I have always been able to catch them (Smallmouth) when I target them, caught some this year while targeting walleyes. Tournament fishing is what harms the smallmouth population, they take the fish from their home habitat and then turn them loose in whatever port the weigh in is located (smallmouths are very home bound fish and are not nomadic like walleyes and perch are.). Next time there is a tournament check the area of the weigh-in or release area and see how many smallies are floating belly up in the next couple of days after the tournament. Please note that I am not advocating that tournament fishing be stopped or even limited just adding what I have observed with my own eyes.
Same thing with walleye fishing I managed to catch 120+ eyes this year in just 24 or 25 trips some were caught in July and August and all were caught in the western Basin west of the Islands. Like I have said before keep a log and record every day that you fish good or bad and then you will soon know where to start and about how deep according to the weather conditions and time of day, year ect. and your catch rate will be drastically improved over a period of time.