Targetting spring smallies

[PFUNK]

I am heading up to Pakashkan Lake northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario this coming may and am looking for some advice. I have never fished this lake but my dad has been making the trip for over 10 years. During that time period, his group has caught zero smallies. I made a friendly little bet with him that I could be the first to get one (might have been a foolish idea). Anyway, I know the lake does have smallies and am looking for some advice on how to target them. I will be heading up May 23rd. It is a large lake but fairly shallow. Lots of islands and bays with a few inlets scattered on mostly the south side of the lake. I have read that around this time the fish should be spawning or in staging areas preparing for the spawn. One technique I read suggested fishing an area near rocks and boulders that are shallow but close to water in the 15 foot range. It said there will be bass out in the 15 foot area but feeding up higher in the water column at 6-8 feet on smelt. I also read the north side of the lake will probably be warmer and will likely be the windblown side with the southern spring winds. Any advice for me? Thanks in advance.

[Superduty]

Probably won't be spawning that far north on May 23. Does not mean you can't catch them on shallow rock though. Think shallow if you get a warming trend and deeper if it stays cool.

[BDawg23]

My girlfriends family has a cabin on Pakashkan. I got a chance to get up there over the 4th of July last summer. I am a big bass guy too and asked all the neighbors up there and family members and they said to not waste my time chasing the smallies. I ended up not trying for any bass. That time of year the big pike will be up shallow. I have seen numerous picture of fish over 42" and one of the neighbors claims he pulled in a 49". I am heading up again over the 4th this year and will look forward to your report if you do get out after smallies. Good luck!

[PFUNK]

Good to know BDawg. Numbers must be pretty low then but I would still think that my dad's crew would have caught a few fishing for walleyes over the years. I am going to try to talk them in to targeting a little deeper water when we go too in hopes of catching some bigger post spawn walleyes. Maybe the bass will be out a little deeper too and that is why they haven't been catching them. I will let you know if I have any luck. They do very well on the pike. Don't even target them but catch a ton while going after walleyes. My grandpa pulled a 28 pounder out many years back and a few years ago one of the guys caught a 22 pounder, so the big pike are definitely there.

[Presco]

PFunk, my group goes to Lac de Mille Lacs every year that same week. Its known as a walleye/pike lake, but a few years ago we started spending a lot of time focusing on smallies. There weren't a ton in the lake we were told, but doing some map exercises and figuring out what looked like good spots have yielded some great results. If Pakashkan is that tea-stained water like LDML, we have our best luck with chartreuse colored jerkbaits and flukes. With the warm temps last year, they were actually spawning in some parts of the lake so its not completely out of the question some may be on beds. Either way, by late May, the males should be roaming flats off deep water and the females will be pushed off a bit waiting for the right time to move up. Good luck, hopefully we can both provide fantastic reports upon our return.

[fishfearme]

If the ice doesn't go out till May they will still be holding in their wintering locations.

[sicheneder]

jerkbaits outside of any coves,cuts or other spawning areas or reefs/points outside of these areas especially with wind blowing in on it.if water is under 58 degrees. over that check up in the bays.

[PFUNK]

Presco... thanks for the info. Sounds like Pakashkan is very similar to the lake you fish. Have heard the smallies are few and far between, but I think this may be because people don't target them very often. The water is tea-stained as well. I took a look at the lake map of lac de mille lacs and it looks like it has a bit more deep water structure than pakashkan does. There aren't many flats but there are plenty of islands with steep breaks. One area I thought looked promising was in a long narrow bay on the north side of the lake. There is a deep hole in this bay that goes down to 40 feet and it is bordered closely by a shallow rock reef. I thought this deep hole bordered closely by structure was a good winter area for fish. Only problem mmay be accessing the bay, as there are lots of rocks at its entrance. What kind of deep water areas would you guys target if there aren't any flats? Areas close to islands or underwater point?

[Turbodog]

Yama Moto Fat Ika 4'' with a strike queen 3/8 football jig exposed for your deep fish!