To BradMtn & Meggy -
First of all *DISCLAIMER* - I am by NO MEANS a smallmouth expert, nor am I an expert at Navajo. I fish with several people who are highly successful tournament anglers on that lake. Take my advice at your own risk, and don't come to me for a refund if you get skunked, ha ha!
Navajo is a different lake than many you might be used to. It is very deep and fairly narrow across much of it. The primary structure in the lake is rocks, and there are 10 billion of them... everywhere... You aren't going to be able to scout the lake with google maps for cover. Looking for points is far more productive, but changes with water level. This lake is under Indian control, and they pump water out mercilessly (and needlessly). The lake is high right now, but dropping fast. They will pump it to below critical levels routinely. As such, there are NO hard and fast rules to fishing it. Smallmouth are notoriously hard to pattern here.
There are big largemouth in the lake, most on the lower end closer to the dam. They act just like any other largemouth. There are some areas with dead standing timber right now, as the lake is still high, and the largemouth will center on those. IF the lake is still high enough to cover the timber when you are here- pitch a spinner, worm, or jig & creature around the timber like you would on any other lake. The lake is deep, and drops off quickly, I would key in on shoreline structure, you won't find much fishable structure my scanning in deeper water. If you just want to fish deeper, find shelfs and drop-offs. But there are 1,000 of them, so the fish don't quite congregate like in other lakes on those features. There is just too much similar on this lake to make any one spot a "hotspot".
You will catch far more fish (in my humble opinion) by targeting smallmouth. They don't relate to structure the same way largemouth do in this lake- so throw that thinking out the window. They like rocks, plain and simple. If you see a rock, fish it (and you would literally have to blind to not find rocks, just cruise the shores). Fish all sides of it. Don't ignore the shore side- no matter how shallow. I caught most of my fish by pitching way up on shore in 2 inches of water, in some TIGHT little cracks you would probably ignore, and then pulling a worm out through the crevice. All I can say, is don't ignore the shallows in this lake.
What we did, and many successful guys do, is fish the first few hours of the morning by trolling up and down shorelines, fishing coves and shorelines. Don't ignore long stretches of bank just because they look benign. Pitch your lure right up to or all the way up on the bank, and work it back to you. A spinner bait is great. So are crank baits, especially craw colored square bill cranks. You want to rip that crank back so it gets down and bounces off rocks. When you get that craw ricocheting off of rocks, that seems to trigger strikes. Have a rod with a weightless senko rigged up. If you get a strike and miss on a crank or spinner, pitch that senko right on his head and dead stick it. Drives them crazy, caught several fish that way. As the sun comes up, the fish don't necessarily move deep, but they will orient to shade if they can. You can slow down and work areas over with a worm or plastic craw texas rigged.
SO MUCH of this lake is exactly the same, as you cruise shorelines, look for any transitions- anything that is different. A predominantly rocky shore that has a section of sand. A 100 yard stretch where there are no boulders, only river rock. Those smallies love that river rock if you can find it, I think because crawfish love it too. A big boulder in a couple feet of water is a great target, and not hard to find. I would fish any point with rocks, and any trees you see in the water as well (mostly hoping for a largemouth). I'll be in a cove with 20 trees and there is one rock with 10 smallies around the rock, not one on the trees.
There are definitely people who catch fish deeper, but I can't help you with those tactics. What I know is you need to get right down on the rocks to have a chance, and that is MUCH easier in the top of the water column (with is like the first 20' closest to the shore in this lake). These little smallies are AGGRESSIVE, so the key seems to be more getting the bait in their face, more than specifically what bait gets in their face. Though, each day is different, and they can be more selective at times.
If you are fly fishing for smallies, any traditional bass popper early am is good. Cast CLOSE to shore and work back deeper. A bugger or streamer ripped past visible rocks will work well too. If you need to slow it down, drop a bead head down cracks and the sides of rock faces, it can be deadly.
FYI- you have a likelihood of catching pike by pitching spinners back in coves. beware, they are smily toothy critters. There are also schools of salmon you can target, as well as catfish and crappie.
I hope this helps. Post a report! - Tight lines
