Yesterday morning I was fishing shallow rocks(3-6′) for about 3 hours. I got 8 smallies between 19-20″. A couple smaller ones and one walleye. These bass are huge right now and have a lot of fight in them. Find a big boulder and fish all sides of it. Always a fish on them, you just have to get them to bite, once you do HOLD ON!!!
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My family and I will be up for the first time next week. What can we expect? What bass baits should we bring? Any advise would be appreciated. Location, baits, even places to see off the water.
We are staying in Isle.
Nice Sticker! @Shawn someone may chime in w/ what’s working of late, but in general your favorite jig and plastic will work. There’s plenty of Rocks on all sides of the lake, so depending on the wind (hint: you want to stay out of it, if it’s kicked up) I’d head to the upwind side and find some rocks. If the wind is manageable you can stick close to Isle and go wherever you’d like. Isle, Wahkon, up the East side, and Garrison all have good spots for a drink or something to eat.
Tube jigs, Tube jigs, Tube jigs! Seems to me the fish are not on the chew as much as they are on the attack. They will smash anything that gets near a bed or some other territory they have established here during the spawn. Might be changing within the next week? Pretty easy fishing for the last 2 weekends for sure. 
-J.
Nice work Sticker, chunky fish there.
I will not be able to put the smack down on smallies until the end of June 
Tube jigs, Tube jigs, Tube jigs! Seems to me the fish are not on the chew as much as they are on the attack. They will smash anything that gets near a bed or some other territory they have established here during the spawn. Might be changing within the next week? Pretty easy fishing for the last 2 weekends for sure.
-J.
Exactly Jon. water temps are still pretty cool(57 degrees) and very few males were up in the shallows, but as that water warms this bite should get even better and when they drop the eggs the feeding frenzy should commence. We get a bug hatch int he next few weeks and top water will be on fire. I cannot wait.
Swim baits were also working last weekend and Ned rigs. We landed a 22” toad
I have been up there targeting smallmouth twice in the past 10 days. It hasn’t been lights out but every single fish is a quality fish. I haven’t caught any under 17 inches and the biggest has been 20.5 inches. Soft plastics (tubes, stick baits, and grubs) have been better than hard baits. I tried for a long time with jerkbaits and could not get one to bite. The water temp is still below 60 degrees. I have seen a lot of beds but very few fish on them.
Agreed, not many males in the bed area. When bringing the big girls in there is no one following. I just think it’s the cool water temps keeping them from getting going. Hopefully this week it warms up.
Soft plastics (tubes, stick baits, and grubs) have been better than hard baits. I tried for a long time with jerkbaits and could not get one to bite.
I have had good results with these type of plastics…in natural color. Hop along the rocky bottom with long pauses. Seems like most take it during the pause. You go to hop it along again and the fish is on.
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Nice fish Sticker! I tried for bass for 45 min this past weekend. Only throwing hard baits, nothing on X-Raps and had one on for awhile with a little crawfish looking crankbait (was a nice fish but got off by the boat). Should have tried plastics/jigs…. but my main goal was to locate fish for the evening, taking my my 6 yr old son, my mother, and my grandmother out. I found a nice pod of walleyes and we had a blast (and I was busy helping everyone!). My mother caught her personal best walleye 26.5″.
Need to find more time for some bass action though…..
I was out on Saturday after pre fishing for a walleye tournament. Decided to go try some of my shallow water spots. Boy were they on fire! 6 casts 5 fish. Drop shot rigs with Strike King Dream Shot plastic in I think it was called like pumpkin or watermelon.
It was going great till my buddy decided to fall out of the boat.
But rock points were my go to.
I honestly couldn’t believe it.
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