I am still on my search for a spot to take my wife small mouth fishing. Someone told me there were some lakes in MN that were small mouth reserve areas, meaning all catch and release. Has anyone heard of this, or is it just a rumor. I know of some guys that go to Canada and fish some reserve lakes for muskie, but I have not heard of one for small mouth??
Not sure on any reserves, but we have an abundance of smallmouth up here, and the season opens the same day as walleye/pike/trout in this area. If you’re looking for 20″+ smallies this is the best place in the state for them as far as I know and you don’t have to keep them if you don’t want to, but we would love it if you did!
If you’re looking for the perfect lake to get your wife on both numbers and trophy class smallies Mille Lacs is the place 
Rainy lake is also a good spot for smallies 
Don’t forget Door Co WI
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Don’t forget Door Co WI
Or chequamegon (yeah bad spelling) bay
Or, Sturgeon Bay, WI
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Don’t forget Door Co WI
Call Paul DeLaney after you watch episode one from this years IDO.
Pool 5. Call Schreiner’s Sport Shop in Alma for more info 608-685-4336.
Mille lacs use to have trophy regs which meant you could keep one fish over 21 inches and all others had to be released immediately. But our lovely dnr decided to get rid of the smallies because they were eating the walleyes. Oh wait their studies show they aren’t, must be politics then. On a serious note the smallie fishing can be unbelievable on mille lacs and later in the summer the river in the brainerd area can be amazing. If you are interested in the brainerd area I could hook you up with a deal on a half day guide trip and I could give some great info on places to stay and fish.
You never have to keep a fish
Contact Chris Beeksma, Chequamegon Bay. He’ll put you on some great smallie action. Get bit guide service.
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I know and you don’t have to keep them if you don’t want to, but we would love it if you did!
You should work for the DNR, maybe become the Mille Lacs Lake manager. 
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I know and you don’t have to keep them if you don’t want to, but we would love it if you did!
You should work for the DNR, maybe become the Mille Lacs Lake manager.
Not sure the angle on the sarcasm but here in Ely we have too many smallmouth. When it comes down to the amount of time and money put into managing the native walleye populations of many of the area’s lakes, personally I don’t know anyone here that would disagree we would rather a bass be kept than a walleye. And since we encourage the world to come up here for a fresh caught walleye dinner, it would only be fair to negotiate a similar offer concerning the smallmouth too! With hundreds upon hundreds of lakes with good smallie fishing, I don’t think we have to worry about them getting fished out. 
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Not sure the angle on the sarcasm
You would have needed to follow many posts in the Mille Lacs lake forum to understand his personl point of view on the topic. Don’t take it personally.
-J.
All good suggestions – I am still looking around for the perfect spot. I just had heard about a reserve area. Thanks
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All good suggestions – I am still looking around for the perfect spot. I just had heard about a reserve area. Thanks
Were you looking for a canoe or a kayak destination, or just a smallmouth destination with a boat?
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