Report: Reservoir Smallies Hot on Peavy…..

(click on pictures to enlarge them)

Finally…we got some warm stable weather for a couple days and the Smallmouth Bass really responded! I had the honor of fishing with Bob Lampi and his 15 yr old son Grant from McHenry Illinois the past couple days and they wanted some topwater Bass action.

We returned to the Peavy Reservior where they had some good fishing with me last summer. This body of water is fed by the Michigamme
River and lies about 12 miles north of Iron Mountain Mich.
The Dams were wide open the past few days and the levels are actually quite low, speeding up the much needed warming process. I rigged up Grant’s rod with a noisemaker (Heddon Torpedo), Bob opted for a small T-1 spinner bait , and I tied on one of my favorite finesse lures, the 3” Zara Puppy(Bullfrog).

We started on a shady , rocky shoreline ringed with reeds and wild rice. The Smallies were there and very active. After several fish in the 12-16” range a heavy 20 incher blasted my Puppy and really tore up my light castng rod and 8 lb test. We did a quick CPR and away she swam. That scenario repeated itself several times on more brown battlers.

The wind changed to the north as a cold front moved in and the topwater bite quickly faded. I moved to a steep hillside where the shore is solid gravel and usually has an abundance of crayfish. We rigged up some Chunky Butt Tubes(BFishN Tackle) on 1/8 oz jig heads and pitched to the shoreline break from 6 to 10 feet deep. WOW! We all connected on the initial casts with deep boring broncos in the 2-3lb class. Suddenly Grant set the hook and his 6 foot ML St. Croix Avid absolutely bent to the water and the drag sang an aria! After a great battle the big northern pike was subdued. Grant graciously released the big girl after this photo…the largest catch of his life!

I’m proud of you Grant…nice job!

I love to see young kids hooked on fishing. Take one with next time you get a chance!
See ya on the water!…Tom