Smallmouth up by Ely

[onthefly]

Fished Shagawa this weekend with not much luck. In 1.5 days I landed one nice fish (18" - a blast on 4 lb test!) and maybe 5 that were 6-10".

What's a good tactic to finding the good-sized fish? We fished floating Rapala's and spinner baits around underwater rocks and islands in 0 to 8' of water.

Does the mayfly hatch really mess up the fish's eating habits? If so, we could have been victim to that. Mayflies were everywere.

Any pointers would be welcome. This isn't my first time being skunked or almost skunked up there.

[rodmaker]

We usually spend a week in July (not this year though). We stay at Timbertrail Lodge. And fish Farm. We catch our Smallies up until last year, slip bobbering with tiny glow jigs and jumbo leeches on the rocks Walleye fishing.

Some of our biggest Smallies have come this way, two years ago a 20" released. Alot of 15-18 inch fish also.

Last year I tried trolling Shad Raps for Walleyes and Smallies to try something new. This worked awesome for both. Shad raps or Husky jerks worked well in rocky areas. Perch, crawdad, chromes, firetiger were colors that worked well. I released a Smallie last year doing this that was over 21". It's a easy productive way to fish covering lots of water.

[JBMasterAngler]

I caught lot's of smallies with jointed crankbaits while trolling for walleyes last month in the grand marais area. I was getting them in the 10 to 14 ft. range along the shorelines. I was using black shad and blue shad colors, crayfish colors would probably work best. I like using 3" white/cream colored power grubs also...I find they work better in bog stained or darker water (as opposed to crystal clear lakes). I've caught numerour 2+ pounders using them, but if you want BIG trophies you could up it to 4" grubs.

Rodmaker is right on the money when he says slip bobbers and leeches will catch you some big'uns. The one downfall to that is bass are expert thieves (even if you double hook the leeches) and you'll have to contend with lot's of small ones and lot's of lost bait.

[rodmaker]

I feel with the tiny glow jig, the Smallies really hammer them, and alot of times you can just give them the rod tip after the bobber goes down, and then set the hook.

I always use 6lb test.

I would really give trolling cranks a try. When I tried this last year on Farm. I caught fish all day long. Starting at 11:00 am. We would catch 3 to 5 fish in an hour to hour and a half or so doing this. Even tjhrough the entire afternoon. We caught the Eyes & Smallies in anywhere from 5-18 ft. Have different sizes of Shad raps, husky jerks to cover these depths.If fishing around 20-24 ft. Give the size 9 deep tail dancer a try.

[somann]

We were camping at Silver Rapids Lodge, and had a cabin near the bridge last weekend. Just for shiggles my brother and I tossed a few lures off shore and without much effort pulled in smallmouth. My brother hooked a hog with a mepps spinner that was 20" and really girthy. I would post a picture, but I dont see a way to upload pics without a URL.

[Gritz]

Can anyone recommed a resort (cabin) on a smallmouth lake in the Ely area? I get to go north once a year, the third week of June, and have been going to Rainy Lake. Next year I would like to consider a smaller lake in the Ely area that has a decent population of smallmouth. Any comments / recommendations would be appreciated.

[Fish&Fowl]

Little Long Lake just up the echo trail from Ely has some nice smallies and a few bucket-mouths as well. It is a very clear lake and would probably be best fished in low-light conditions. Shig-Wak resort is the only one on the lake. If you've been previously coming to Rainy...well I'll just keep my biased opinion to myself

[fishmarket]

Hey Gritz, where did you stay on Rainy?? Thinking about going there next year. Where in Indiana are you?

[rodmaker]

contact Bill at Timbertrail lodge. They are on a chain of Farm, South Farm, Garden & White Iron.

[Gritz]

Fishmarket - I have always stayed at Island View Lodge each of the 6 or 7 years I have driven up there from Carmel. IVL is about 11 miles east of International Falls. I like the location relative to the spots I fish. I have only a 14-foot Lund with a 25-hp motor, so I can't go too far from IVL. IVL is located at the entrance to Black Bay and is within distance (for me) of Sand Bay to the west and Cranberry Bay to the east. Larger boats often go all the way east to Brule Narrows. Go the the Rainy Lake forum - it has great information.

[Great Outdoors]

Very nice smallies on Burntside the last few days, up to 20 inches. About 10-15 feet on reefs or flats in the middle of the lake. Walleye totally shut down Thursday evening after a thunder storm.

[fishmarket]

Gritz,

my email is [email protected] live on the north side of Indy, would like to compare notes on IVL..thanks