Lake Minnewaska Smallmouth Biting Shallow and Deep

Smallmouth bass are active on Lake Minnewaska right now, both shallow AND deep.

Traditional shallow-lure offerings like jigs and grubs, along with shallow-running crankbaits were working last week, and live-bait rigging for walleyes yielded, you guessed it – more smallies! Also of interest to the bass crowd will be the burgeoning population of largemouths that are holding a bit more tight to the deeper weedlines. Pike, smallmouth, crappies, sunfish – even a walleye or two were brought in on this multispecies gem in west-central MN.

One of my favorite things to do is not just fishing, but fishing something new. A new bait, a novel wrinkle to an old tactic, and most especially, new lakes. While we all have our favorite fishy-locations we travel near and far to on a regular basis, there’s something about putting in the time on a new body of water. There’s the pre-fishing study on the Lakemaster Contour Pro and Countour Elite software, the fisheries surveys, prepping your boat, bait, and tackle to reflect what you’d like to accomplish when you’re out there. The whole process is interesting to me. Oh, and then the discoveries. You get out there, look around with the electronics, and learn the utter subtleties which make that particular lake its own entity. You build on your successes, learning at first the paths of least resistance to active fish, and if you’re lucky, the road less traveled which yields bigger and better rewards. Each session is its own brand of learning. Sometimes the lessons are long and painful, other times short, and downright validating. Either way, you won’t escape the water without learning at least something, and THAT is what fascinates me.

In spending the first 45 minutes waiting for a good friend Chuck Nordahl to show up at the landing, I can tell you the first thing I thought I learned was that fishing this lake would be easy. In less than an hour, I’d found an active pod of what I thought were walleyes, caught a handful of decent panfish, one largemouth, and even had a walleye to the back of the boat. I was pulling spinners to cover some water, and was liking what I saw thus far. But as I was headed back to get Chuck, threatening weather started kicking up, and though it skirted us for most of the day, the wind was starting to howl….from the southeast of all directions. What once were walleyes, turned into active small largemouths that slurped live bait like I were feeding it to them. Time to move. Spot number two yielded much of the same, and though we were confident that a graph full of fish was the kind of omen we needed, nothing but bass would cooperate. Problem? Not so much. More like a “Plan B.” Smallies are great fun, and I’d more than happily take them as a consolation prize.

We picked the nearest windblown rocks in 3-6FOW and found action immediately. Chuck was throwing a #6 X-Rap Shad Shallow, and I stuck to a Custom Jigs and Spins K-Grub with a 3/32 oz. Precision Head plain. K-Grubs have always been a favorite smallie bait of mine because of all the options that you have when paired with a jig. Crawl it in the rocks, slow roll it, swim it erratically back to the boat; each has its own place and time depending on how active the smallmouth can be. Of all those presentations, slow rolling is the one I keep coming back to. Let that big tail and all its subtle vibration do the work for you. Fish a crayfish color, or pair up opposite colors like Black/Chartreuse tail for maximum contrast and visibility.

Or simply throw crankbaits. Admittedly a better windy-day-walleye tactic for me, crankbaits in shallow water work for smallmouths as well. Not just on the river either, this is a great presentation for lake-run smallies, especially when wind is present. Chuck’s first or second cast was immediately smashed….”Big fish, big fish…” Chuck yelled as I tried to position the boat away from the rocks, yet in a better place to fight him. Just as quickly as it started however, it was all over; the hooks popped free, and we were back to casting. From there, the jig and plastics really started to shine, as we took multiple fish up and down that windy shoreline. Like all good days, this one seemed to come to an end too fast. As daylight gave way to moonlight and that persistent stiff breeze, we had a burger at Water’s Edge while watching boats bob up and down in the dark. Looks like the next trip we’ll leave the smallies alone and fish eyes after dark!

Joel