Smallmouth Report

[Mr. Pike1]

I am slowly becoming a river rat. The river offers great sport fishing and for the most part very little boat traffic. We got out at about 3:00 and as soon as we hit the water had 4 smallies with the largest being 17". Right at that moment the thunder hit and rain followed. We tucked in under a bridge to ride out the storm. I was concerned about the fishing post storm and muddied water. My concern quickly turned to excitement as we found a sand bar that had drawn in the baitfish and the smallmouth. overall I would guess 500-75 smallmouth were boated by me and my fishing partner. Many more could have been caught but there were many times that both of us were out of hte water due to equipment issues. We each had 8 poles but still found ways to have unexpected down time. Tubes were by far the best producer. That was followed by the Senko, and tiger crank bait. Live bait and Mepps spinners also produced nubmers of fish. Anyway a great 5 hours on the water with the largers smallies going 19"!!!! I am hoping to get into some 20-22" pigs this fall.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Sounds like fun! Where about were you fishing?

[musky hunter]

Sounds like you had a heck of a day. I love bass, especially when they get above 16". I think a 20" is a real hoot. Now why do you think the smallmouth were so concentrated? Was there a forming mud line? Or was this slow water, or was a food source there, and what was it?

[Mr. Pike1]

Ralph- One of the joys of fishing is the thrill of the chase. I do not want to ruin your fun on the water so I can not give any specifics on the "where". My point of the post is do not overlook the great river systems in Minnesota. I think many forget that Walleye and smallmouth are native to the river system. We focus so much on lakes that we forget about the rivers. Be carefull on the river though as if you do not know the water you are fishing you could lose a prop to floating dead heads, rocks, or other bad terrain.

Musky- Your question I can repond to. I am an analytical person by nature and this comes across in my fishing as well. Here is what I observed. There was a good 30 minute down pour and as you know on the river systems there will be many drainage areas for water to be directed to. The sandbar in question was just outside of a drainage area. When I say sand bar I mean sandbar. I would guess this bar to be 20 yards by 20 yards and circular in nature. It is only about foot or less under water so you can clearly see it and it drops off around the edges to 8-12 feet of water. There was a light flow of water going over the bar and a few little eddys on each side. Tne water looked like chocolate and I also saw some bait fish in the area. What I beleived happened is that the fish gathered tightly around this area to get food from the run off and also to push the bait fish up againts the sand walls. In any event they were stacked at this area and most casts produced a hit. My favorite technique was to toss a senko (rootbeer or baby bass) or tube right on top of the sand or on the very edge and slowly let it fall or work it and you would get hammered. There were also fish in deeper water around the bar that would agressively hit the cranks. A fire tiger DT 10 rap was the ticket. Matter of fact when I complete this post I am running to Gander to get more just in case. My guess is that the deeper fish were staging and preparing to move in for food but the crank got them wound up and they struck out of nature. We have went by this location many times while on the water with limited success. I will make sure to make a mental note that post rain to hit this sandbar as after the rain it was a calling card for agressive smallmouth. It has only been a day off the water but I already have a desire to call in to work and head back out to sand bar as more rain is in the forecast.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I wasn't looking for a lecture or specifics, so get off your high horse. I was looking for a "Mississippi in the Cities" or "near Cold Spring."

[musky hunter]

Mr. Pike:

Great observation. Your catch was no accident. A hundred others would have gone right past that spot, and it's likely that a day after there might not be much at that location. Thanks for the update on how you did it.

[Mr. Pike1]

Ralph- I think you mis-took the intent of my post. It was not meant as a lecture or anything of that nature. so I apologize for the misunderstanding. Concerning the specifics you got the river right so select a section of the river in your area and fish away my friend.

Musky- Your poing is very valid. They most likely will not be there again today. However, anytime I pass this location in the future it will get some attention.

[Slyster]

I wouldn't think that giving away things as vauge as Miss pool 1 or Miss pool 4 would matter? Just my two bits. Must be thousands of spots on any length of that beast!