Mille Lacs Lake Minnesota Smallmouth Bass Report

I’d like to take you back to a conversation between my best friend Tom and I four years ago on a return trip from Canada.

"Well Tom, suppose the boys are old enough to start taking our annual trips with us?

After a long pause Tom replied, "yeah, I knew it was coming but wasn’t ready for it to be so soon."

A few miles down the road I looked at Tom and said, guess what buddy, it’s not about us anymore!

Little did we know how much truth was in this off the cuff statement.

Gone are the days of getting up at first light, fishing around the clock and in general, just worrying about yourself.

Now it’s a whole new ball game!

Two young novices now share the boat with Tom and I.

Toms son, 14yr.old Justin and my 11 yr.old son Cam.

Two outstanding boys who get along well and are slowly turning into be pretty good fishermen.

Two young boys who have replaced the solitude of big waters with constant chatter and questions pertaining to everything under the sun.

Chaotic? Yes,at times.

Frustrating? You bet!

Worth the trouble? A million times,Yes!

Arriving at Hunters last Sunday to blue skies and calm waters, we were surprised nicely by an accommodation up-grade. A cancellation made it possible to stay at Georges old house instead of staying at the two bedroom cabin at the East Side Marina. Four bedrooms with plenty of storage area made it easy to spread out but the X-Box adaptable big screen clinched the deal for the boys.

Stowing our gear quickly we rushed out to the lake only to find out the wind had picked up, putting a damper in our pursuit of the big smallies. The boys were rigged up with spinner baits and different crankbaits but no smallies came to the boat the first night out. The waves were a little tough on Cam so we decided to call it a day and regroup .

Earlier, the week prior, I recieved some tremendous info from Ron B-"Sliderfishn" on some smallie locations for the pond. This info, along with biting the bullet and picking up a pound of jumbo leeches proved to be the main catalysts in putting the boys on some terrific bass action! Normally, Tom and I would never consider live bait on our trips but we really wanted to get the boys in on something special.

Finding a shallow boulder flat along with glassy waters, the boys were entertained in flipping their slip bobbers in front of these nest guarding hogs. Sight fishing these cruisers were the highlight of the week! Watching two youngsters trying to get that first cast in in front of the other made for some of the best laughs in a long time. After awhile, while on the deck operating the trolling motor,I had Cam and Justin on both flanks keeping a sharp eye out for "cruisers". Tom had the back of the boat all to himself chuckling to himself while enjoying refreshments and once in awhile picking his spots and casting to nice structure.Yep,the man was stressed out. You have to learn to take it a little easier pal.

Tube baits produced through the week of course but when the smoke cleared it was the jumbo leeches that saved the day. Boys being boys and not having that feel for the jigging game yet, slip bobbers with leeches turned out to be very kid friendly. Gone were the constant snags and re-tying of lead.

My son Cam, still being very leech sensitive, put on a clinic on snaring leeches out of a pail with needle nose pliers and sticking them on a hook. Knowing Justin was quick to re-bait all but made Cams mechanical skills improve dramatically throughout the week. Cam took the ribbing very well and after awhile I decided to just let it go, afterall, I don’t think I was that fond of leeches either when I was eleven.

In one days time, both boys had their personal best smallies. The highlight of the trip came when the lads brought in a double that were netted in one scoop. Did I say net? You’re darn right! There was no way that these bronze footballs were going to have the upper hand (fin) on us. It was just too important in getting these beauties into the boys hands so they could feel the weight,get their picture snapped and be able to release them to watch them swim off. Good stuff,a day Tom and I will never forget!

A big Thank You goes out to Ron B (Sliderfishn)for pointing us in the right direction. You cut the learning curve down greatly for us Ron! "Just staff helping staff" is how Ron described it during a phone conversation. Now there’s a stand up guy for ya! That statement alone really shows how important this site is for fishermen needing info on strange bodies of water. I owe you one Ron,you single handedly made the pond fish just a little smaller for us and that is huge!

I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Carlson before Hunters take off Friday morning. Thanks for taking the time to chat for awhile Bob and letting me in on some terrific smallie structure.Best of luck on the rest of your season.

A week to remember for sure! The weather was perfect, accommodations were first rate, incredible fishing and the meals ranking up there as the best of the year. Did I mention the crew, well,let’s just say that more great memories were made with my son Cam and my other family, Tom and Justin Hore. Tom and I have been through alot on our solo fishing trips before the boys came along but after their arrival they actually have made the said statement,"it’s not about us anymore" a lot easier to live with. Thanks guys!