With our early June trip to see Jonny Petrowske becoming an annual one, so too is our stop at a fine smallmouth and walleye lake in the northern part of the state. If you’ll remember back to last year, we fished bedded bass earlier in June to the tune of nearly 100 smallies per day. While we couldn’t replicate last year’s success on the smallmouth, we found more than enough “other” fish to keep us satisfied.
As I think I’ve mentioned, I’m a huge fan of lakes with some diversity to their populations. There’s nothing better than fishing for a target species, then pulling away to fish a “plan B” that’s just as good as the original plan. In today’s day and age of species-specific rods, lures, boats, etc., I think it’s becoming more rare to find folks that are truly interested in just plain catching fish. In my opinion, they’re all a blast on the right tackle, and why not take advantage of all things a particular lake or area has to offer? So it was with the walleye population in this lake. As so often is the case with good smallmouth waters, the walleyes were present in good numbers and sizes where we fished.
The day started well, nearly 10 smallies on our first rock-bar fished. A few on top-waters, some on tube baits, and a few on crankbaits. These were scattered rock points and bars from 4-8FOW that the males appeared to be occupying. In fact, for awhile, it looked like we were going to have to title the report “Northern MN Bar-Hopping” as we continued to find fish from bar-to-bar. As the day progressed, the wind picked up, visibility in the clear water dropped, and we started to have a tougher go of it. We then switched to B Fish’N Tackle Super Do’s and in-line spinners. Colors of interest were pumpkin pearl chartreuse, bright craw, and catalpa orange, and they fished the same way that they do during a tough bite on the river. What was also nice, was that when paired with the H20 precision jigs, they were a bit sturdier than the standard hollow tubes we’re used to using. Combined with a smaller, more finesse profile, the durability of these baits was witnessed with smallie after smallie, and a nasty pike that was up swimming with the smalljaws.
All good things come to an end, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t find more good things. The wind, while being a curse to our smallie bite, was steady, and from the same direction. A quick study of the lakemap, and with Jonny’s expertise and knowledge of the area, we were able to put together a game plan for success on the windblown edge of reefs and rock piles. Biting fish ranged a full 15 feet in depth with 18-25 feet being productive with earlier lighter winds, and our best bite being in 8-10ft. of water when the wind was really rockin’. Who would’ve thought we could lindy rig right under the boat in 8FOW to pick up nice eyes in the 20-24” range? Another trip to the same lake two days later yielded similar results, with us being able to actually live-bait rig the sides of reefs while the smallie-casters could reach the top of the bars for bronzebacks. It’s rare to be able to satisfy everyone in the boat at all times, but when the bite is this good, we came close. Leeches and creek chubs on 6-8 foot snells were the ticket, with our larger fish coming on chubs. All in all, an incredible few days of fishing. Thanks so much Jonny for your wisdom and fishing experience, and thanks Pat for coming with, I had a blast!
Joel