Chequamegon Bay Smallies

I have spent years dreaming of chasing smallmouth bass that are thick and wide bodied. Smallies that are so disproportionate that its head looks small, their shoulders stick out and they even have chins. I have heard rumors of an area that I could find smallies like these……

Chequamegon Bay as is a 32,000 acre area of Lake Superior by Ashland WI. The “Bay” as it is called by many, it known for world class musky, northern pike, walleye, perch and smallmouth bass. The smallie fishing is in its prime from mid May through the end of June. Standard smallmouth baits consisting of crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, in-line spinners, tubes, plastic worms and even topwater.

I spent last Wednesday and Thursday with fellow IDA field staff Jack Naylor, fishing the “Bay” for its monster smallies. Being that it was my first trip I wanted to go with someone that had been there before, Jack was kind enough to agree to go with me. He has fished the area many times before, the perfect choice to show me the ropes of the “Bay”.

We got on the water around 1 and spent a decent amount of time searching different areas to fish. We found some fish roaming sand flats sliding up and down from slightly deeper water. The only problem was the numbers were not really worth spending time quality fishing as we were on a tight schedule. We were looking for bigger groups of smallies. We did find two amazing spots to fish that held numbers of good fish; the best thing was it was not in the flotilla of the other boats. The fish we found were starting to build nests, both areas were about one hundred yards long, and eager to bite. Many times if we missed the initial bite a quick throw-back would get hammered and it was fish on. I was having some line issues and broke-off a few times, when I would set the hook I would break the line and more than one time either Jack or myself would cast back into the area and land the fish that I just broke off, a great sight to land a fish that is holding both lures, as you can see from the photo. We mainly fished 4 and 5 inch straight worms on 2/0 wide gap worm hooks and 1/8 ounce worm weight. Tubes rigged Texas style and Sweet Beavers also caught fish. Colors ranged from watermelon, bubblegum, black, and of course white all worked, it really did not seem to matter as long as you were on fish. I did however have some fish that would just look at the worm and not hit it but when I threw the sweet beaver to it, it was inhaled before it ever hit the lake bottom. Here are a few numbers of fish that Jack and I caught:

2 over 21 inches

5 over 20 inches

15 over 19 inches

14 over 18 inches

7 over 17 inches

And these are just the ones Jack kept track of. Not bad for a day and a half of fishing.

I need to thank the WI DNR for implementing a one fish limit with 22 inch minimum. I also need to thank some of IDA’s members for answering my many PM’s about fishing the “Bay”. If it was not for our internet family I might still be floating around wondering were to find the sumo’s that Jack and I caught. One other noteworthy thing, since the “Bay” is part of the Great Lakes the Coast Guard has jurisdiction. Make sure that you have all the additional safety equipment needed to pass inspection: Flare gun, flares (check expiration dates), Air horn or CG whistle, distress flag and a marine band radio. Double check with the Coast Guard’s web-site for up-to date information.

Sometimes dreams can become reality and I am planning making a once in a lifetime trip into a yearly one.

Until next time,

Ron