Lake Simcoe is home to a lot more smallmouth bass than largemouth bass, but you can definitely target largemouth bass here and catch them. Many anglers will head over to Holland River on the south side of the lake connected to Cook’s Bay. The river has a lot of weed growth with some wood and largemouth bass are more abundant there. On the lake, fish the boat docks and weed edges around the miles of shoreline here and you’ll run into some largemouth bass.
Clear Water Fishing
The water here is very clear, which may make the fishing here difficult for anglers who like to fish for largemouth bass with heavier gear. With the clear water, get rid of the braided line and use monofilament or fluorocarbon line. You can also just use a fluorocarbon leader with monofilament line. Because northern pike like to eat many of the popular largemouth bass lures, some anglers don’t want to go real finesse so they will stay with 20 to 30 pound line with a 40 pound or heavier fluorocarbon leader. This will get them more bites from largemouth bass without getting bit off from the pike that are here.
Fish the Bays
Cook’s Bay
Cook’s Bay has a good combination of shallower water with vegetation and some deeper water too. For some largemouth bass, Cook’s Bay gives them pretty much everything they need, so they stay in this part of the lake for most of the open water fishing season. Target the shoreline cover in this part of the lake and you’ll find plenty of largemouth bass. Once summer patterns set in, the deeper weed lines are very productive, but they can be much deeper on Lake Simcoe due to the very clear water.
Kempenfelt Bay
This deep water bay is popular among anglers who like to fish for lake trout. There is a lot of quality shoreline to fish here as well though for largemouth bass. Whether you are targeting the weeds, rocks, docks or other shoreline cover, there are plenty of largemouth bass to catch in this bay as well.
Fish the Islands
Some of the islands have some very good shoreline cover. Whether you are fishing the weed edges, the rocks or the docks, you can find some largemouth bass around many of the islands.
Fish the Points
There are some major points on Lake Simcoe and these structures will hold just about everything that swims in the lake at some point throughout the fishing season. Largemouth bass can be found here too.
Fish Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching has a lot of good shoreline cover with weeds, rocks, docks and more. There is also a decent population of largemouth bass in here too, so you can definitely target them and expect to catch some largemouth bass.
Fish Holland River
Holland River is located on the south end of Lake Simcoe in Cook’s Bay. It is considered an excellent spot to target largemouth bass. From spring through fall, there will be largemouth bass in the river around all types of shoreline cover. You will find a lot of vegetation here with plenty of wood too. Fish the cover and expect to catch some largemouth bass. The water is murkier here as well, so you can get away with heavier line here with no problem.
Best Baits for Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass will eat so many different baits and there are so many different lures that are made for catching these fish. Anglers have more options than they really need, but since we have all these options, it’s nice to know about the different baits that are available.
Minnows, nightcrawlers and leeches are definitely the best live baits for largemouth bass. When it comes to artificial lures, you have so many options. Soft plastic worms, lizards, crayfish baits and minnows work great. Hard baits such as crankbaits, topwater lures, spinnerbaits, jigs and jerkbaits are also all awesome choices for largemouth bass.
To learn more, take a look at our pages below.
Best Live Baits for Largemouth Bass
Best Lures for Largemouth Bass
Best Rigs for Largemouth Bass
There are so many different rigs for largemouth bass. While you definitely don’t need to use all of them to consistently catch bass, it is important to learn how some of the rigs will help you fish certain areas or certain baits in a way to catch more fish. Most good bass anglers will use several different rigs in a variety of situations to consistently catch quality largemouth bass.
The standup jighead, Texas rig, drop shot rig, wacky rig and Carolina rig are definitely some of the best rigs for largemouth bass page.
Best Techniques for Largemouth Bass
There are many different techniques that are used for largemouth bass fishing. Casting a variety of baits to cover water is most popular, however, flipping & pitching is one of the best ways to catch bass around shallow water cover.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for largemouth bass page.
Learn More About Largemouth Bass
Our largemouth bass fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our largemouth bass fishing website to learn more.
