Anybody Have Lake Osakis Experience for Bass

My first bass club tournament of the year will be out there on June 1st. I’ve been on the lake two times back in 2006 when I fished in a different bass club. I held my own in that tournament with Largemouth, but that was 18 years ago. If anybody has some insight or tips for bass fishing the lake I’m all ears. Both my boater and I am are far better largemouth anglers than smallmouth. From my understanding either kind of fish could win, is that true? Or is it pretty much SMB domination now at spawning time?

Go watch the locals and then push them out of their spots. Thats what it sounds like happens in the pool 4 conversation when tourneys are brought up.

Its been a real long time since I fished Osakis for bass . I know a few who do so and do well. The SM population has increased a fair amount in the last few years and some are rather big. I think a guy would have a hard time winning a tourney on all SM out there but its possible. Wish I had more Info for you. The spawn may be in full swing out there on June 1st. If I was fishing a tourney out there I’d be looking for bedding fish and fishing a bright colored stick worm rigged wacky style. If they are not up on beds yet, I’d fish areas just outside of bays with a rattletrap or a wide wobble crankbait for pre-spawn females. Maybe even fish a Husky jerk ( Blue chrome color is my favorite ) in the same areas or over weedflats close to spawning areas. Not sure if you are going to get a chance to pre-fish at all but if you do so and locate SM, Just remember unless they are bedding fish they will most likely not be in the same place come tourney date. That is why I hate relying on SM in tourneys. They move around so much they are here one day and gone the next.

If smallies are going to dominate, I don’t think I or my boater stand a chance. We have too many really good smallmouth anglers in the club and one of the very best in the state. He blew away the club record bag on smallies on the Whitefish Chain two years ago. If Tuma gets out for a day or two of pre-fish he is a guy who will be tough to beat, he is just too good with giant small jaws.

Bed fishing is not my game and I don’t think it is my boaters either. We fished the first tournament of the year together back in 2016 on a fairly clear lake and we didn’t do much searching for beds in pre-fish or during the tournament.

Good lord you guys heading south, we are fishing the 2nd and we will be heading to Roosevelt. That should be a damn fun time if the smallies are going.

It is the first time the club has ever fished the lake. They did fish Sauk Lake once and Birch at Grey Eagle a couple of times.

Bass Pundit wrote:

It is the first time the club has ever fished the lake. They did fish Sauk Lake once and Birch at Grey Eagle a couple of times.

We have been talking Sauk for a while, we just keep ending up further north instead of south lol.

The tournament in the books and Tuma won by a little over 5lbs. He was the only person to figure out the bigger smallmouth. My boater got 3rd place pitching jigs in 5′ to 7′ in emerging reeds for largemouth. He never culled once and got his final keeper with 20 minutes to go. I put the first keeper in the boat around 11 am, a smallmouth. I didn’t pack all of my hooks, so I didn’t have the hooks I use for toads. I improvised with Gama Ringed EWG, which was a disaster because they don’t play well with the Power Clip I use for quickly changing baits and hooks. In a couple of minutes span with about an hour to go I lost two ToadZ with the ringed hook when it came off the Power Clip when I set the hook into a fish. Once is a fluke, twice in a couple of minutes is a lesson learned, always tie direct with ringed EWG. Those lost fish pretty much assure this will be throw out tournament for the year. I finished 18th out of 20. Getting those two fish would have put me somewhere in the middle.