When once you think you have him,

You never can be sure,

For when he's hooked, he's at his best

In making you a fool.

 

He'll rub the hook against a rock,

And then away he flies.

He'll jump and shake his head so hard,

Your bait goes to the skies.

 

He'll take your line around a rock,

And when you yank him hard,

Your line is cut, he's free again,

You've lost him, lost him, pard

 

So hail the smallmouth river bass

His Cunning and his speed.

He has no equal anywhere.

The best of all the breed.

 

Patricia A. Skaptason of the U.S. Department of Interior prepared The Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieui); Management and Life History, in 1971. A Bibliography covering literature on the Smallmouth Bass written in English between 1950 and 1971. She covered 120 papers and books, mostly technical. Elizabeth Woodbury, also of the U.S. Dept. of Interior, revised and extended the bibliography in 1975.

The Blackbass in America and Overseas, by W. H. Robbins and H. R. MacCrimmon, was published in Canada in 1974. Not an angling book but I consider this the most comprehensive book on the Black Bass since Henshall. Subjects covered in the book are: angling; culture; bioecology; distribution; management; and fishing waters. Covers six species of Black Bass and I think many of you would be amazed at what a world traveler the Smallmouth is. Over the past one hundred years Smallmouth stocking has been attempted in most countries in Europe, also in Central and South America, Asia and Africa. Their range has also been extended to include all Canadian provinces and to all states except Florida, Louisiana and Alaska.

Darn, we've covered a large period and still have not stocked our bookcase. Them Ol' Brown Fish - Billy Westmorland on Smallmouths hit the bookstores in 1976. This was followed in 1979 by Hank Andrews' How To Fish For Smallmouth Bass and for the first time we had two Smallmouth books published in the same decade. Now we're starting to get somewhere. Westmorland had gained widespread recognition as a fishing guide and tournament professional while Andrews was a long time outdoor writer. Andrews writes that catching Smallmouth is easy, you just have to find them first. Finding books isn't always easy either, Billy's book is still easy to locate but Andrews' is becoming more difficult, especially in the hard cover version.

 

In 1981, New York Sea Grant Extension Program published Angling for Smallmouth Bass in Lake Ontario by Robert Buerger and Michael Voiland.  The booklet can be downloaded in .pdf format at New York Sea Grant freshwater publications.

 

In 1982, a Fish and Wildlife Reference Service literature search produced a checklist and bibliography, Smallmouth Bass. This agency stores reports and theses emanating from the Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program (Pittman-Robertson and Dingel-John Acts). The last I heard the FWRS was being eliminated.

Ontario Out of Doors Magazine put out Guide To Becoming A Smallmouth Master in 1984. The book contains articles from the magazine and was used as a premium for new subscribers. Authors are Mike Bolton, Bob Jones, John Kerr, Ken Masko, Craig Ritchie and James Stanley. This year also favored us with The Lord of Lackawaxen Creek by Zane Grey. A miniature book (2 1/2" X 3") published by Lime Rock Press of Salisbury CT Now out-of-print it consists of the Smallmouth story mentioned earlier. The year was topped off by Smallmouth Bass: A Handbook of Strategies, authored by Al Lindner, Dave Csanda, Bob Ripley, Ron Lindner, Doug Stange, Dan Sura and Larry Dahlberg. The book was also released as Smallmouth Bass Secrets in 1985. Contents of the two books are identical but cover and title have been changed. This book was complicated and difficult for me to absorb but if you want an advanced course on Smallmouth fishing this is the textbook. In-Fisherman Store

1985 has added importance by being the year Tom Rodgers brought out Smallmouth, a monthly newsletter and the first periodical devoted to the Smallmouth Bass. Changed to a bi-monthly magazine format with the March/April 1987 issue, the magazine continued through the May/August 1991 issue. This publication would return see later entry in 1993.

There were two new books released in 1986. Tony Bean's Smallmouth Guide by Tony Bean and Don Wirth and Smallmouth Bass edited by Dick Sternberg. Wirth feels he may have written more about the Smallmouth than any other writer and Bean is an expert Smallmouth angler, guide and teacher. The Sternberg book is part of the Hunting and Fishing Library (now called Freshwater Angler Series). He received input from all around the US and Canada. Many of the writers listed here were also involved with the expert panel that worked on this book. As with the rest of that series, the book is well illustrated with color photos, some full page.

The next three years brought us three more books for our list: River Smallmouth Bass by Dan D. Gapen Sr. in 1987, Books by Dan D. Gapen Sr. and  The Upper Potomac And Its Branches A Float Fishing Guide For Bass by Timothy A. Doolan.  Gapen is an acknowledged river expert and Murray has produced a book to answer any question you have ever had about fly-fishing for Smallmouth.  The Potomac River is a prime small mouth river from the tidal line at Great Falls, near Washington, D.C., to the junction of the North and South Branches, deep in the Appalachians of Western Maryland and Doolan concentrates on Smallmouth fishing in his book.

Established in 1988, The Susquehanna Smallmouth Alliance, 1635 N Union St., Middleton PA 15057, a conservation oriented group, publishes a newsletter, Bronzeback Journal, 10 times a year.  Then in 1989, Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass by fly-fishing master Harry Murray.  Murray’s Fly Shop

Smallmouth Strategies by Jay Michael Strangis with chapters by Chris Altman, Tony Bean, Homer Circle, Steve Filipek, Tim Holschlag, C. Boyd Pfeiffer, Thayne Smith, Louie Stout, Don Wirth, and Rich Zaleski came along in 1990. Quite a gathering of knowledgeable Smallmouth writers. The same year witnessed the arrival of Stream Smallmouth Fishing by Tim Holschlag. If you fish streams or small rivers then you surely will gain from Smallmouth expert Holschlag's book. 

Killer Bass Helix by Ted Vogel was brought out in 1990 by Big Dipper Publishers, Milwaukee WI. When a molecular biologist toys with fish genes, exciting and horrifying things happen. This fellow was trying to impress a new girlfriend by creating a better Smallmouth Bass for her. Starting with the Smallmouth Bass he decided to add certain genes from two other fish, the Antarctic cod and the piranha. He picked the piranha because of its aggressiveness and its teeth. He wanted a fish that could feed on carp and other bottom feeding fish. The cod was picked because it lived in excessively cold water and was able to feed and digest its food under cold water conditions. Unfortunately he added one gene too many and created a carnivore that escaped a holding pond and moved into public water during a winter storm. He had developed a Bass that was described as striking like a barracuda and fighting like a tarpon. They also ate like piranhas and were responsible for attacking humans before the story ended.

The Proceedings of The First International Smallmouth Bass Symposium conducted at Nashville, Tennessee on August 24-26, 1989, were published in 1991. Edited by Donald C. Schmidt, the book contains the papers presented at the symposium.  Another offering in 1991 was Russ Warye's Fish Sylvania, a guide to fishing the famous Sylvania Tract lakes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  This book is predominately about Smallmouth Bass.

Missouri Bronzeback News is a quarterly newsletter published by The Missouri Smallmouth Alliance, P.O. Box 325, St. Louis, Missouri 63088-0325. Established in 1992 they also maintain a Web site.  Missouri Smallmouth Alliance   

Ohio Smallmouth News  is the bi-monthly newsletter for The Ohio Smallmouth Alliance. These groups are affiliated with The National Smallmouth Alliance but each issues their own newsletter.   Established in 1993.  Ohio Smallmouth Alliance 

The Bronzeback Bulletin is the newsletter for The Illinois Smallmouth Alliance.  Established in 1994.  Illinois Smallmouth Alliance

In 1993, J. B. Kasper released Bronze Dynamite: The River Smallmouth. The book is based on his personal logbooks covering thirty plus years experience fishing for Smallmouth, the last dozen years as a guide on the Delaware River.

In 1993 Tom Rodgers resurrected his Smallmouth group with a non profit organization called The Smallmouth Bass Foundation. He created a tabloid sized bi-monthly magazine, Smallmouth! In 1994 they merged with the Bass Research Foundation and the magazine became The Black Bass Journal.

Organized in 1993 was National Smallmouth Trail, Inc., PO Box 566, Elizabethtown TN 37643, a tournament trail for Smallmouth only tournaments. They publish a bi annual magazine, named appropriately enough, National Smallmouth Trail Magazine. National Smallmouth Trail, Inc.

Jerry E. Sneath published Secrets of River Fishing in 1995.  The book covers bait fishing methods for Smallmouth Bass in rivers.  Jerry says the methods he uses will also take other species of fish in most rivers.  He claims to have taken over 75 Bass regularly using his philosophy of fishing.  

Also in 1995, Chris Beatty brought out his Susquehanna River Guide, although not primarily a fishing book this one covers a River with a very important Smallmouth Fishery.  I haven't seen it yet but there is a 1999 revised and enlarged edition.

 A Guide's Secret Smallmouth Patterns by Mike Mladenik is another 1995 book that was written by a Wisconsin fishing guide.  If you fish Wisconsin check out his web site.  In 1996, three years after the Kasper book, Smallmouth Strategies on the Fly Rod by Will Ryan was published. He suggests that Smallmouth have become the third or fourth most popular freshwater Gamefish in the country, behind largemouths and walleyes, about even with trout, and ahead of crappies, catfish, and pike. Lyons Press   Soft cover edition was released in 2004.

In the next year, Joe Bruce published his Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass, only the third book ever devoted to the subject.   Also in 1997 I came across two books by Pete Heley from Oregon. Both books were revised editions and I don't have the date for the first editions, they are Oregon Smallmouth Bass Fishing Guide and Washington Smallmouth Bass Fishing Guide.

In early 1999, Mark Hicks, Lake Erie Smallmouth, was published.  A good guide to this outstanding Smallmouth fishery.  The second half of the book includes 41 annotated maps showing hotspots.  

New Hampshire Bronzeback News – newsletter for New Hampshire Smallmouth Alliance.  New Hampshire Smallmouth Alliance

Virginia Blue-Ribbon Streams by Harry W. Murray came along in 2000 and covers the 40 best trout streams and 8 best Smallmouth rivers in Virginia.  Murray's Fly Shop.  A Canadian book written in French and released in 2000 is L'achigan à petite bouche (The Smallmouth Bass) by Jacques Lamarche.  I haven’t seen this book yet so if you know where to order one please let me know.  Wayne Carpenter published a book on Smallmouth fishing in Lake St. Clair Michigan in 2000.  No Secrets On Lake St. Clair volume 1  A second book is listed in 2005 below. 

The James River Guide: Floating & Fishing on Virginia's Finest by Bruce Ingram, which came out in 2000.  A floating and fishing guide, but it is certainly a Smallmouth Bass book. Other species are mentioned but for each separate section on the river he tells where to find the Smallmouth and the best way to fish for them.  Another, nicely done book is Russ Warye's Smallmouth! America's Top Bass Waters.  This one is (c)2001 but was actually released before Christmas 2000.   Fishing Hot Spots  

Another good book that came out in 2001 is Ken Penrod's Pursuing River Smallmouth Bass.  .  Ken Penrod Publishing   Also in 2001 is Chuck Tryon's 200 Missouri Small Mouth Adventures.  More a how-to-get-there than a fishing book but it would be very helpful to the Missouri stream angler.  Another new one for 2001 is Dirk Fischbach's Fly Fisher's Huron: A Practical Guide to Michigan's Blue-Ribbon Smallmouth River.

In 2002, Bruce Ingram brought out The New River Guide.  It contains 29 float trips you can take in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia with a heavy emphasis on Smallmouth Bass fishing.   North American Fishing Club published How To Catch Smallmouth Bass by Dick Sternberg in 2002.  Much like the full color books published by Creative Publishing and I’m sure much of the information came from other Sternberg books although it was edited by NAFC editors.

A Canadian book written in French was published in 2002, 101 secrets de la pêche à l'achigan à petite bouche (101 Secrets to Fishing for Smallmouth Bass) by Patrick Campeau. 

Strategies for Stream Smallmouth was published by the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance in 2003.  Separated into sections by season, presentation, and location.  Articles written by outdoor writers, professional anglers, and expert Smallmouth anglers.  Another new book for 2003 is The Delaware River Smallmouth Bass Fishing Handbook by Blaine Mengel Jr.

Smallmouth Bass Flies by Jeffrey W. Murray and Harry W. Murray was published in 2004.  Includes recipes and fly tying instructions for 21 Bass flies.  Murray's Fly Shop  Also new in 2004 is Smallmouth Bass and Streams: Thoughts on Fly-fishing.  “Stream biologist John Tertuliani applies scientific principles to dispel common beliefs about smallmouth bass and streams and helps you catch bigger fish than ever before.”

 

A great new book in 2005 is Smallmouth Fly Fishing by Tim Holschlag.  About twice as big as his first book and only available direct from Tim.  I recommend you buy it before he runs out and you have to pay premium prices to out of print booksellers.  Also in 2005, Smallmouth Bass by Dick Sternberg but it is not a new book.  It was printed as part of the B.A.S.S. Ultimate Bass Fishing Library and is a reprint of the original 1986 edition with a different cover.  The Missouri Smallmouth Alliance has also just published a book, Angling for Ozark Bronze, consisting of reprinted articles from their newsletter.  Not dated but they tell me it was published in 2005.  Available in September 2005 is a new one from Harry Murray, Fly-Fishing Techniques for Smallmouth Bass.  As noted above Wayne Carpenter published a second book on Smallmouth fishing in Lake St. Clair.  No Secrets On Lake St. Clair volume 2  Also released in 2005 is Philadelphia on the Fly by Ron P. Swegman.  This was recommended to me because three of the chapters are devoted to river and stream Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass.

 

The first Smallmouth book I heard of from 2006 was Fishing Secrets For Catching Trophy Smallmouth Bass by Marcel Hill of British Columbia.  Marcel is selling his numbered and signed edition, limited to 200 copies, on eBay.   Also in 2006, The Church Of The Smallmouth Bass by Cynthia Knowes.   Growing up fishing with dad who was a cranky but dedicated Smalmouth angler.  Reminded me of lots of anglers I’ve run into while lake fishing.  I remember one who never shut up all day and at one point accused his daughter of eating the worms. 

 

Fly-Fishing for Stream Smallmouth by Bob Clouser with Jay Nichols came out in early 2007.  Lots of color photos plus some Clouser Smallmouth flies along with recipes for tying.  Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing by Terry and Roxanne Wilson made it to bookstores in the spring.  Great news –Jeff Little’s long awaited In Pursuit of Trophy Smallmouth Bass: My Life In A Kayak is out now and available from the publisher.  I’ve also heard that The Schuylkill River Smallmouth Bass Fishing Handbook is coming soon.  I haven’t been able to find out who the author is yet (Blaine Mengel??)  Fly and Spin Fishing for River Smallmouths by Bruce Ingram came out early in 2008.  Also in 2008 an eBook by Nic Di Gravio  came out of Canada.  Smallmouth: 13 Lucky Spots

 

You'll only need a short shelf in your bookcase for the Smallmouth books we've listed here but the list is starting to get some size to it.. There are hundreds of other books that include material on Smallmouth Bass although many of them are mostly concerned with the Largemouth.  Also, the Black Bass is gaining such acceptance among fly fishers that many of the newer fly-fishing books include sections on Bass, particularly the Smallmouth.

Links to my other webpages

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BASS ON THE FLYROD

HISTORY

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EUROPE & AFRICA

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Updated  April 25, 2008