The vast majority of anglers on Lake of the Woods are after walleyes, but the population of smallmouth bass is very strong, and the fish are not targeted. If you are one of those anglers who like bass or want to mix things up a bit, there are several areas to target.

The Rainy River

The Rainy River flows into Lake of the Woods. There are 40 miles of navigable water between the mouth of the river and the Birchdale access, east of Baudette, Minn. This is an incredible smallmouth fishery with endless opportunities.

At the mouth of the river, 4 Mile Bay sits behind Pine Island. This bay has a variety of weed beds, areas of rock and some current edges that extend west off the river that hold nice bass.

Other options along the river occur where the smaller tributaries enter the Rainy River, and in the tributaries themselves. These smaller rivers hold nice bass depending upon the depth, amount of flow and how much rock is available. Bridges crossing over the smaller rivers can be hotspots for smallies with the rock around the bases of the bridge abutments the key areas.

The Rapid River dumps into the Rainy River in a beautiful area called Clementson Rapids. Below the rapids is an area with a lot of rock, current and current breaks. This area typically holds good numbers of smallies and has great shore fishing area as well.

Big Traverse Bay

Some anglers refer to Big Traverse Bay as the main basin. This area is about 30 miles long by 25 miles wide. Much of it is made up of a mud basin. Scattered throughout are a variety of rock reefs. Some are near shore, some offshore. These areas of rock hold a variety of fish including some monster smallmouth bass.

Depending upon the time of the year, check the tops first, and work your way off the edges.

The south shore of Lake of the Woods from Morris Point over to Rocky Point is home to a numerous small reefs and rock piles. Nice bass live on many of these small spots. Some of the bass living in the basin are monsters and do not see many lures.

The Northwest Angle

The Northwest Angle is the northernmost point of the contiguous United States. It is where the 14,552 islands of the lake begin. Some anglers who stay up at the Angle fish in Minnesota, while others choose to fish the Ontario side of the lake, opening another 40 miles and thousands of islands. With literally thousands of islands, the structure, bays, weed beds and current edges are endless.

On a past fishing trip, we were casting shorelines around islands with gradual rubble and rocky points, using shallow-diving crankbaits. Our count for the day was just below 100 bass. Most of these fish were smallies with some walleyes, pike and muskies mixed in. Smallmouth bass were on every island, eager to inhale what they thought was a very injured and radically swimming minnow.

If you want to have a fun day of fishing, target smallmouths on Lake of the Woods. You will have them all to yourself.

Thinking of trying a new fishing destination this year? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.