When I got my drivers license, my goal each summer was to explore and make as many new fishing discoveries as possible. It’s also possible to explore the body of water online before ever dropping a boat into it. Nowadays it’s much easier to locate lakes, get directions to access sites, and figure out a lake’s fishery. Today the internet, Google maps, the gazetteer, Fishing Hot Spots booklets, and websites such as Lake-Link and other online communities have simplified our trip planning, data gathering and homework. I was already towing a boat past many of them every day. Long before I ever had Google maps or a smart phone, locating small lakes had never been a challenge. If you want a shot at catching and releasing the biggest bass of your life without ever having to travel out of the Midwest, small lakes will be your best option, with many of them containing big largemouths that’ll never get harvested. Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of this many times. Hook up your little rig, and get into the small lakes you’ve been bypassing in favor of always fishing the most pressured bass waters. Leave the big boat and all the fancy equipment behind. Unless the town or lake association has an ordinance, you can get away with no wake or small outboards on lakes that are 50 acres or larger. Bringing a buddy makes the trips possible. Occasionally, portaging in thru the woods is an only option. At that point, we lift the boat off from trailer and slide it in. Always bring a buddy with on these trips, not only for safety reasons and company, but mainly for assistance and extra sets of hands to help with launching if the lake doesn’t have a suitable shoreline approach for backing in boat and trailer. Each gets me into the water where the roughest and unimproved access allows. modified jon boat with casting decks powered by small outboard and bow-mount trolling motor, or 16 ft. Every year, we make an attempt at fishing a few of these pot holes and exploring some new ones out of my 12 ft. Many trophy largemouth are caught from them annually. We have a lifetime of fishing opportunities with potential for bass in the 4 to 8 lb. When there is a will to fish, there is a way!
Many small waters are non-accessible with my large Ranger guide boat due to launching difficulty, but suitable for small craft and carry-in options. In the entire state for instance, there are perhaps thousands of them. In northern Wisconsin surrounding my home waters of Minocqua / Woodruff, we have hundreds of small accessible lakes within a 50 mile radius. These waters are best suited for small watercraft rather than large, expensive boats.Įach day we tow our rigs or drive past these unexploited largemouth bass paradises. Elsewhere in the country, small lakes might be a couple thousand acres, or nothing else but small artificially managed, or man-made private ponds.Įach year, many of the biggest largemouth bass are caught from small public and private lakes.
In the glacial regions of Northern Wisconsin, I consider small lakes to be 200 acres or less. Saturated and littered in between the largest, most popular, and easiest boat-accessible public waters are small lakes filled with bass fishing delight.ĭepending on where in the country you fish, judging lake sizes is arbitrary. Study the maps and landscapes of your favorite fishing regions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, or elsewhere. Due to their small acreage, horsepower restrictions, difficulty of access, or limited fisheries, they remain the least pressured waters and fishing destinations for truly giant largemouth bass. Small lakes abound throughout the Upper Midwest, and are overlooked to the bass fishing world.
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