Though smallmouths can be found in other areas of the state (including the Iowa Great Lakes), the streams of northeast Iowa are the center of their range. Photo by Michael Skinner.

It looked like a perfect walleye setup. The Maquoketa River was moderately low and clear by farm-country standards. A school of minnows -- probably shad -- darted around, occasionally dimpling the surface; everything looked just right. Anticipation ran strong as I cast a twister-tailed jig into the current.

Expecting a strike any second, I slowly bounced the jig over the bottom: nothing. Then, as I was about to yank the lure from the water, a fish darted out of the rubble beneath my feet, nailed the jig and dashed upstream. Fortunately, my line held as the fish turned and headed downstream, stripping line from the drag.

I was certain that whatever was on my line was no walleye, and my mind raced to make an identification without having seen the fish clearly. Maybe a striper? Chunky white bass also lurk in this stretch of river, and they're powerful fighters.

As I gradually worked the reluctant fish toward shore, it surfaced, but didn't flash white-bass silver. Instead, I saw the deep bronze of an Iowa smallmouth. After admiring the 16-inch bass for a few seconds, I gently worked the hook loose and eased it out into slack water to rest before it finned back into the river.

Ask Iowa anglers to name the fish that fights the hardest, and you'll likely hear a range of responses. Some will argue for a largemouth, a big trout or a lunker catfish. But anyone who's tangled with a husky smallmouth knows the truth: Pound for pound, the smallie is the sportiest fish in Hawkeye waters.

Unfortunately, relatively few people have caught a big smallmouth bass. Many don't realize that Iowa offers outstanding angling for this scrappy native, though it may be one of the easiest game fish to locate. Catfish, bluegills, crappies and largemouth bass can be found in nearly all of Iowa's lakes. They tend to be generalists, able to live in waters of varied environmental quality.

Not the smallmouth. With the exception of a thriving population in the Iowa Great Lakes, these are river fish in Iowa. And not just any river will do. Most Iowa rivers feature sluggish current, muddy water and a soft bottom -- habitat conditions that smallmouths won't tolerate. As a result of their selectivity, smallmouth bass are not difficult to find. To enjoy outstanding smallmouth bass fishing, simply locate a rocky bottom with boulders in any relatively clear river or stream. Almost without exception, smallmouth bass will be there.

"Although the entire state is in the traditional smallmouth bass range, they are essentially absent from Iowa's southwest corner because of the lack of habitat, said Iowa Department of Natural Resources fisheries chief Marion Conover. "There are some in rocky river stretches in all other parts of Iowa, but the absolute epicenter of their range is in the northeast corner of the state."