I live in Owatonna, Minnesota. I want to catch my first smallie around Owatonna or around Steele County. Where is a good lake around that I can toss my boat into. I usually use spinner baits and power worms to catch Largemouth, what do smallies like to most cranks? Please share some tips and some good lakes around Owatonna.
Thanks
Gimpy,how far are you from Lake Mille Lacs?2-3 hrs?It is a great smallie lake.Alot of live bait tactics will work.Also crankbaits in the crawdad color work very good.Best of luck.
Ryan Hale
Gimpy; If you are able to wade or canoe, the Straight River through Owatonna to Faribault has been produceing some nice Smallies for the past 5 years, as well as Northerns and Walleyes. I haven’t fished it this year yet, but it should be good. I always use big silver spiners (need I say what kind) and jointed Firetiger Raps.
John Eggers 
Can you get over to the Zumbro River? The SMB are usually snapping pretty good right now. We used to go there and stay at the Bluff Valley Campground in Zumbro Falls. They have a Tubing operation there. They take you up river about 2-3 miles and you drift back to camp. Lots of Smallies. All you need are black ¼ oz jigheads and white twistertails. (I’m sure K-Grubs would work too!) Cast to shore, into pockets, rippels, and turns. Lot’s of fun.
Jon J.
Gimpy,
The Zumbro river at Pine Island is excellent for numbers of smallies. It’s strictly a stream that you will wade…sorry no boats. Now if you want to try a relatively local lake that has smallies then give lake Zumbro a shot. BUT go upstream from the access and pitch jigs & plastics and rattle traps to the shoreline cover. Good luck. Oh, yeah the Cannon river has smallies too. Jon
Pretty much every river in SE Minnesota and NE Iowa is loaded with smallies. These are all pretty small rivers and boat access is pretty much nil, save a few that are large enough for a canoe.
The keys for me on these smaller rivers are rocks/rip-rap, current, and a little extra depth nearby has never hurt. I would suggest following JonJ’s advice – 1/16 to 1/8 jigs with a white twister swam over and around the rocks (current breaks). Rattletraps and small spinnerbaits work for more agressive fish, but it’s hard to get a spinnerbait to run true in heavy current.
Don’t forget that smallies are a very current tolerant fish, and they’ll hold in current that’s too fast to safely wade if they can find a break to rest in. Don’t be afraid to cast in there and give it a shot.
Rocks, current- i would agree. Keeping baits smaller and adding a touch of charteruse to white plastics has been effective on smallies for me. If you are fishing big rivers stay near the rocks with current and throw cranks, small spinnerbaits or small plastics (grubs) and hold on- they pull hard especially those hardened by living in or near current.
Most of your smallies around Owatonna will be coming out of the rivers, so you’re probably wading or fishing from shore. I’ve had good luck along the banks of the cedar river in Austin, especially right below the dam at Ramsey golf course. Try using rattletraps, but expect to get plenty of snags too! Also, with the rivers expected to rise, it’s going to get a lot more difficult.
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