Learning Curve

May is always a great time to get on the water in MN and this year has been no exception.  The last few days I was guiding a good friend to his first Lake Mille Lacs smallmouth, and he got the crash course on what its like when hundreds of smallmouth collide with the shallows and set up pre spawn on main lake rock piles.  Ethan was really on the water to shoot photo and video content for Grizzly Coolers but I had to make sure to get him his first Mille Lacs smallmouth.  

Ethan and I met on the water on Tuesday and got a little later start then expected but once we made the decision to go into the big lake and chase pre spawners with jerkbaits, he had a quick learning curve.  The winds were blowing in the 10-20mph range and we had waves that were crashing over the bow of the big boat, but that also means the smallmouth usually are feeding.  The first spot we pulled up on, I was able to find the smallmouth rather quick with a jerkbait and the crush was on.  After I caught 6 or 7 in a row I handed my rod to Ethan and explained to him how to fish a jerkbait in heavy wind over the sand rock transitions.  30 min in Ethan was struggling to get a bite and I knew the fish were there and wanting to chew.  He didn't give up on it and started to figure out the jerk cadence and eventually got his first smallmouth bass on Mille Lacs!  Needless to say he was excited since he had been staring through a camera lens for the 4 hours prior to snatching his first bass.  

Wednesday am we got up early hoping to shoot some sunrise content but the clouds and rain had set in so we opted to get out and just see if we could get around some bass and finish up the content work he needed to get.  Our first spot produced a few nice walleyes but no smallmouth.  After a short move we found a bunch of shallow smallmouth and power poled down and caught them for the next 4 hours straight.  Made short work of the video and photo content that Ethan needed for Grizzly.  He was able to take a 15 minute break from behind the camera to pull on one of those Mille Lacs 4lb Smallmouth Bass!  I think another smallmouth freak was spawned this week and he has already asked when he can come back for round two.  That is the best part of what I get to do day in and day out, create memories taht folks will remember forever, teach them a thing or two about these magnificent fish, and make it where they can't wait to come back.

Will be on the water everyday this next week and will have more reports coming soon...... 

Until next time, Fish On!