Mille Lacs Lake Smallmouth Bass
Mille Lacs Lake has quickly established itself as a world-class smallmouth bass fishing destination. The lake offers a phenomenal population of fish that maintain the action, while also providing opportunity at a once in a lifetime trophy!
As a local, as well as an experienced Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Guide, I get asked often: “What is the best time to fish Mille Lacs lake for smallmouth bass?”. In the following paragraphs, I will provide an outline for what to expect throughout the season! The TLDR is that there is such a phenomenal population of smallmouth on Mille Lacs that there is never a bad time to fish them on Mille Lacs!
Mille Lacs Lake is a very unique body of water. At 132,500 acres, the lake is relatively shallow, with a maximum depth 42 feet, and an average depth of 28.5 feet of water. There are vast areas with relatively feature-less basin, but the lake has incredible structure density and diversity. With many public and private boat landings, anglers are sure to find phenomenal fishing ground within a short drive from any of them!
Spring: Pre-Spawn & Spawn
Minnesota’s fishing opener is normally the second Saturday in May. This year it lands on May 10th. The ice-off date determines much of what you will see early season. On early ice-off years, there may not be much of a pre-spawn period. Smallmouth could be moving into the shallows and staging for spawn as soon as opener, but generally it is only a few. Pre-spawn and the spawn can be characterized by some of the biggest smallmouth that we will see, with many days with a great number of fish as well.
Most of the fish around fishing opener and the following weeks will be in deeper areas adjacent to spawning area. I generally look for gravel in the 6-12 feet of water range for early season cold-water pre-spawn smallmouth. When the water is sub 60, my favorite tactics are between small swimbaits, marabou jigs, and jerk baits. My favorite swimbait is the 4″ Keitech Easy Shiner.
As the water begins to warm, the fish will begin to push shallow to spawning areas. Ideal spawning areas are gravel bottom, where fish can fan sediment to reveal small patches of gravel sized rock, which provides an ideal spawning bed. Male smallmouth make the beds, impressed females will then drop their eggs on the bed, and the male will fertilize and guard the bed. Beds can commonly be found in wind-protected areas, and are often near a large boulder or item of interest. Bedded fish are typically very aggressive when on or near their beds. Generally, a dropshot or ned rig is a good starting point.
Summer Patterns
Summer can be characterized by smallmouth finding cooler, deeper water. During this time, my most productive depths are generally 8-12 feet of water but as shallow as 6, and as deep as 20 may be efficient. Some conditions will result in fish pushing shallower or deeper. As a general rule of thumb, days that are windless, cloudless, and hot, the fish will push deeper. Large boulders providing shade from the sun can be particularly productive. Cloudy, cool, and windy days may push the fish up a bit shallower. Regardless of these rules of thumb, I would not discount any depth in any condition. It seems like for every good rule of thumb, the fish will do everything in their power to break it!
The ned rig is a phenomenal summer tactic, and is always a staple in my boat. Dropshot can work, especially for those finnicky fish hanging around boulders out deeper. During bug hatches, tactics like a marabou hair jig, and topwater baits can be great tactics.
I find myself between two different strategies in the summer months. One is to slow down and grind out areas where I know fish are holding. The other is to stay active, and cover as much water as possible. The more effective strategy largely relies on what the conditions allow.
The Fisherman’s Playground
Mille Lacs Lake offers phenomenal structure diversity, with mud, rock, gravel, and sand for bottom content. The glaciers that carved this large natural lake left behind expansive reefs and gravel flats, scattered with large boulders. These areas provide phenomenal habitat for smallmouth bass, and their food sources!
Smallmouth in Mille Lacs Lake have a broad diet, consisting of fry of other fish species, minnows, but primarily craw fish. The tactics that myself and my clients utilize regularly mimic the forage, such as dropshots, small swimbaits, ned rigs, and marabou hair jigs.
Post-Spawn
Due to the vastness of Mille Lacs, the spawn often occurs over a longer time period. This means that towards the tail end of the spawn, you will find fish that are in all stages of the spawn. Pre, spawn, and post spawn at this time period. Post-spawn smallmouth can sometimes be lethargic while they are recovering from the energy expenditure from the spawn. Due to the variety of stages that you will find fish in, the simple way to overcome post-spawn lethargy is to find fish that are in different stages! Post spawn fish can be found in many of the same pre-spawn areas of deeper water immediately adjacent to spawning area.
Fall
As the waters start to cool, smallmouth begin to feed to create energy stores for their mostly dormant behavior in the winter. Target depth varies significantly throughout the fall. Generally speaking, the same summer areas in 8-12 feet of water with large boulders on or adjacent to larger reefs or gravel flats will be the most productive. Fall smallmouth can be temperamental with shorter windows of activity. Some of the largest fish that will enter my boat will be in September, into mid October. In the fall, the ned rig is still an option, but I often find myself reaching for minnow-focused tactics such as swimbaits, or dropshots. A favorite of many is rigging large live minnows!
Book a guided trip to shorten the learning curve!
Don’t waste your trip guessing where the bite is! As a local guide with years of experience on Mille Lacs, I’ll help you shorten the learning curve, help you dial in the best tactics, and show what Mille Lacs has to offer!