Simplifying your Approach to Smallmouth Fishing

I am an absolute Panfish nut and spend most of my time searching for bull Bluegills, Jumbo Perch and big

Crappies, but there is one fish that I can't seem to ever get my mind off and that's Smallmouth bass. A rush of excitement runs through my body every morning knowing that you could have a very sore arm by the end of the day. 

There are so Many Ways to Approach these drag pulling head shaking beauty's, but my favorite way of targeting these fish is your standard Walleye equipment Such as Crawler Harnesses and the Lindy Rig known in the bass world as the "Carolina Rig". Simply put the Lindy Rig is one of the easiest presentations and could be considered one of the most effective for every type of mood the fish throw at you. 

As Most Know a simple Lindy rig is 6ft snell with live bait on the end such as a Crawler, leech or Minnow

followed by a barrel swivel and a walking sinker to keep your presentation on the bottom. This Presentation allows me to stay tight to the structure I am fishing and enables my Electronics to do the talking. A great example is my past few weeks of fishing. Fish have pushed deeper onto the transition line and I have been finding them tight to the grass and sand transition in 18.5 fow. Now When I say 18.5 Ft I mean that exact depth as these fish are not holding a foot more or a foot less. With this rig I am allowing my self to fish almost right below me covering alot of ground and giving me the best percentage on keeping it right in the strike zone. 

A good sonar and gps become key when you need to stay tight to a certain piece of terrain. My sonar helps me stay right in the depth and shows every movement I make on my gps. When coming over a school of fish you just marked I start about 50 yards away and make my way toward the school because if there is one group you will probably find more along your way and giving your bait the best look coming into the strike zone. Not every school is going to be aggressive and that is what makes this presentation so special. I always start out at .5 mph to see how active the fish are and proceed to slow down my speed sometimes coming to a stop and letting your leech or minnow do the work. Every time I get a hook set I mark a way point and as you catch more fish you will develop a pattern fishing multiple schools and slowing down or speeding up on every batch you approach. 

This method has blessed me with many 100+ fish days and some big fish days as well. Tie up a Lindy Rig when you are targeting Smallmouth and I know you will get bit. 

Happy Fishing Everyone!!

Mike Raetz 

Guide Testimonials and July Fishing Report

Our Guide Team has been busy hitting the water of late, putting fish in the boat and smiles on peoples' faces.  One thing we cherish is getting feedback whether it is the compliments and the praise we want to hear or sometimes what we don't like to hear.  That is what make us better and keeps us going day in and day out.  Just wanted to share a few things from our customers of late.

We had a fantastic time this morning.  I told him myself, but Chuck was great!  Perfect guide for young kids.  This was my girls first time out and they LOVED it!  I would recommend Outdoor Leisure Adventures and Chuck to anyone looking for a guide.- Tom McConnell

We had a great time fishing Jim was an excellent guide Thank him again for me when you see him. Also he took quite a few pictures of my kids with their fish if you guys put any of them up on your website let me know so I can check it out.- Chad Holthouse

 Just a footnote to a great fishing trip: Kirby was truly a stellar guide in every way. Not only did he put Chris and I on fish, he also provided everything we could have asked for. He was so knowledgeable and courteous to both of us. Being anglers ourselves, Kirby provided us everything we could have wanted in terms of communication and experience. Thankyou for a wonderful 1st trip on Leech. - Barb Eue

Leisure Outdoor Adventures is simply THE BEST!  My family and friends have been given some of the greatest memories thanks to Toby, Jeff and Jason!  Three generations of family have shared the joys of, not "fishing", but "catching" with Leisure Outdoor Adventures.  you'll never see people work harder to make sure you have a great time.  We have made it a tradition to hook up with Jason Freed every year when we vacation at Chase on the Lake on Leech.  I don't know who had the bigger smiles on their faces, my kids, grandparents, or me.  We'll be booking Leisure Outdoor Adventures again soon!

Mike Mussman

Twin Cities Radio Personality   

These are just a few of the many emails and phone calls we get back after guide trips.  Certainly not every guide trip is perfect, but ultimately we strive to make it a memorable experience every time we pick up our people at the docks.

 Fishing Report

Leech Lake is still turning out some walleyes, you just have to work a little harder for them.  Early morning and evening bites have been good in 7-10ft of water using slip bobbers with a plain hook or small jig and leech, be sure to experiment each time you are out or casting jigs with leeches or smaller minnows such as fatheads.  During the day fish are being caught in Walker Bay working shoreline breaks in 18-30ft of water pulling chubs, crawlers, and Leeches.

Mixed reports are coming from the main lake.  Fish are being caught on the south end of the lake on Olson's, Huddles, Variety, and Hoger's Reefs slip bobber fishing or lindy rigging with a crawler or leech.  Trolling crankbaits along the major points such as Rogers or Diamond is also producing fish.  Mixed reports are coming from the main lake rock piles, the best fishing has been off of the rocks in 18-20ft of water pulling spinners with crawlers.  On windy days, slip bobber fishing around Pelican Island and on top of the reefs can also produce fish.

All in all this is the time of the year you have to think outside the box and try some different things.  Fish lots of spots, trust your graph, we love using our Lowrance Touch Screen's to pinpoint specific pieces of structure and plot a course as we drive structure.  Once we see fish, a simple tap on the screen and you have a waypoint marking that school of fish.  The key part is do your homework first, this will help eliminate alot of dead water for you.  Try different presentations and have fun doing it.

The LOA Guide Team

 

Still Making Memories!!

The fish are on the move and the LOA crew is in hot pursuit.  It is important not to box yourself in with bait selection right now.  We have seen days where a variety of things work and days where they only want a certain bait.  Be prepared and be ready to adapt to what the fish want, not what you want to give them.  Ultimately, in this battle of wills, the fish will win! Here are some pictures from those who made some great memories this week!  If you want a chance to make a memory, call us at 855-LOA-HOOK.