Big Smallmouth Bass at Waterfalls Lodge

Smallmouth bass have a bad attitude, period! Regardless of their size, these brown bass can scrap with the best of them, not to mention the limitless ways to catch them. A highly sought-after finned critter that inhabits thousands, upon thousands of Ontario lakes, rivers and streams. On an early summer trip to Northern Ontario’s Algoma Country, we encountered one of the most exciting filming trips of all time.

We visited with the gracious hosts of Waterfalls Lodge near Spanish, Ontario which offers a wide variety of adventures, including fishing on the main chain of seven trophy lakes and remote lake fishing. Guests enjoy the fabulous mixed fishery featuring trophy smallmouth bass, excellent walleye, northern pike, lake trout, perch and panfish. Plus, great fly fishing!

Our trip was all about the bass, smallmouth bass and lots of them too!

One of the greatest attractions to this location is the proximity to so many lakes, rivers and streams that harbour good populations of smallmouth bass, so if it's the variety you seek, you have come to the right place. Our trip included fishing on several of the lakes adjoining the main lodge and another close by the lake that had some opportunities for bigger than average brown bass with the nasty attitude that I like.

My first morning was met with perfect stable, sunny, glass-calm conditions, perfect for fishing hard-bodied topwater baits to help me find aggressive bass, fast!

A short idle from the boat ramp and I started my morning on a slow tapering shoreline that had multiple points with a mix of gravel, sand and big boulders.

Honestly, it was probably my fourth or fifth cast along the dark edges of the shoreline edge that resulted in the typical, crash, bang and cartwheeling splashes of the first smallmouth bass of my trip, a decent two-plus pound bass that just didn’t know the meaning of quit.

After quickly removing the hook and releasing the fish I continued fishing along this shoreline for the next half hour with a mix of bass ranging from one and a half pounds to three plus pounds. And I had the entire area to myself.

Not another boat in sight.

That’s one of the most attractive attributes of planning vacations to locations like Algoma, Ontario, the sheer lack of populations numbers and abundance of lakes and rivers that harbour bass results in virtually untouched or pressured fish which in turn equals more bass and more opportunities for you and me to catch some of the biggest smallmouth bass of our lives on some of the most scenic, remote wilderness locations you will ever find.

It was now getting closer to high sun and with the water temperatures rising I knew the smallmouth would be getting even more aggressive so I explored other locations that were similar to the first spot in an attempt to locate some bigger bass, either with topwater baits or smaller soft plastic imitations.

I found an island that looked perfect with sand, gravel and scattered rock but was located near the main lake basin, so maybe some of the bigger bass would be roaming the shoreline breaks and edges.

I started fishing the YoZuri 3DB Prop bait, a noisy splashy bait that has a transparent propeller near the tail section that spits water and makes a lot of commotion, which drives bass nuts.

Not three casts into this new spot and ‘BAM’, a beautiful smallmouth in the four-plus pound range crushed my bait and spent more time jumping than swimming!

I continued fishing around the island, making casts to the shallow shoreline edges and on the dark edges of the taper and continued experiencing some of the greatest topwater bass fishing of my life, again with not another boat in sight!

This Northern Ontario region is quickly gaining a reputation as ‘trophy alley’ and for good reason. Lots of bass, lots of big bass and virtually no fishing pressure.

When the time comes for you to decide where to plan your 2022 angling vacations, consider Waterfalls Lodge in Algoma Country, these brown bass have big mouths to match their bad attitudes.

Here are some of the features why Waterfalls lodge should be considered as your destination.

Luxurious lakeside cottages. Experience luxury in the wilderness! You don't need to rough it to enjoy an incredible Canadian fishing trip, and they don't make you. The fully modern cottages have all the amenities of the home to make you feel comfortable during your stay. Each unit has its own fully outfitted kitchen, modern bathroom with shower, propane grill on the deck, and more. Great dining facilities.

The full facility dining room & lounge offers scrumptious homemade breakfasts and dinners, plus packed cooler lunches or shore lunch kits. The dining room also provides a wonderful place to relax, play card games, shoot a game of pool, swap fishing tales with fellow guests, and enjoy a drink from their fully stocked bar. Brand new custom fishing boats.

Waterfalls Lodge has all new boats. They worked with StarCraft and had them customize the boats to their specifications. And they just added brand new Yamaha engines.

Now you'll really be fishing in style and comfort. Enjoy the flat floor, electric fill live well, huge casting platform, electric start, and much more.

Contact the lodge here- http://www.waterfallslodge.com/

Call 1-800-666-2812 toll-free or (705) 844-2169 local

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