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.
Marmion Lake
Marmion Lake is a good-sized lake and it is known for its awesome smallmouth bass fishing. There are good numbers of bass on this lake to go along with some very big fish too. It is one of the top lakes to fish for smallmouth bass in the area and if you like fishing lakes with a lot of water to fish, you have plenty of good smallmouth bass spots here. If you take a look at this lake on the map, you will see all the awesome spots you can fish with so many bays, points and islands to fish here. Pike and walleye are here in limited numbers too.
Quetico Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada and the Atikokan is located very close to the entrance of this park. The park is a world famous destination for backcountry canoeing with over 2,000 lakes. The park gives people a chance to fish, hike and explore areas in a more remote setting. The park is huge, so you aren’t going to fish the entire thing from Atikokan, but there are plenty of awesome lakes to fish here within a short drive from many of the resorts in the area.
It is a very popular canoe area and is also one of the best places to fish for smallmouth bass. On many of the lakes, smallmouth bass will be the primary fish, but with so many lakes here, northern pike, walleye, lake trout and perch round out the fishery.
Seine River System
The Seine River system gives you the best of both worlds; good river fishing and lake fishing too. The 5 lakes that make up the Seine River Chain of Lakes are Calm Lake, Banning Lake, Chub Lake, Little McCauley Lake and Perch Lake. There is always somewhere to go to get out of the wind and still catch some fish on this river system. The fishing is very good for many different types of fish. It is one of the better smallmouth bass destinations in this area and also has some very good walleye fishing too. Mix in the northern pike, perch and crappie and you have a lot of options for catching fish here.
Baril Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike and Lake Trout
Bass Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Boyce Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Companion Lakes
Walleye, Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass
Crooked Pine Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Crystal Lake
Crystal Lake is a very deep, clear lake with some excellent fishing for lake trout, smallmouth bass and northern pike. You can catch good numbers of smallmouth bass and lake trout here.
Elbow Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Smallmouth Bass
Eva Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Lake Trout
Eye Lake
Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass & Walleye
Finlayson Lake
Finlayson Lake is a long, narrower lake with so many great spots to fish. There are many islands, bays, rocky shorelines, points and main lake structure to fish. There is a campground on the lake. Anglers fish for smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and lake trout here. Many people will stay here and use this as their base camp while they fish many other lakes in the area.
Icy Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Kawene Lake
Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Lerome Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Lizard Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass
Long Hike Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Norhern Pike
Magnetic Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass
Moose Lake
Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Niobe Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Lake Trout
Nym Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Lake Trout
Plateau Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Premiere Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Sapawe Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Stanton Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Steep Rock Lake
Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Upham Lake
Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike
Windigoostigwan Lake
Walleye, Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass
Best Baits for Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth bass will eat a variety of different baits. Minnows, nightcrawlers and leeches are definitely the best live baits for smallmouth bass.
When it comes to artificial lures, you have lots of options. Soft plastic crayfish, twin tail grubs, worms and minnow baits are very effective. Hard baits such as crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinners also work great.
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Live Baits for Smallmouth Bass
Best Rigs for Smallmouth Bass
With so many different soft plastics to use, you have so many different rigs that work great for smallmouth bass. The drop shot rig, a simple jighead, standup jigheads and scrounger jigheads are some of the best rigs for smallmouth bass. To see our full list, take a look at our best rigs for smallmouth bass page.
Best Techniques for Smallmouth Bass
There are so many different techniques you can use for smallmouth bass since they can be found shallow, deep and anywhere in between. Anglers usually cast for them, but jigging, drop shotting and drifting are also some great techniques for smallmouth bass.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for smallmouth bass page.
Learn More About Smallmouth Bass
Our smallmouth bass fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our smallmouth bass fishing website to learn more.
