 The smallmouth will be in the shallows and on the nests in Lake Of The Woods in early June. You can catch a good number of bass working over logs and rocks along shorelines with a drop off depth of 14'- 25'. A little later on they can be found more prominently in shallower bays and sand beaches.
I use shallow running rapalas, rooster tails, meps spinners and beatle spinners. Also a variety of top water lures.
Crow Lake bass come to the shallows near the end of June. These bass are fantastic to fish. I site fish them and can remember were many a log and bolder lies. This allows the fisherman to immediately target a known hole because the smallies are territorial and will frequent they same structure each season for the most part. When the bass first make there way into the shallows you will not immediately find them around any particular structure. They will be just cruising. At this time you can catch up to 10 bass per day averaging 4'-6', all females. When they have made their nests the males will be in the shallows. It is not uncommon to catch over 100 bass per day.
Lake of the woods has some great smallmouth fishing as well. The fact that this lake offers walleye, crappie and some excellent northern pike fishing may out weigh the great bass fishing on Crow Lake. When fishing Lake Of The Woods for smallies, the fishing is not much different in how you fish smallies in other stained water lakes. Although other lakes such as Rainy Lake and small noname lakes are better bass producers.
Crow Lake, because of its crystal clear water, makes the bass fishing unique. This is mainly for the fact of site fishing. Smallmouth are easier to catch late June and early July for the fact that they are shallow and noticable. Early August and beyond is probably the best time to catch schooled smallies in Crow Lake. Same numbers of bass caught but more concentrated fishing holes. They are territorial in all respects, nesting and schooled locations. I find them in Sept. on deep drop offs were i found them 20 years ago.
Crow Lake can be a more difficult catch to the inexperienced fisherman than the stained water lakes because the bass are more aware and can be more easily spooked.
Iv'e also noticed over the years that one end of the lake will have smallies shallow wereas the other end will have the smallmouth undertaking a different faze or transition.
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