Northwestern Ontario Smallmouth Bass Fishing

Smallmouth Bass are considered pound-for-pound the hardest fighting freshwater game-fish in North America. When they hit your bait they either fight straight down with extreme ferocity or they are flying out of the water while trying to shake the hook. Many times guests think they have a 10 pound Walleye on the line only to bring up a 1.5 pound Smallmouth. They truly are a fun fish to catch. They are also easy to catch, which makes for a fun afternoon for the kids.

Rugby Lake was made for Smallmouth Bass. There are tons of minnows in the weeds and along the shore for the bass to feed on. The rocky points and shoals supply an abundance of Crayfish (Crawdads), which is their favorite food and the sandy shores and many feeder streams supply perfect spawning grounds. The Smallmouth Bass fishing just seems to get better every year with bigger trophy bass becoming more available.

If you are targeting Smallmouth Bass then on a good day of fishing you should catch around 30 in the 1 to 3 pound range. In a week of just bass fishing you should catch a couple in the 4.5 to 5 pound range.

Smallmouth Bass over 5 pounds are rare in our lake but with present-day catch-&-release conservation attitudes and the modern fishing regulations; it's just a matter of time before we start seeing more and more 6-pounders.

Our lake is known for the Walleye fishing however sometimes the weather conditions force the Walleye to slow down, especially in the heat of the afternoon. This is the time when the Smallmouth Bass are most active. As a result our guests have the option to change targets and catch fish all day long no-matter what the weather is like.

We also have boat caches and access to boat launches on remote drive-to lakes in the area, which gives you even more Smallmouth Bass fishing opportunities. The boat launches are accessible by 4X4 vehicles or ATVs.