Deer River Area Smallmouth

Sight fishing for smallmouth doesn’t get any better than it did this past Monday on a gin-clear lake in the north-country of Minnesota. A mix of high sun and cumulus clouds with manageable wind, made cruising bass a fun target yet worthy opponent. I spent the day fishing with good friends Mark Stanley and Jon Petrowske of Outdoors with JonnyP Guide Service. Jon had heard rumors of a secret smallmouth bite in the area, so we decided to head over and try it out.

Within minutes of casting, Mark had our first hookup, and a dandy it was. A chunky 17″er resisted the entire way to the boat. That fish was one of over 100 smallies boated that day, most between 15″-18″. Our large fish of the day was a fat 19.5″ fish that went around 5lbs. Our forearms were literally so sore, we decided to chase ‘eyes for a short time just to recuperate.

Careful study of the lake-bottom map and more importantly, the aerial photos, revealed several mid-lake rock piles that we knew would go literally untouched by most anglers. These were noted, and we printed a copy for our pockets when fishing. By far and away, these were the rock-piles that held the vast majority of our fish. All shoreline-connected structure failed to produce as well as the mid-lake rocks.

Lure selection was basic, yet varied, with certain fish/areas showing specific preferences throughout the day. Earlier in the day when the sun was high, white tube jigs fished aggressively was the ticket. Shallow cranks and spinners yielded fish during this time as well. The top baits however, were 4″ power tubes in watermelon, and All-Terrain Finesse jigs with Canyon Craw tubes in natural craw. It was imperative to not hop, not swim, but ONLY crawl those jigs along the bottom. This technique yielded most of our fish.

I want to thank Lonnie Murphy of Thorne Bros. for supplying us with the critical tackle we needed for our trip. I asked him if he could point out a few top smallie baits, and if he fished them much. As it turns out, Lonnie fishes some bass tournaments and is a respected stick out there. I also wanted to thank Jonny for putting us on those fish. While self-admittedly not a smallmouth guy, the man has a 6th sense for any fish, being a 4th generation guide in the area. Mark isn’t left out either, his tinkering was paramount to revealing the top-pattern. What a day, thanks guys!