Heading to NW Ontario at the end of June primarily to fish for walleye and N. Pike, but I understand there’s smallmouth also  in the lake we’re gonna be fishing. Anything different about fishing there someone wants to share? 
thanks 

You'll be overwhelmed when everything looks like it could hold fish. We would joke that a random rock pile or island with no fish on it there would be the prime spot on a lake back home that every boat would hit. The tough part is determining what sets spots apart. Big steep solid flat rock shorelines did not have any fish when I was there 2 years ago in late june. The smallies loved the broken rock shorelines with rock the size of basketballs. Channel-like areas that could see some current due to winds seemed to have fish of all kinds. We caught mid 30 inch pike on bass baits so be ready for that. Have your pliers and hook cutters ready and learn how to handle big pike/muskies/walleye if you haven't before. Not as simple when you can't lip them like a bass.

20 minutes ago, Vilas15 said:

The smallies loved the broken rock shorelines with rock the size of basketballs.

 

20 minutes ago, Vilas15 said:

Channel-like areas that could see some current due to winds seemed to have fish of all kinds.

 

Vilas is sooo right about the two tips above. I caught thousands of smallies in northwestern Ontario mostly using these three approaches: brass-bladed Mepps, orange F13 Rapalas, and leeches on a small hook under a split shot. Rise as early as you can. My tentmate was slower to rise than me and I'd catch five to seven smallies from the shore before he'd crawled out of the tent.

 

Vilas is also right about exercising caution in unhooking pike. The smaller ones are more dangerous than the big ones. They can move so flop so quickly. 

Thanks for that. I’ve had others warn me about the pike also, seems everyone agrees the smaller ones are especially aggressive. I can picture what you described about the boulder areas, reminds me a little of the bluffs on the TN River. 

Guided on Eagle Lake for 5-6 years. Not many anglers target smallies up there compared to down here or compared to walleye, musky and pike. Up until second week of June I was still slamming them on/near beds up there.  Shallow. 2-5 feet. They are right. Every single foot of rocky island shore or land shore will look like it would hold a bass. It's overwhelming. End of June transitioning. I pretty much would either dropshot live bait/ wacky nightcrawlers, Squarebill cranks or wtv cranks to bang rocks on rocky windblown shorelines or spinnerbaits whenever you see reed/boulder combos. Hopefully you avoid mayfly hatch. Paying attention to the wind direction of that day and previous couple days relative to those shorelines is key to finding them if they are indeed moving out of bays and onto those shorelines to feed. The accepted "master angler" on Eagle was 20" smallie, 30"walleye, 40"pike and 50"musky. The grand slam. Good luck.

I agree with what others have said about rocky shorelines. I would start fishing for them with twister tails on small lead-head jigs and some #3 Mepps spinners. 

 

Good luck up there.

 

 

 

 

I haven't been up there for decades, but I can still recommend you should get this to keep your smallie lures from becoming pike jewelry.  Have a great trip!

 

scott

 

Don’t leave your top water baits at home! Twitch them over the edges of underwater reefs/rock piles and drop offs they’ll bring up both bass and pike. Depending on water temperatures, smallies may still be in relatively shallow water, especially during early morning and heading into the evening. 

Haven't been there in quite a while but I think the basics are the same. A weedy bay on a natural lake is a weedy bay on a natural lake. Weeds might be different up there. Points, humps, flats, rock piles etc. If it's been a warm spring everything should be in summer mode. We went up early one year and nothing was where it was supposed to be. The mosquitos are bigger and more aggressive. Our main smallie spot was a boulder field from basketball to truck size rock. I forget how big an area it was. We mostly fished live bait up there and leeches and a lindy rig were the go to for everything. 

White Ima Flit jerk bait fished shallow will get you bit. The smallies love it & the pike do too. 

On 5/31/2025 at 9:52 AM, Vilas15 said:

Have your pliers and hook cutters ready and learn how to handle big pike/muskies/walleye if you haven't before. Not as simple when you can't lip them like a bass.

Big net, long pliers, good jaw spreaders and big hook cutter (I use Knipex, spendy but worth it).

Barbless hooks (crushed barbs) make a huge difference - I can typically just grab the hook shank and rotate the hooks out while the fish is still in the water on an easy 80% - 90% of the fish I catch...and if a thrashing fish manages to stick me, it hurts and bleeds a bit, but the hook is out in seconds rather than a trip to the hospital, which can easily be a day-long ordeal in NW Ontatio.