Anyone fishing Smallmouth?

[Tripp_315]

How’s the the smallie bite? I’ll be up on Friday

~Tripp

[mbeyer]

Don’t worry, Tripp. I’ll get to the lake tomorrow and give you a quick report. But, when do the smallmouth NOT bite on Vermilion.  
 

They’re probably on the rocks, docks, saddles, or points…..

[mbeyer]

Smallmouth are active.  Signs of males making beds on the shoreline. The bigger fish just off in a little deeper water. Throw anything you like to catch these fish. I’ve seen these fish spit up crawfish when they’re caught. Shiney bottle cap would probably work….

[Brianf.]

I haven't been up to fish smallmouth  in a couple weeks.  My partner and I caught about 300 over the  course of those two days.  That sounds great - and it is if you like numbers. However, few of those fish were over 3 pounds and even fewer were over 4 pounds.  Most of our catch comprised fish between one and a half to 2 1/2 pounds.
 

I've been fishing the lake for 20+ years and feel that the size structure of the smallmouth in the lake has changed quite a bit during that time.  When I first started targeting smallmouth 20 years ago, half our bag seemed to be comprised of four pounders - and five pounders were in the mix with an occasional six pounder here and there. I haven't caught a 5 pound smallmouth bass in five years on Lake Vermilion!   They are a daily occurrence on places like Mille Lacs and in Door Co.   What has changed on Lake Vermilion?  
 

I have some theories about why the size structure has changed, though curious what others are seeing.  Anyone have thoughts about the state of the smallmouth fishery on Lake V? 

[partyonpine]

Brian

 

That is funny and shows how things are anecdotal.  Just got back from a week we caught as many fish as we wanted, however our average size was 16.5-17 inches.  While no 6 pounders we did score several 5 pounders.  We did not catch any or very few fish under 14  inches all week.  I was just commenting that the average size has increased substantially.  We were throwing larger artificial and live bait but again did not really catch any small smallmouth.  Fished smallies for 5-6 hours each day and walleyes at night.  Overall was slow but the weather was horrendous.  Did go home with enough walleye to satisfy me.  

[Brianf.]

2 hours ago, partyonpine said:

Brian

 

That is funny and shows how things are anecdotal.  Just got back from a week we caught as many fish as we wanted, however our average size was 16.5-17 inches.  While no 6 pounders we did score several 5 pounders.  We did not catch any or very few fish under 14  inches all week.  I was just commenting that the average size has increased substantially.  We were throwing larger artificial and live bait but again did not really catch any small smallmouth.  Fished smallies for 5-6 hours each day and walleyes at night.  Overall was slow but the weather was horrendous.  Did go home with enough walleye to satisfy me.  

Interesting...

 

You're doing better than most.  The biggest bass weighed-in during the recent MN Bass Federation tourney was only 4.33lbs.   The winning bag was less then 20lbs.  To have several over 5lbs during your trip is pretty special.   Congrats!  

Edited June 12, 2024 by Brianf.

[gim]

21 hours ago, Brianf. said:

You're doing better than most.

 

The guys in that tourney aren't permitted to use live bait though.  That makes a substantial difference.  Clear water and pressure with nothing but artificial lures makes for a difficult bite.

 

I don't have a theory as to why the average size of smallmouth on Vermilion is declining.  The common explanation would be too many smaller fish are gobbling up resources and there isn't enough for bigger ones, but that doesn't seem like a plausible answer in a big lake like Vermilion.  Certainly people aren't keeping plus sized smallmouth either.  That far north, it takes a bass about 10 years to reach 5 pounds/20 inches in size.

[SkunkedAgain]

Sounds like it's time to start keeping the smaller smallies for lunch.

[EyeWannabee]

After 15+ yrs going to pike bay lodge every June I have noticed many more bass anglers in the resort.  Also notice many 15-18” smallmouth in the cleaning shack.  I would estimate on a daily average 4 of 5 buckets of entrails are of smallmouths vs walleye or pike.  Not sure how it is at other resorts but if folks are taking the larger fish for fish fry it could explain the smaller average size of smallies being caught.  Just my 2 cents.  Largest smallie brought in my boat this year was 19” but fewer 17-18” fish than past years.

[leech~~]

I've never kept and eaten a small mouth and have only kept 2 large mouth my whole life.  One I mounted and the other I eat just to see what they were like.  But that just me. Well, I've never eaten a rock bass or dog fish either!

[CigarGuy]

1 hour ago, leech~~ said:

I've never kept and eaten a small mouth and have only kept 2 large mouth my whole life.  One I mounted and the other I eat just to see what they were like.  But that just me. Well, I've never eaten a rock bass or dog fish either!

Leech, let's try to keep this site PG!

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, CigarGuy said:

Leech, let's try to keep this site PG!

Church is tomorrow, you may want to go get that mind cleaned out!

[knoppers]

when I was guiding for Dan Gapen on the river, we kept the smaller smallmouth for shore lunch. they taste like any other fish.

[gim]

On 6/14/2024 at 5:40 PM, EyeWannabee said:

Not sure how it is at other resorts but if folks are taking the larger fish for fish fry it could explain the smaller average size of smallies being caught.  Just my 2 cents.  Largest smallie brought in my boat this year was 19” but fewer 17-18” fish than past years.

 

If this theory is accurate, then we've created our own problem here by keeping too many sizable ones and not enough smaller ones.  Its no different than the problem we've created with northern pike populations in many lakes that are full of stunted, smaller aggressive ones and lacking sizable ones.

 

Most fish this far north take a significant amount of time to reach larger size.  Removing these larger fish takes time to replace.  For many years, the regulations in Mille Lacs for smallmouth was only 1 fish over 21 inches.  Now, you can only keep fish under 17 inches.  I believe the regulations in this lake is what has made it what it is today.  Relying on anglers to do the right thing to overall better the status of a fishery rarely works.  We tend to rape and pillage for too long until the problem can't be fixed anymore.

[SkunkedAgain]

Generally I agree with your assessment Gimruis. Nobody likes a nanny state, but the harsh reality is that without rules and regulations far too many people take advantage of limited natural resources. There are those that will never follow the rules regardless, as well as those that don't recognize that as more people catch more fish, we all need to keep less.

 

I've eaten a few SM in my life, and they taste just as good as a walleye or northern. However, I would bet that 80% or closer to 90% of all people catching SM practice catch-and-release. Therefore I am not sure what a slot is going to do in this specific situation. Maybe the DNR has some good theories but I doubt the main culprit is the number of large SM being kept for food. I assume that it is a contributing factor but not the main one.