#Should ufish in schools for lunkers plus

MAN LAKE One group of lakes often bypassed by serious smallmouth anglers are those clustered just south of Leech Lake in Cass County. The nearest town is Grand Marais, or (218) 387-2524. Forest Service Campground at the east end of the lake, which includes a boat landing. Just remember, all fish over 11 inches must be released in Two Island. And if you get out on the water early enough in the morning, small topwater baits are great. Black and chartreuse combo-colored jigs and flies are especially good in the lake's slightly stained water. One area where I do well is around the islands and shallow humps on the west side of the lake. So targeting nearly any of the lake's numerous rock humps should pay off with fish on the line. In fact, Two Island's smallmouth numbers are nearly seven times as much as other area lakes. The lake's 11-inch maximum-size reg has done a great job of improving fish sizes while maintaining a high overall population of smallies. You can thank the limited-harvest regulations that have been in place on Two Island the past eight years. Now anglers are catching numerous 16- and 17-inchers. When I first fished this Cook County body of water in the late 1980s, it was hard to find a smallie over 14 inches. TWO ISLAND LAKE Two Island is a modest-sized lake that's a big success story. They offer comprehensive stream schools for both spin-fishing and fly-fishing. The best way to quickly learn the intricacies of stream smallmouthing is from the river experts at Moving Waters Fishing (61).

Lightweight jigs and spinners are great lures, and the Rum is also an excellent stream for fly-fishing. To obtain real-time water levels for Minnesota rivers, go to As summer wears on, the Rum's shallow riffles often make canoe fishing difficult, so it's wise to do your float trips early in the season.

The stream is floatable by canoe if its flow gauge reads at least 600 cubic feet per second. Highway 169 and numerous county roads offer a dozen access points between Milaca and Onamia. A shallow waterway with a scenic wooded corridor, the upper Rum has enough rocky substrates and wood cover to hold a lot of chunky 12- to 15-inchers. In fact, the 30 miles from Onamia down to Milaca is where most of the Rum's smallmouths are concentrated. It also means the upper stream carries enough water to support smallies. Fishing is best if it's been dry for at least a week. Due the to the fine-particle clay soils of the area, the Big Fork can run very turbid after a rain. O find the smallmouths, skip the areas with clay or sand bottoms and concentrate on rocky head-of-pool areas and eddies below islands. I've released smallies up to 20 inches in the Big Fork and heard of guys landing muskies over 44 inches. Downstream of this tumultuous cascade there are no dangerous rapids. Just make sure you start any trips below Grand Falls in the town of Big Falls. Seven canoe/small boat accesses scattered along this 50-mile section of river allow for day floats of varying distances. Flowing north to its terminus with the Rainy River, the lower 50 miles of the Big Fork holds big smallmouths, muskies and other species. The Big Fork, hidden in the vast flat forests of Koochiching County, is one of these little-known hotspots. Stevens recommends working the weeds with topwaters and shallow runners early in the day, then moving deeper with deep-diving crankbaits as the day progresses.īIG FORK RIVER While many smallmouth fans have their favorite northwoods lake destinations, few realize that northern Minnesota also has some fine bronzeback rivers. In the summer, these shallow areas often develop weed growth. But the humps around Sugarbush, Cutover and other islands are consistent smallmouth locations. He says the western end of the lake has a lot of clay bottom areas that hold more pike than smallmouths. In late June, Stevens moves to midlake islands and humps with rubble/sand substrates. In the spring and early summer, Stevens targets spawning fish in gravel/rubble bays on the east side of the lake.

Last year's Department of Natural Resources survey found robust populations of the species, and Kab smallmouther Don Stevens says he consistently lands hefty bronzebacks up to nearly 5 pounds. But serious smallmouthing will pay off on Kabetogama. Instead most anglers inadvertently catch the occasional smallmouth while targeting walleyes. And like many waters in our land of walleye mania, only a small core of anglers seriously pursue Kab's bronzebacks.

#Should ufish in schools for lunkers plus

LAKE KABETOGAMA Another famous north-country walleye destination, Lake Kabetogama offers much more than just plenty of walleyes.Īlmost surrounded by Voyageurs National Park, 'Kab' offers over 25,000 acres of beautiful wilderness water, plus dandy smallmouth fishing.