Catching a Pack of Smallmouth Bass Under our Boat (Awesome Wisconsin Fishing!)

Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Minocqua Wisconsin. Dang! It don't get much better than that! This smallmouth fishing tip (the trailing "bonus leech" under a bobber) is a nifty little trick that will put more fish in your boat... or livewell... and Wisconsin fishing with family?

EVEN BETTER!

On this morning my Dad and I had started bright and early throwing leeches on hair jigs. We also wanted to use a trick that a guide had shown us a few days earlier and put a third rod out with a slip bobber and a simple ballhead jig (with a leech on that as well) trailing far behind the boat. We would just pick it up if we saw the bobber drop, and the hope was that we might snag a "bonus" walleye or two for dinner. We worked our jigs all through some thick weeds anywhere from 8 to 15 feet deep, not really seeing a definitive edge, with the wind constantly pushing us here and there. It was a comfortable, cool breeze. Crisp. We soon found ourselves floating over a big sandy flat that came up shallow. The water was crystal clear, and we could pick out several sunken logs scattered throughout the sparse vegetation below. Then all of the sudden we noticed that a HUGE ball of tiny baitfish that had moved into the shadow of our boat... and a sizable group of smallmouth was following right behind 'em. They acted like sharks. As you can see when I noticed them I became silent, dropped my jig in the mass of bait, and almost instantly got bit by one of the SMALLER fish. A much larger smallmouth tried to take the jig from the fish I was fighting, and Dad tossed his jig in to try to get her attention as well, but no luck - and then to make matters worse, my small bass popped free and my leech fell off the jig during the fight. CRAP! I remembered the bobber floating behind the boat and reeled it in as fast as I could so the "bonus" leech would float right through the ball of bait... and fortunately this gal decided to inspect it... and inspect it... and inspect it again... until finally, she couldn't take it and pulled the bobber under.

Tons of fun on the Manitowish Chain o Lakes. | https://theminimalistfisherman.com/