Minnesota is home to game fish aplenty, among them lake trout, muskie, northern pike and of course walleyes. All can be exciting to catch. But perhaps no Minnesota fish provides the adrenaline rush, or is more sporting to pursue, than the smallmouth bass.
There's no need to travel far in search of smallmouth bass
July 6, 2016 at 4:07AM
This is especially true when smallies are sought in rivers, in part because quests in the Mississippi, St. Croix, Rum or a few score other Minnesota waterways often occur in shallow water. This encourages hooked smallmouth bass to jump even more than they otherwise would.
Additionally, river current makes landing any smallie challenging, adding to the excitement of the overall angling experience, especially when the angler seeks these fish using topwater flies or baits.
Fortunately, opportunities to fish river smallmouth bass in and near the greater metro abound. In some instances, anglers don't even need a boat or other watercraft. Here are a few ideas:
• The Upper St. Croix River: Fishing near Grantsburg, Wis. (about 90 minutes north of the Twin Cities), for smallmouth bass can be excellent. Plus, the scenery appears as wild as any you'll see in Minnesota's border country. Among others, Wild River Outfitters in Grantsburg (wildriverpaddling.com; 715-463-2254) offers rental canoes and also provides shuttle service upriver, enabling anglers to pass a day paddling back downstream to Grantsburg. Mepps spinners and a variety of crankbaits — both floating and shallow-running — cast toward show, behind boulders or on riffle edges can yield vicious strikes.
• The Lower St. Croix River: Fishing from Taylors Falls, Minn., downriver to Osceola, Wis., and even further downstream can be very good for smallmouth bass. Largemouth bass also lurk along this part of the river, as they do en route downstream to Stillwater and Hudson, Wis. Various livery services can accommodate anglers wishing to rent canoes on these parts of the river, and some provide shuttle service. See below for a website URL listing Minnesota canoe rental outfits by river.
• More challenging, logistically, is the Mississippi River between Monticello and Elk River. Fishing here for smallies can be first-rate, but you might have to rent a canoe off-site and provide your own shuttle. Add to your tackle arsenal for this part of this great river a few Gapen Ugly Bugs (gapen.com) tipped with a piece of worm or nightcrawler. Cast toward shore and, during the retrieve, lift and drop. The really big fish that whack your bait will be carp, the smaller ones smallies.
• Go online here for a list of Minnesota canoe rental outfits by river: tinyurl.com/jrcvnap.
Dennis Anderson • danderson@startribune.com
None of the boat’s occupants, two adults and two juveniles, were wearing life jackets, officials said.
