Mille Lacs Smallmouth Report July 10-14th

Looking back, I can see it’s been too long….too long since I’ve made a report here on IDO and far too long since I’ve chased a Smallmouth Bass on Mille Lacs Lake. If you’re reading this report, I’m remedying both those issues, post haste….

The wheels for this report started turning last March when I received an email from Wade Kuehl wondering if I was up for an adventure on Mille Lacs Lake chasing big Smallies. "Of course!" was my answer, although I don’t believe Wade could sense my enthusiasm by my reply email…

I must say, it was an unbearable 4 months to wait, knowing what potential that body of water has for Smallmouth Bass. What does a guy try first? Senko? The ultimate stealth bait, slowly shimmering to the bottom either wacky rigged or texas rigged. Tube? The professional imitator of crawfish from coast to coast. Or maybe an inline spinner? The pinnacle in last ditch efforts to try and entice a SM Bass into biting. However to start with one of these almost begs for things to go awry. Then there’s topwater. A roller coaster ride of ride fun with heart-stopping thrills and breath-taking turns.

So many options and so little time to use them all. But try we did. At times we failed, not quite miserably but sometimes close enough. Successes were abundant and the pics are showcases to detail our prizes.

Sunday morning, I kissed my wife and my kids goodbye and set a course for Isle, MN. Specifically, McQuoid’s resort on the southeast corner of the lake. It was a footrace between Wade and I to see who would get there first. I have to believe Wade would have those honors had he not blown a tire and was forced to stop.

Not long after we checked in, Wade and I had the boat in the water with our rods rigged with our best offerings for the Smallies that lay waiting for us. Our first stop was Flamingo Reef, a spot that’s always been good to us in years past. Yet again this year Flamingo kicked out a few good fish, but just not the numbers or size we are used to.

The rest of the day on Sunday we bumped from reef to reef pulling a few fish from each spot. The weather was shaping up nicely, but something seemed to be holding the fish back from spilling into a full-tilt feeding frenzy. Little did we know that Mother Nature had alternate plans for our fishing adventure. The skies were darkening in the west and the winds laid down. This day would be our best for targeting Smallies on topwater. I believe we boated about 3 nice fish on topwater. After the 3rd fish was released I received a text from my wife saying "OMG!! Get off the lake" There was a Rhode Island sized storm heading right for us. That ended our first day of fishing.

Wade and I spent Sunday evening at the Wharf watching this hurricane quality storm tear Mille Lacs Lake a new one. As I wondered what the next day would bring us, Wade asked "Does this place have a basement?" Simple questions as that one sure bring a guy back to the here and now….

The next day we awoke to a stiff north wind. This wind would hound us for that day and the next. We tried familiar haunts on the west side with minimal success and spots on the east with even less success. Mother Nature tested our resolve for 2 days in a row.

On the 3rd day, Ron Bukovich showed up and brought with him a nice east/southeast wind that favored our side of the lake. We hit the lake early with high hopes for a sweet early morning bite. Wrong answer….what is it about these fish that causes them to feed late in the morning? They’re like College kids who stay up far too late only to roll out of the bed late in the morning looking for a box of pop tarts to appease their hunger. I’m not sure I’ll ever understand that… These are no river Smallmouth. Although they could learn a lesson or 2 from them….

Our day spent with Ron was full of laughs, plenty of ribbing and even provided us some nice fish for the day. Ron showed us some new spots and even found us a class of fish that will eat a topwater frog primarily used to target LM Bass. That in itself was pretty exciting. This day would also yield us our largest fish for the week. Wade with a THICK 18" Smallie and me with a fine 18.75" Smallie.

Without a doubt, these fish are not the true testament of this lake. We’ve boated much bigger fish, but as I stated earlier something was holding these fish back. I can only guess it was the unstable weather conditions.

All told, we had a great trip to Mille Lacs. Wade got 2 new tires for his boat trailer and some new wiring. Me, I made it to the lake and back home with a truck running on worn out sparkplugs and a weak fuel pump. As I told Wade, the trip would be a roaring success if I made it back home. As I pulled into my driveway on Friday, I deemed this trip a roaring sucsess.

We caught a bunch of fish on tubes & senkos with some topwater mixed in. But I must admit the trip was most likely doomed when Wade hooked a nice Smallie on an inline spinner while fishing the first day. I mean really….??? Who throws a ‘last-ditch’ bait on the very first day…??

Thanks to Wade for setting this trip up. I had a great time and can’t wait to do it again. McQuoid’s resort is a topnotch destination for those who wish to stay on the south end of the lake. I highly recommend them to anyone who’s looking to stay on the lake.

Special thanks to Ron for showing up on Wednesday and making it the whole day with Wade and I. That takes dedication…. I even promise not to tell James you brought cookies.

Thanks again!!!