Smallmouth Lakes in the St.Croix Area

[papajoe222]

I'll be heading up to the northwest section of Wisconsin at the end of the month. Polk county to be specific, and I'm looking to get into some smallmouth action.

Anyone know of a lake, or river that has numbers of them?  Upper Turtle lake is the only one in the immediate area where I've actually caught one. Many of the lakes within 30mi. of there don't even list smallies in their descriptions. Apple River shows potential, but they are a prime forage for the musky there.

[FryDog62]

The Western side of Wisconsin is a little sparse when it comes to really good fishing, especially for smallmouth. The exception would be the St. Croix or Snake Rivers (Eastern Minn) if you're near enough. With water levels so low, not sure how those would fish right now either.

 

We had a family cabin in the Sawyer County area for 27 years and there are some good smb lakes there (Round, Grindstone, Couderay). Depending on where you're coming from, my guess is an hour drive or a little more, but might be worth it.

 

For those of us in the Minneapolis area, our bass fishing season is closed until Mid May, so if we want to find somewhere to fish before "Opener," many of us have gone to Wisconsin. However, that Western side isn't as good as if you venture Eastward a little further towards Hayward. I hear Middle Eau Claire lake is good too, but again I'm not sure your exact starting point and how far you want to drive. 

[papajoe222]

Thanks Dog. The wife is heading up with me, but won’t be fishing, so she’ll be alone. I normally head out around 4:00 AM and get back around 10:00. She’ll only have been up a couple of hours, so  she’s okay with it. Adding 1.5hrs of driving time each way wouldn’t be worth the effort. 
There are a couple of good Muskie and LM lakes close by, so I’ll stick with them this year, but I’ll keep the ones you mentioned in mind for next year.