Smallie Lures for Lake of the woods??

[TrepMan]

Gang - on the back end of Tex and my (and my Father-n-law who's 81, and my 2 brother-n-laws) trip for Walleye and Pike in 3 weeks, We are spending an afternoon/evening on Lake of the Woods fishing for Smallmouth bass. We'll be in a 14ft semi-v with probably a 9.9 or 15hp merc, so no trolling or far running.



SO.... What lures and approaches should I take for late August in Canada on a big lake for Smallmouth?? Since we'll be fishing from basecamp cabin there is no weight restrictions like we have for the fly-in portion, so should I pack crank baits? Senkos? CR/TX rigged Worms? Help the ignorant Smallie fisherman!!

 

[Texas Transplant]

I'm taking some bandit 100 & 200 series in crawfish color. Not sure what else.



Tex

 

[Ken Neeley]

Tubes

 

[Bill McElroy]

Tubes, twin tailed skirted grubs......single tail grubs,...jerk baits, topwater baits...spinnerbaits and assorted tubejig and /grub jigs...roundball and teardrop,...1/8, 3/16 and 1/4....maybe a few 3/8.



Those fish up there are extremely "unpressured"...they'll hit anything. Keep the colors basic,....greens,..brown's and smokes. You'll have a riot!!:wub:

 

[TrepMan]

OK Tubes, never used them? Rig them on what?? "roundball and teardrop,...1/8, 3/16 and 1/4....maybe a few 3/8."??? Same with the grubs? Any suggested colors?



Same on Jerk baits - colors??



Spinnerbaits - colors? Colorado? Twin Willow leaf???



HELP!!!

 

[Bill McElroy]

rig the tubes with teardrop jigs,.......the grubs on roundball and /or football heads. Jerk baits colors don't matter that much.....it's a reaction strike and the water up there is crystal clear!!

No need for a lot of chartreuse...use blues/blacks and chromes!! Same with spinner baits...a few tandem willows and a few w/ colorado blades.



Keep it simple Trep...it's EASY fishing up there!!!

 

[Rich D]

Trep,



When are you guys heading up and where are you staying? I may be heading up the last week of August, can't remember the lodge right now... A guy in my muskie club won a trip but can't use it now. If I can round up a couple guys, I might take it off of him.



Rich D

 

[TrepMan]

Rich - We'll be in Nestor Falls (1 hour north of International Falls) outside of Kenora. We're flying up Sat Aug 27th to Nestor Falls (Through Minn, then International Falls and shuttle to Nestor Falls), we fly out to the lake on Sun Aug 28th, and back to Nestor Falls/Lake of the Woods around noon on Sat Sept 3rd, fishing Sept 3rd on Lake of the Woods.



OK Mac - GOTCHA! I'll print this out tonite and head SHOPPING!!!



Any suggestions on Cranks? Typical bass lures or the thinner ones like for Walleye? The only smallies i've EVER caught were up that way 1 year our fly in lake had them, all came on a green/yellow medium crank bait.

 

[Craig Roberts]

Jerkbaits in clown color. Twin tail spider grugs in smoke and green pumpkin rigged on a football head. Small spinnerbaits and in-line spinners (rocket shad, meps,etc). Most important, HAVE FUN!!!



Craig

 

[XMYTRUCK XMYTRUCK]

Mepps inline spinners brown tails gold blade..

 

[TrepMan]

OK Chris and X - I've got LOADS of Mepps spinners for walleye, trout and pike. So the 1/4 oz sized and rooster tails too for smallies??



And Craig - How can you NOT have fun up there!!!LOL



Man just gotta survive 13 work days, 3 work hours and i'm GONE!!

 

[XMYTRUCK XMYTRUCK]

I use size 3 for bass and a light rod tons of fun I also use size 4 and 5 for bass and pike

 

[TrepMan]

Thanks X, I know the dozen or so I caught 6 years ago were in the 5-6lb range and MAN what fighters!!! Then nailed my Crankbait and swam for deep water!!!

 

[XMYTRUCK XMYTRUCK]

I fish for pike evey year in mass, I went for them on saturday got two of them one was 6 pounds and the second one was about 8 pounds. I biggest ever was 44 inchs on 10 pound test no wire leader. Here is a Picture of one that I caught two years ago she was around 34 inchs or so..

Just remeber wire leader, Mepps bucktails and J-13 rapalas, and Huskyjerks are my favorite baits for pike..

 

[Tony Payne]

Trep...



I have no idea the color patterns for lake of the woods... but at night on Cumberland we've been using a "Cinnamon Red" Advantage jig (3/8) with a "Watermelon Spice" Baby Paca trailer.



if you use a 'Baby Advantage Jig" (5/16), you then want a smaller trailer, and we've been using the yamamoto craw in a smoke/red flake... with good success.



This is clear water, black shale banks or red clay banks...



Are you driving up? Cominng up I-75? If so, let me know your timing thru Lexington, we'll meet you for lunch and might have a care package for you.

 

[TrepMan]

Sim - I wish I had the vacation time to drive and stop along the way, but we're flying into International Falls MN through Minneapolis on Sat 8/27.



Hey if you have a care package, just ST me and i'll get you my home address!!! WOO HOO!!!



Trep

 

[David Heine]

Ok dude, I have been going up there for 15 years now, and this is the bread and butter that always seems to work for me ;



Lucky Craft Pointers in the zebra black & yellow pattern

Sammys, the 115 series, color is not as important

Sam Rayburn Red rattle traps - this is a must

small 1/8 oz buzzbaits



We buy orange permanent markers and mark the lures that have the right action , but need the color. This makes a big difference at times. Hit the gander mountain in Minn for the good deals on the way dude.

 

[TrepMan]

Guys - on the Jigs for Smallies. Are we talking skirted jigs (like I use but am NOT very good at for bass down here) or the non-skirted kind??

 

[Tony Payne]

I'm specifically reffering to the skirted kind....



The only way you get good at them is to keep fishing them...

 

[Dan J.]

Don't forget a few topwater baits. Frog and Perch patterned Super Spook Jr.'s, Torpedos, Nip-A-Didees, Chug Bugs, and Pop R's will boat some brownies like the one below caught last month below Lac Seul. (You'll notice in the picture the Torpedo hanging out the back that fooled her!)

 

[Texas Transplant]

I just gonna use whatever it is that Trep doesn't throw!



Thanks all for the comments. My 'cart' on Cabella's is getting full. Almost have reached my limit!



Tex

 

[Craig Roberts]

Non-skirted for grubs and tubes. And try some Bitsy Bugs tipped with a small twin tail grug,too.



Craig