Amazing Wisconsin Smallmouth Bass Day for the Ages? 5/30/2025

 I try not to use hyperbole around fishing. Certainly, my Indiana skills of covering ground, being accurate with casts, not spooking fish, razor sharp hooks, well prepared gear all helped, but damn. This was all a blind scout. I had no idea Smallmouth were in these rivers. Clear signs of fishing everywhere, so people do know.

But maybe, just maybe, people are lazy up there?

Today was a crankbait bite until I lost both on fish.

In one one hour period, I caught a 20, 2-19.5, 2-19, an 21.5" and 2 18". Unreal.

Day 3 WI, random river selection. 101.25" top 5, 196.25" top 10. Cranks, wakebaits, worm. Insane. And I am broken.

8 hours. 38 SMB. 21.5", 20.25", 20", 2-19.75", 2- 19.5", 19", 6-18"-18.75", 6-17.17.5".

Wisconsin  Smallmouth were not ready for Indiana style Kung fu.

None of these were caught fishing beds.

21.5" Crankbait

21.5" 3

21.5" 2

20.25"

20.25" 2

20"

19.75"

19.75"

19.5"

19.5"

Wisconsin Day 2 5-29-2025

After a day of tourism, I thought to look for bigger fish downstream.

I picked a super bendy stretch of river. At home, this is ideal. Here, it meant wood and silt. Snagging every cast with low fish density and billions of mosquitoes. Still got 13. 20.5, 18.75, 18.5, 3-17, 16,'2-15. Going to get lunch and find sun to fish in.

After lunch. Another 10, 18, 3-17.5, 17. These fish are all body and pulling crazy hard compared to Indiana. Tiny heads indicating fast growth from gobies in the Bay. But they ate shakey big Trd and Sammy 100 in the river.

23 smb 20.5, 18.75", 18.5", 7-17-17.5"

18.75" fought so hard

20.5" spawned out on Worm.

 

18

18.5

I Went to Wisconsin and Now I Can't Stop 5-27-2025

 I've stuck to fishing Indiana Streams only until last year's trip to Chimaquan Bay. As sick as that was, it was guided bed fishing with Forward Facing Sonar. 

I'm definitely not a bed fisherman. Smallmouth are to valuable. Their young are too valuable. But they had either finished or were about to spawn. I did see some guarders, but for today, most everything was non bed aggressive feeding areas. Temps were in the low 60's

Random scouting near Green Bay rivers resulted in 23 SMB 19.75", 19.5, 3-19.25", 19", 18.75", 6-18", 2-17.5, 2-17". In 6 hours. Almost all walk the dog. I guess my 'style' of fishing works here too. Cloud 9. 4 more days of this?

The fights were incredible, I lost about 6 really good fish. They just wouldn't stop going on runs and shaking head. Explosions on Sammy 100 were ridiculous in this shallow river. I walked for miles then turned around and did it again.

18.75" on  Sammy. I was stunned after this first fish. It tore up the river to get away and it was in doubt the whole time. I knew I was on to something.

I was on cloud 9 for the next 6 hours. But it was hard work. A fish or 2 every 300 yards or so. Density was not high.

18.75" Thick

18"

19.5"

19.5"

19.75"

19.25"

18"

19.25" Definitely Spawned out

19.25"

19.25"

18"

19.75"