Struggling to catch Smallmouth on Mille Lacs

[rcguy]

I’ve read and heard how great everyone is doing on Mille Lacs fishing smallmouth bass but I’ve been out a few times concentrating on bass and can’t seem to get into them. I fish Mille Lacs a lot and have success with the walleyes but haven’t been able figure out the smallmouth yet.

For example, yesterday my son and I decided to try the SE corner of the lake. We fished in the rocks on shore out from Macs Twin Bay (where we launched the boat) all the way south into the next bay in water that was about 15 feet up to 4 feet deep. We tried Grass Island Reef, Popes Reef, and the rocks piles out in the lake like Banana flat, and the Graveyard, along with a couple of other rock piles in the area.

We fished with 8 inch sucker minnows on short lindy rig style set ups moving around the rocks very slowly. We tried jigs tipped with twister tails and fathead minnows or night crawlers and we tried casting spinner baits over the shallower rock piles without much success.

I love fishing Mille Lacs and fish it quite often for walleyes and hope to become more comfortable in my abilities to catch some smallmouth.

Hoping one of the experienced smallmouth bass anglers can help out with some advice on how to fish them.

Thanks.

[delcecchi]

I have never fished smallies on Mille Lacs, but an 8 inch sucker seems pretty big for smallies. Also if you are fishing rock piles, it might be more of a crayfish bite, so tubes or something might be better idea.

[Stick in Mud]

I haven't fished the lake much for bass this year, but I'm finding most of my good fish on deep mud/rock transition lines....about 24-26 ft deep. My best method, to be honest, has been trolling leadcore around while looking for walleyes, but it's a lot more fun to catch them on a drop shot.

[Redlineracer12]

I've been having about the same luck this year... Last year I did much better on the Smallmouth fishing. This year I started off with a nice fish here and there (never any numbers), but the last handful of times out I've only caught small fish (~10-12"). My favorite method is a jig and plastic, but since I haven't really been able to find the fish this year I've been casting a crayfish colored crankbait to cover ground faster and picking up the little ones this way. Large Rainbow minnows worked for me last spring, but I don't really monkey around with them during the summer.

[Juan Grande]

Yeah, people make it sound like catching smallies up there is like shooting fishing in a barrel, but it can be tricky some times. They are easy pickings if they're up on the rocks and feeding, but that's not always the case. You can find them stacked up in a spot one day and go back the next and they're gone.

They're being pressured a lot more these days and the shallow rocks marked by buoys is the first place everyone tries.

[mwal]

I haven't made it to the big pond this year. Remember big smallmouth act like pelagic open water fish when they are not on structure. Many anglers edge episodes go into how to fish for them. I have had success using them in NW Wisconsin when the bass disappear off structure. They are feeding on young of the year fish suspended in open water. Jim lidner has won smallmouth tourney in Ontario fishing for these suspended fish.

Mwal

[Juan Grande]

Yep, gotta use your electronics to find them and then drop shot shot them with minnows baits.

[MahtowaDave]

If nothing else works, try a leech and a slip bobber on rockpiles. I don't know how many times I've gone out wanting them to bite the "fun" lures, just to have to resort to the old reliable leech and a bobber. Early in the season, when the water is cold, they often won't bite anything else.

[tytlines]

I have been having a hard time this year as well its been 1 fish hear and 1 there not finding schools of fish anywhere

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I was up this weekend and it was one of the worst trips for smallies Ive ever had up there. In fact we didnt even get one saturday morning and after 3 hours we finally switched lakes.

Not trying to stir the pot just an honest question/observation. I know there are lots of smallies in the lake but two years now of launches keeping smallies, do you think its becoming a factor? We had a launch fishing near us at one point and they caught several smallies none of which were released. Im betting that every legal smallie gets kept by launches these days. My dad showed me a stringer photo from a resort with 4 smiling anglers with what must have been 20+ bass and not a single walleye. The schools that used to roam the rock reefs are getting pounded by every launch multiple times a day. They are getting kept and the ones that are not are adjusting there locations. Am I just in a slump my past few trips or do you think there is anything to my observation?

[Chad_Fish]

TurnUpTheFishing I think the launches taking a lot of smallies out of the lake is definitely making a impact but can you blame them they need to make a living and with such restricted limits set by the DNR for walleyes they are left with no other option! I believe the days of pulling up on a single reef and catching 30 - 50+ fish are in the past but the lake is still one hell of a fishery for trophy samllies we just need to work a little harder now to find em.

[workin4bait]

I made a trip to "the pond" Monday evening. The plan was to troll multi-specie style. That worked well until the lightening chased me away. A couple of northerns,3 walleyes and 9 smallies were boated in less than 4 hours[most of the fish in the last 2 hours the first 2 were kinda dead].I don't know if the numbers are down or the fish are so full they are not eating lures/baits as much,because all of my smallies had very full bellies. I could not believe they ate my lure.

workin'

[RumRiverRat]