After a poor week of rain and subpar temperatures, Memorial Day happened to be a gorgeous day with very little wind. With this kind of weather the opportunity presented itself to go fish one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the Midwest, Lake Mille Lacs. The temperature outside was right around 80 degrees, and the water temps being anywhere from 63.7 to 64.5 indicated to us that sight fishing for smallies on beds would be the best way to catch them.
 

When bed fishing for spawning bronzebacks, you want to look for boulder piles and rock spines in 4-10 feet of water. Sand on the edge of the rock spines would be the ideal bottom for these fish to make a bed. Smallmouth beds are typically darker colored in a circular shape and are usually found right off the edge of the rock shelves where the sand meets the rocks. We were seeing the most fish in 5 to 7 feet of water. Almost every fish was caught by using the drop shot rigged with a size 1 to 1/O Gamakatsu Drop Shot / Split Shot Hook with a ¼ – ⅜ oz round drop shot weight. The length between the weight and the hook should be 6-10 inches, because this is adequate for bed fishing keeping the bait closer to the bed. Natural colored 4-inch senkos/stick worm plastics worked the best nose hooked or wacky style.
 

Matt’s setup was a 702sf Champion XP Dobyns Rod with 10 lb test sunline SX1 with a 6 foot, 10 lb test fluorocarbon leader on a Daiwa Lexa 3000 spinning reel. Bo’s setup was a 703sf Fury Dobyns Rod with 10 lb test power pro, also with a 6 foot fluorocarbon leader on a Daiwa Exceler 3000 spinning reel. Although the spawn period is a short time window, it can be some of the most exciting fishing of the year that produces large fish and fun times.
 

We hope you take this information into consideration next time you fish for spawning smallmouths. Always remember to handle these fish with care and to release them where they were caught in order to preserve this great smallmouth fishery.
 

Bo Brauer
Team Yukon Outdoors