Whether you are looking for action or trophy smallmouth bass, we have a destination for you below. These are some of the best smallmouth bass destination you will find anywhere.
Atikokan, Ontario
This part of Ontario is home to some incredible smallmouth bass fishing. Fish the bigger lakes and river systems for good numbers of bass and better trophy potential or fish the smaller lakes in the areas for some incredible action. Some of the smaller lakes are home to some trophy bass too though, so don’t rule them out. The lakes in the Quetico Provincial Park are home to some of the best smallmouth bass fishing anywhere. If you like a little adventure and don’t mind fishing from a canoe or kayak, you can experience some awesome fishing with minimal fishing pressure.
Go to our Atikokan, Ontario Section
LOTW Kenora
The Kenora part of lake of the woods is an awesome smallmouth bass fishery. Anglers that target them can catch a lot of bass. This area’s many bays, points and islands combined with all of the rocky bottoms will give anglers so many places to fish for smallmouth bass. Good numbers of 2 to 3 pounders are common and big bass in the 4 to 5 pound range are possible. The spring and early summer is the best time to fish for smallmouth bass. If you time it right, big bass will be all over the shorelines. If you know how to fish for smallmouth bass though, you will have no problem catching plenty of smallmouth bass from summer through fall. In the summer and fall, anglers usually do a lot better fishing the reefs offshore.
Go to our LOTW Kenora Section
LOTW Morson
Smallmouth Bass fishing is excellent in this area with all of the points, islands, bays and reefs that you can fish. This part of Canada has plenty of rocky bottoms, which is great for smallmouth bass. Anglers that target smallies will usually do very well for them, especially in the spring and early summer when they can be found along the rocky shorelines. In summer and fall, fish deeper for them on the drop-offs near points, islands and along the reefs and you should be able to catch a lot of bass in the 2 to 3 pound range with some fish up to 5 pounds.
Go to ourLOTW Morson Section
LOTW Nestor Falls
Smallmouth Bass fishing is very good in the nestor falls part of lake of the woods. In this part of the lake, the numerous bays, islands and points provide anglers so many places to fish for smallmouth bass. There is a lot of rock in this part of the lake, which definitely helps the smallmouth bass fishing. If you take a look at a good map, you will see all the awesome areas you can fish with rocks, points, islands and this area isn’t super deep, so the bass that are around are a little easier to find.
This area has a lot of smallmouth bass in the 2 to 3 pound range with big fish up to 5 pounds. Time it right in the spring and you can catch smallmouth bass all over the shorelines. In summer and fall, fish the deeper drop-offs and make sure to check out some of the reefs in deeper water. You should be able to find plenty of areas to fish and catch a lot of smallmouth bass if you know what you’re doing.
Go to our LOTW Nestor Falls Section
LOTW Northwest Angle
Smallmouth Bass Fishing is very good in the northwest angle, although, most anglers typically come up to this area to target walleye, muskie and northern pike. There are plenty of areas to target smallmouth bass and you have access to Minnesota and Canadian waters from the northwest angle. 2 to 3 pound bass are common in this area, but bass in the 4 to 5 pound range are possible.
Go to our LOTW Northwest Angle Section
LOTW Sioux Narrows
Smallmouth Bass fishing is very good in the Sioux narrows area on lake of the woods. Most anglers come here to fish for walleye, pike or muskie and bass are sometimes left out of the game plan, but for the anglers that target smallmouth bass, they know this is a great smallie fishery. The area islands, points, bays and channels have plenty of places for bass to call home and there are plenty of rocky bottoms that will hold schools of smallmouth bass. The spring and early summer is the time to come here if you want to catch them in the shallows. During the summer and fall, try fishing deeper drop-offs near the points, islands and along the reefs and you should be able to catch good numbers of bass. 2 to 3 pound bass are common with fish up to 5 pounds caught every year.
Go to our LOTW Sioux Narrows Section
Rainy Lake
The smallmouth bass fishing is excellent on Rainy Lake. It is one of Minnesota’s best smallmouth bass fishing lakes and the fishing is even better on the Canadian side of the lake.
The spring and early summer bite along the shorelines can provide some of the best smallmouth bass fishing that you can experience in the state of Minnesota. Anglers that know what they’re doing can catch good numbers of smallmouth bass with 30 to 50 bass days being fairly common during the peak bite in the spring. It’s all timing though, if you get here too early or too late, you may have to find the bass in deeper water. Time it right and you’ll have some awesome shallow water fishing opportunities. The summer through fall provide awesome fishing as well, but you will find more fish in deeper water.
Go to our Rainy Lake Section
Dinorwic Lake & Wabigoon Lake
The smallmouth bass fishing is good on these lakes. They aren’t the primary fish, however, if you choose to target them, there are enough rocky areas that will hold them and you can pick off a few fish here and there and you just have to keep hitting some of those similar spots. Smallmouth bass love the rocks, so find the rocks and you’ll find some smallmouth bass mixed in here too.
Go to our Dinorwic Lake & Wabigoon Lake Section
Eagle Lake
Smallmouth bass are a secondary species of fish on Eagle Lake, however, there are some very nice smallmouth bass in this lake. If you spefically target the rocky points, shorelines and offshore reefs, you can probably pick off a couple bass here or there and if you cover enough water, you may have a nice day on the water fishing for smallmouth bass. For most anglers that fish this lake, unless they run into a school of smallmouth bass, they will usually just catch these fish on accident while targeting while or northern pike. Some anglers do spend a lot of time fishing for smallmouth bass when they are in the shallows as they prepare to spawn. Reports of 20 to 30 bass days with some very big bass pushing 4 and 5 pounds are not unheard of during the late spring and early summer when the bass are in the shallows, but this is definitely more of a walleye, pike, muskie lake.
Go to our Eagle Lake Section
Lake Nipissing & French River
Lake Nipissing
Smallmouth bass are very under fished on Lake Nipissing, but they are here in good numbers and big fish are available too. There are lots of rocks here and because the bays are so large here, you don’t really have to go fish the main lake structure to find smallmouth bass. There are plenty of islands and rocky shorelines to fish without navigating the big water offshore. In the summer and fall though, you can find some large schools of smallmouth bass that don’t get hit hard at all on the main lake structure.
French River
The French River is home to some awesome smallmouth bass fishing. Many anglers may come here for the walleye or muskie, but there are plenty that come here to fish for smallmouth bass. The weedy areas of the river will usually hold plenty of largemouth bass and some smallmouth bass will be mixed in too, however, the rocky structure is going to hold most of the smallies here. Fish the rocky shorelines, humps, points and nice drop-offs throughout the river system and you will catch plenty of smallmouth bass here.
Go to our Lake Nipissing & French River Section
Minaki, Ontario
Smallmouth bass are available in good numbers throughout the Winnipeg river system. Target them along the rocky shorelines, points and on the offshore structure. They are secondary here, but this system has a lot of them, so if you want to target them, you can catch a lot of smallies here. Big fish in the 4 to 5 pound range are possible too.
Go to our Minaki, Ontario Section
Rideau Lakes Ontario
The smallmouth bass fishing is also very good on the Rideau Lakes Chain. So many anglers come here for the largemouth bass, but if you target the rocks and the deeper water here, you can catch plenty of smallmouth bass too. There are a lot of quality smallmouth bass in the chain as well, so don’t be shocked if you run into some 4 or 5 pound smallies here.
Go to our Rideau Lakes Ontario Section
Perrault Falls, Ontario
The area lakes are known for having good smallmouth bass fishing, so if you want to target them, you can definitely catch some bass. There are some trophy fish available too, but you are going to find more numbers here with bass in the 2 to 2.5 pound range being fairly common. Anglers do catch some big smallmouth bass here too, so don’t be shocked if you run into a 4 or 5 pound smallmouth bass here. In the clearer waters up here, use lighter line and fluorocarbon leaders. 6 pound test will work fine, however, you’re going to get bit off by northern pike a lot if you’re using flashy lures. So stick to the baits that pike won’t bite as much and you’ll do better. Soft plastic finesse worms and crayfish baits are great baits to use.
Go to our Perrault Falls, Ontario Section
Sioux Lookout, Ontario
This area is an awesome smallmouth bass destination, however, it gets overlooked by many anglers who come here to chase walleye or muskie. There are several lakes that offer good smallmouth bass fishing. You can catch them on Lac Seul, but not in huge numbers and on the Minnitaki Chain. Little Lake Vermilion also has some great fishing for smallmouth bass for numbers and some big fish too.
Go to our Sioux Lookout, Ontario Section
Temagami, Ontario Region
Smallmouth bass are under fished here by most anglers, but some people do come here to specifically target them. Lake Temagami has plenty of smallmouth bass if you want to pursue them. Just fish the rocky shorelines, points, islands and main lake structure and you will find smallmouth bass. There are plenty of bigger fish here too. With the irregular shape of Lake Temagami, you can fish all over this lake even on windy days.
The Marten River system is a good body of water for smallmouth bass too. Like on Temagami Lake, they are under fished here by most anglers as they pursue walleye or northern pike instead. If you want to catch smallies, there are plenty of bass here and some big fish too. Some of the other area lakes have some smallmouth bass too, but you won’t need to venture out to these lakes to catch smallmouth bass. There are plenty available in the main lakes up here. However, if you’re up for some exploring, there are some awesome smaller lakes up here too that have good fishing for smallmouth bass. You will need a smaller boat to get onto these smaller lakes.
Go to our Temagami, Ontario Region Section
Lac Seul
Smallmouth Bass are not a dominant species in Lac Seul. However, the smallmouth bass population has been growing in the lake over the years and in the late spring and early summer, anglers can actually target smallmouth bass in the shallows and expect to actually catch some fish. If you really want to catch smallmouth bass here, you have some options.
Visit the East Side of the Lake
This side of the lake is home to some awesome smallmouth bass fishing with decent numbers of them and some very big fish too. Some guides specifically target them on this side of the lake and they do really well. You can also fish the area lakes around Sioux Lookout for smallmouth bass. Some of these lakes have awesome smallmouth bass fishing available just a short drive from Lac Seul.
Visit the Northwest Side of the Lake
The northwest side of the lake doesn’t give you great options for catching smallmouth bass on Lac Seul, but you can go to nearby Pakwash Lake or you can fish the river system that starts in Ear Falls below the dam for smallies.
Visit the North Central Side of the Lake
This part of the lake is in the Perrault Falls area. You aren’t going to find lots of smallmouth bass in the waters of Lac Seul here, however, you are just a short drive away to some awesome smallmouth bass fishing on several lakes in the Perrault Falls, Ontario area.
Go to our Lac Seul Section
Georgian Bay Ontario
Georgian Bay supports a healthy smallmouth bass fishery. The parts of the bay with all the islands, smaller bays, rocky points and rock humps and reefs are where you will be finding the smallmouth bass here. You can find some open water fish too, but for the most part, the smallmouth bass are going to be where you find the rocks that have access to shallow water as well as deep water. The bay has a lot of bass and plenty of big fish are caught here too. There are plenty of awesome spots that will hold smallmouth bass from spring through fall here, however, the spring and early summer fishing is tough to beat. If you fish it hard, you will see some bass in the 4 to 5 pound range with bigger fish possible too.
Go to our Georgian Bay Ontario Section
