Sometimes it’s good to rediscover your bass fishing roots and do it where the fish are abundant and eager to bite.
I did that last month, and man, what a great experience! JM Associates owner Mike McKinnis, who produces Bassmaster TV and LIVE shows, my co-host Tommy Sanders and Production Editor Paul Bing ventured into Canada for an amazing three-day fishing trip.
We all caught fish, and I kept track of my numbers. I not only caught more than 300 smallmouth, but I caught 150 in one day!
I did this trip years ago with Mike’s father, Jerry McKinnis, for one of his Fishin’ Hole TV shows. Shortly after Jerry’s passing, Mike and I said we should go back up there in honor of Jerry.
So, after great, back-to-back Elite tourneys in South Carolina, we all flew to Chicago, then to Duluth, Minn.
It was quite a journey. From there, we rented a vehicle and drove to Crane Lake in northern Minnesota, where we were met by a boat that took us through Canadian Customs.
We then portaged to another lake, went about 10 miles and portaged again to another lake where we found our cabin.
We paired up each morning, two to a boat with an Indian guide, and fished from 15-foot aluminum boats – no graphs, no forward-facing sonar and no electric motor. Just a tiller-steered outboard that the guide controlled.
It was a far cry from my Phoenix Bass Boat, Quest Trolling Motor and Humminbird Electronics I enjoy at home, but it took me back to how I learned to fish with a buddy in my early days.
And honestly, we didn’t need modern-day equipment. The lake was full of smallmouth, walleye and pike. The fish were prespawn and shallow, and you could darn-near catch bass anywhere you went.
It was the most incredible smallmouth fishing I’ve ever seen as far as catching numbers. Most of the fish were in that 2- to 3-plus size range. We didn’t have a scale, but I’d guess I caught 30 that weighed between 3 and 4 pounds.
On our second morning, I asked the guide what the most smallmouth he had ever had a client catch in one day and he said 150.
I told him I was going to break that record. With five minutes left in our day of fishing, I caught my 151st bass and broke his record.
I caught some with spinnerbaits and bladed jigs on the first day, but my biggest producer was a Rapala Mavrik jerkbait on the last day.
My hands were shredded from handling those bass, but well worth it.
Since I don’t get to enjoy walleye cuisine very often, one day we kept some walleyes and had a great evening dinner.
It’s one thing to catch so many smallmouth, but extra special when you do it with good friends and work buddies in a remote part of the world – an experience I’ll cherish the rest of my life.
