“Assuming it’s safe to get out there, how late in the year is smallmouth fishing still potentially good?” asked a Lake Ontario-based angler, at one of the many Facebook smallmouth fishing pages I follow behind the scenes. “50 degrees. Once it drops below that, it will become significantly tougher,” replied a Mille Lacs, Minnesota angler. “47 degrees is the magic smallmouth water temperature for me, but I’m a day’s drive south. They eat like sharks at 47-to-49 down here,” commented an angler from Eastern Tennessee.  “When water temps crash through the 40’s, I can usually still get a few decent smallmouths. Just depends on whether or not I want to endure the elements to do it,” replied an honest northern Michigan angler. “I’ve had a few special days at 38-degrees, but never done well below that,” proudly replied an Ohio angler whose home water is Lake Erie. The responses I read through in that thread were varied and diverse as every angler had an ideal water temperature for themselves and their fishing abilities, but not equated to their specific fishery and its geographical location. For fact, smallmouths in November ca