By Josh B. Peacock If you love to bass fish, chances are that love affair started with a topwater bait! I can personally recall numerous violent and awesome topwater strikes that happened more than a decade ago. Day dreaming of such events can often evoke goofy ear to ear grins. Try not to do that…

 By Andrew Ragas Bass anglers sometimes wonder why certain rivers of Wisconsin’s flowage belt fish best in spring and go unproductive in summer. Understanding the dynamics and little-studied stream migrations between river and reservoir smallmouth bass will help answer these questions.

By Andrew Ragas Gin clear waters greatly intimidate anglers, driving them away from some of the best smallmouth waters there are. Anglers fishing these waters usually doubt their skill, but smallmouths easily counter and often oblige, striking baits from great distance aided by bright sunlight and its Smirnoff colored water.

By Andrew Ragas It’s the weekend of Wisconsin’s gamefish season opener. As I tortuously wait for up to 24 inches of ice and slush to melt, I have nothing better to do than fantasize over the plethora of 5 pounders I am set to catch thereafter. Fishing in the north country is shifting from ice…

By Andrew Ragas The wind plays a role in determining the outcome of all outdoor sports, including fishing. For smallmouth bass anglers in particular, a wind capable of warming water temperatures plays a significant role in determining early spring fish locations and feeding habits. Precise wind patterns and specific lake locations that conduct heat are…

By Abe Smith Great Lakes smallmouth bass provide some of the hottest bass action of the year during the fall. As their name implies, the challenge on these waters derives from their magnitude. Fish have plenty of room to roam from Duluth to the St. Lawrence River, and “roaming” is part of a smallmouth’s daily…