Trophy Bass on a Rampage this Fall
Amazing! That’s probably the best way to describe the smallmouth fishing right now.
We have been boating 100’s of big smallmouth 17”-20” with dozens of them going 20”-22”! Anything over 20” is a true beast of a fish, so this year has truly been something special.
In all of the years I have been guiding I have never boated more trophy caliber fish.
To top it off small mouth are the hardest fighting fish pound for pound you will find in fresh water. I truly can’t think of a more exciting way to spend a fall day in MN than chasing this beautifully aggressive fish.
I’m still finding the majority of my fish in 4-10 feet of water near large rock or sharp breaks.
Really anywhere these fish can sit and surprise their prey is a good place to look.
My best techniques have always been subsurface, but this year especially top water lures haven’t worked well for me at all. I’d recommend the following, drop shot rigs, Mepps Spinners, crank baits and also live bait rigs.
All of these will catch fish this time of year.
The walleye reports are starting to pick up, but they’re still sporadic.
Most fish are being caught on a 1/4oz jig and a minnow in 12’-30’ feet of water.
I will be putting my concentration back on walleye in a couple weeks but for now I’ll stick with super hungry trophy smallmouth!
Until next time, good luck!
