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Smallies on Lake of the Woods

If there is a gamefish in Lake of the Woods that receives very little respect, it is the smallmouth bass.  These hard fighting fish that rip drag and burst out the water without notice are in big numbers throughout the Rainy River, Big Traverse Bay and of course, the NW Angle and islands area of LOW.

Where do they reside?  First, let’s talk the Rainy River.  With over 40 miles of navigable and fishable water from the mouth of the Rainy River up to about the Birchdale access (and even further if you know how to navigate the Manitou Rapids by boat), bass are prevalent in many spots.  Rocky areas, bays, current seams and tributaries to the river are great places to start.

Bass offer some great shore fishing opportunities.  Try the Clementson Rapids, where the Rapid River dumps into the Rainy River and the Franz Jevne access, which are both east of Baudette.

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On the main basin, target rock reefs and island areas.  Most of the bass are caught in depths less than 20′.  Most of the smallies caught on Lake of the Woods are caught accidentally by walleye anglers.  The numbers are great and many of them turn into footballs, I mean really big bass.

Up at the NW Angle is where the 14,552 islands of the lake begin.  Literally every island has habitat attractive to smallies.  Rocky points, scattered boulders and bays are good areas to begin your focus.

Smallmouth-bass_Samantha_Sunset-Lodge-225x300Joe Henry bass Kiok_smallmouth bass_NW AngleDan Pfeifer, Smallmouth bass

There are many ways to catch smallies, but one technique that is effective in covering water until you find a good pod of fish is pitching crankbaits to shore.  On a recent trip in which we casted island shorelines with shallow diving cranks, two of us ended up with just less than a hundred fish.  About 20 of those were pike, walleyes and muskies.  The rest, bass.

If you enjoy bass and want to have thousands of world class bass spots to yourself, give Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River a try.  Just because walleyes get all of the attention doesn’t mean that is the only fish living in these productive waters!

Click Here for a list of Lake of the Woods Resorts.

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