I have a trip being planned for Lake Bemar ONT next Summer and i am going to re string my rigs with this trip in mind.  Typically we do guided fishing trips locally and the guide will suppy the gear but of course i will also be able to use my rigs locally if i go solo. 

Here are my rods and some basic information

 

Casting:

Temple Fork 7' Heavy TFGPSC7061 (what presentation would you use this for, top water or bigger jigs)

St Croix Avid 7' MH  (flouro, what lb?jigs, bigger spinners)

Cabelas 7' XML MH (flouro, what lb? T Rig, jigs, bigger spinners)

St Croix Triumph 6'6" MH (top water, what line??)

St Croix Premier 7' M (crankbait, light jigs, small spinners, finesse worms?  what line?)

Cabelas IM7 Tourney Trail 6'6" M (what would you use this for, small cranks, finesse, what line?)

 

Spinning:

Pflueger President reel, currently with a 6' President rod but im looking for a 7' M rod (what lures, what line would you use this for?)

 

Basically top water is a little confusing for me typically i use flouro Seagur, Yo Zuri on everything but on this upcoming Ontario trip we may do a lot of topwater.  I know mono would be ideal so i need at least one setup if not two, one larger one small.  In the past I havent had much luck setting the hook using M or ML rods for topwater. 

 

The reels i will be using are:

(3) Accurists 6.3:1

(1) Quantum PT Tour (typically with the Avid rod) 7.0:1

Pflueger spinning

I plan on purchasing one more reel most likely Quantum Smoke

 

I know this may be difficult to answer but you get my drift, any input would be awesome

 

The P-Line "topwater" copolymer is actually a really nice line for topwater fishing, works fine for spinnerbaits, etc... too if you want a rod to do both... Works great on spinning reels and baitcasters.

 

I also like Sunline Super Natural, but I mostly use that in 10 pound for jerkbaits in cold water. 

 

Regarding fluoro, I like 14-16 pound FC Sniper, but don't fish much heavy cover, etc... 15 pound P-Line Tactical is great stuff too. 

 

Pay attention to diameter, pound test ratings mean little... 

Just now, Goby said:

The P-Line "topwater" copolymer is actually a really nice line for topwater fishing, works fine for spinnerbaits, etc... too if you want a rod to do both... Works great on spinning reels and baitcasters.

 

I also like Sunline Super Natural, but I mostly use that in 10 pound for jerkbaits in cold water. 

 

Pay attention to diameter, pound test ratings mean little... 

Ok interesting, would you use copolymer on my Medium spinning rig as well as the MH casting rod if copolymer is good for top water as well as some other presentations?  That gives me versatility which is key

7 minutes ago, Goggle Eyes said:

Ok interesting, would you use copolymer on my Medium spinning rig as well as the MH casting rod if copolymer is good for top water as well as some other presentations?  That gives me versatility which is key

 

If you want to fish topwaters on that MH, then yes, I would stick with mono or a copoly. 

 

Definitely would go with mono or copoly on the spinning reel if you aren't using braid. 

 

Saves you money too, mono/copoly is cheaper for sure...

8 hours ago, Goggle Eyes said:

Temple Fork 7' Heavy TFGPSC7061 (what presentation would you use this for, top water or bigger jigs)

 

I wouldn't take it. Way too heavy for Canadian Shield smallmouth, where there are nearly no weeds and even if you see weeds, they'll hold pike, not smallmouth.

 

Your MH rods are overkill too. M, 7' rods are fine and I fished with 6-pound mono. I've caught thousands of northwestern Ontario smallmouth with an average length of 17 inches. I also caught 19, 20, and 21-inchers. 6-pound test handled all of them. I did cut off the first few yards of line every day because the endless rocks will be hard on your light line.

 

My best lures were F13 Rapalas and brass Mepps, but I'd take some Plopper lures too.

 

Go get 'em, Tiger!

 

 

 

 

Some friends of mine go to Canada smallmouth fishing every year.  They always use light spinning tackle with 6# line and catch them up to 6#.  They use a lot of tubes and flukes.  The last time that I made them baits they wanted 100 white flukes.

Like @Swamp Girl suggested leave the heavy action rod at home. The only time I use a MH rod for Great Lakes smallies is for heavier baits up to an ounce in weight. Mostly I use light, medium light or medium action rods. You can use 10lb braid with mono or fc leaders on spinning tackle. I would not use any line heavier than 15lb test. 

Not an answer to all your questions but if you want to have fun, use one of those MH baitcasting rods with mono to throw a large topwater walker ( 4 inch minimum ) in a pale color like bone or white.  

Nothing more exciting than watching a smallmouth knock one of those a couple of feet in the air and staying there waiting for it to land.  

12 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I wouldn't take it. Way too heavy for Canadian Shield smallmouth, where there are nearly no weeds and even if you see weeds, they'll hold pike, not smallmouth.

 

Your MH rods are overkill too. M, 7' rods are fine and I fished with 6-pound mono. I've caught thousands of northwestern Ontario smallmouth with an average length of 17 inches. I also caught 19, 20, and 21-inchers. 6-pound test handled all of them. I did cut off the first few yards of line every day because the endless rocks will be hard on your light line.

 

My best lures were F13 Rapalas and brass Mepps, but I'd take some Plopper lures too.

 

Go get 'em, Tiger!

 

 

 

 

Thats excellent information we catch 20" smb here near me and i tend to use heavier stuff.  Are you familiar with this lake in particular? 

11 minutes ago, Goggle Eyes said:

Thats excellent information we catch 20" smb here near me and i tend to use heavier stuff.  Are you familiar with this lake in particular? 

 

I haven't fished Bemar, but it's in the region that I've fished. Probably due to climate change, the smallies are growing thicker than what I caught 40 years ago. Look at this first one. She's a 19-incher, but look at her back. Peyton Manning would want to toss her if her saw her:

 

 

And look at the shoulders on this 20-incher: 

 

 

Still, six-pound test will land these fish. What won't work is a ML rod. Their mouths are too thick for a ML rod to penetrate. 

 

I even caught one that had a sagging belly like a lmb. I tried to find the pic, but couldn't. I also landed 40"+ pike on my six-pound test line. Heavier line is for lmb in cover.

Canadian bass bass aren't any different from American bass...so what ever you use here will work there.  All the rods you mention will be fine, IMO...but I'm not a fan of light rods.

I typically run braid to a mono leader for lighter, inexpensive baits I don't mind losing.  Senkos, neds, tubes, etc.

Everything else gets a foot or so of tieable wire leader instead of a mono leader...because if you don't, you're going to lose baits and lures to pike...potentially a lot of them.

My preference at the moment is the 1 x 7 Knot-2-Kinky nickel-titanium because it gives up nothing in terms of flexibility, has so coating to get shredded off, and lasts a long time - I've had them go for more than season.  The don't kink, and I've never had one properly tied break.

It comes in 6#, 12#, 18#, and 25# sizes; the 6 lb is light enough to allow a bass sized popper on a fly rod to float and work just fine.  I use the 25# more than anything else, but have all the weights rigged on one rod or another.

I tie them into the braid with an Alberto knot, and tie in a clip at the lure end.  This slides up through the guides easily and can be cast like any normal rig. 

If you don't mind donating lures to pike, or potentially losing a beast of an esox, don't sweat the wire...but you'll find wire on most of my rods, all of the time...

I had to google Lake Bemar but it looks like it neighbors the Quetico Park, my favorite place on earth.

 

Enjoy your trip!

Bemar lake looks shallow with a few islands. The pike will own the shallow weed lines during the summer months, the smallmouth should be near the steeper breaks around the island or any similar bank area’s.

Smallies in Ontario Canada love top water lures the only issue is treble hook lures can be difficult to remove the hooks easily, need a good pair of needle nose pliers! 
Soft plastics tubes and grubs are killers and a lot easier to catch and release.

Shallow to medium diving crank baits can be fished effectively using the same top water rod, reel and line.

I suggest taking the MF rods in 6’6” to 7’ spooled with 8 lb Sunline SuperNatural mono or 7 lb Sniper FC.

Pike are attracted to shiny lures and lures with blades. Use bright flashy lures with the MH casting combo with 12 lb to15 lb Big Game mono and wire leader. 
Listen to Swamp Girl, Katie knows Canadian Shield Smallmouths. I have experience with Western Ontario lakes.

Tom

PS, I doubt those smallies have ever seen a wacky rigged 5” Senko!
 

 

Would never claim to be an expert, but I have been on well over 20 trips to Ontario in search of the "Bronze Monsters"!  A friend and I are doing a two week trip this June.  So, here is my advice and experiences . . . I only use 6'9" or 6'10" medium action rods.  I have taken a med/light or a med/heavy with me . . . I just really never use them often enough.  As for line, I use 15 or 10lb braid (usually Sufix 832) and an 8lb copoly leader (usually McCoys Mean Green).  Lures are what I use here in the states except for colors.  A lot of the water I fish is dark tannic water, so I have changed up colors, but not lures themselves.  My advice, fish what you have confidence in.  If you take a lot of tackle, you will be playing with baits all day instead of finding where the fish are.  Many fisherman say smallmouth move around, not sure if that is true on smaller lakes here in the states.  However, they do in Canada.  Say we have had success on a rock pile off of a point on Monday, we go back on Tuesday . . . no fish . . . none.  Fish it on Wednesday . . . none.  Go back on Thursday and boom, fish!  Ok, lures . . . as I said fish your confidence baits.  My favorite popper is the Evergreen OB.  This comes from a Megabass fanboy!  If the weather is even close, it gets killed in Canada.  You can walk it or splash it really well.  Caught three 5lbers on it last year.  I love the Big Bite Baits "Nekorama" for Neko rigging.  Canadian smallies do also.  Drop shot fishing off of bluff walls with rock has really worked well.  3/16oz weight with an HDTackle 3" black hellgrammite has always been good.  So, from what I have written, use your confidence baits.  You may have to adjust your colors from the states.  As for where, I always look for rock shoreline with some boulders especially if they are next to main lake points or secondary points.  Avoid weeds and wood . . . PIKE!!  Now talking Pike . . . I don't use any Ploppers or Buzzbaits.  Smallies love them and so do Pike.  I had one pike chase my popper last year.  Other than that, they left it alone.  My buddy lost two ploppers last year to pike.  I have used the titanium leaders mentioned on a previous post.  I only use them on Megabass Vision 110 jrs.  As for jerkbaits, they work, but I get more bites on flukes than jerkbaits.  Again, coming from a Megabass fan boy.  I am waiting impatiently for June 5th when we head up.  First time I have ever done two weeks in a row.         

spinning rod!!  spy baits and those tiny prop baits!!  jerk baits

Excellent input as always, now im just counting down the days

On 12/17/2025 at 9:30 AM, Goggle Eyes said:

Excellent input as always, now im just counting down the days

 

Please take lots of pics and share them. I'm too old to fish the Canadian Shield anymore, but I can still share your joy.

18 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Please take lots of pics and share them. I'm too old to fish the Canadian Shield anymore, but I can still share your joy.

Certainly will.  We dont go till June but im all set up, resupplied Ned rigs, Owner finesse football heads, Yamamoto Hula Grubs, single tail grubs and darter heads.  I will have plenty of pics for you

I live in Ontario and would highly recommend a ML and M spinning rod, and a MH casting rod. Ned rigs, tube, jig, spinner baits, chatterbaits, inline spinners, smaller swimbaits, trickworms and senkos all work well. And don't underestimate those Pike, my second favorite species next to smallmouth due to their fight. I haven't felt the need for a heavy rod, a MH with braid has been fine.

I always recommend rod reel and line combinations that allow you to work the lures you are going to use best, rather than the size of the bass. If you are going to be fishing light lures, than light rods, with light line is what will work best. You can land any size bass on 6 pound line as long as you are not around thick cover, but you can't work a 1/8 oz ned rig with a medium heavy rod as effectively as you can with a light rod. The same goes for the opposite end of the spectrum. Working a large topwater with a light rod, makes for a frustrating day. Burning a spinnerbait under the surface requires a long rod, that can cast far distances, and different size crankbaits work best with different weights, and rod actions. I would assume most of the time you will be casting smaller lighter lures requiring light line and light rods, but if you plan on bombing a spook, a medium heavy BC. would be nice to have.

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

I always recommend rod reel and line combinations that allow you to work the lures you are going to use best, rather than the size of the bass. If you are going to be fishing light lures, than light rods, with light line is what will work best. You can land any size bass on 6 pound line as long as you are not around thick cover, but you can't work a 1/8 oz ned rig with a medium heavy rod as effectively as you can with a light rod. The same goes for the opposite end of the spectrum. Working a large topwater with a light rod, makes for a frustrating day. Burning a spinnerbait under the surface requires a long rod, that can cast far distances, and different size crankbaits work best with different weights, and rod actions. I would assume most of the time you will be casting smaller lighter lures requiring light line and light rods, but if you plan on bombing a spook, a medium heavy BC. would be nice to have.

Such great advice.

On 12/1/2025 at 12:39 PM, Goggle Eyes said:

On 12/1/2025 at 12:39 PM, Goggle Eyes said:

In the past I havent had much luck setting the hook using M or ML rods for topwater. 

Slow down on the hook set, use a medium action and power rod, a floating braid with a mono leader.

Take some Keitech Swing Impact 3.8's in smallmouth magic. Great for covering a lot of water, then you can go to finesse if you want. I like to cut the bend of the hook off a screw lock jig, then attach a small treble stinger to the jig , leader just long enough to embed one hook of the treble into the back of the bait. Better hook set %

 

Shoot for the stars; retire and win the lottery

On 12/2/2025 at 7:05 AM, Jig Man said:

Some friends of mine go to Canada smallmouth fishing every year.  They always use light spinning tackle with 6# line and catch them up to 6#.  They use a lot of tubes and flukes.  The last time that I made them baits they wanted 100 white flukes.

I have fished the St Lawrence in Canada and I fish St Clair in Michigan/Canada and Jig Man is spot on. There are so many preferences regarding gear that are personal to every individual so much so that I would never try to suggest that what works for me will work for you. I know what works for me in my bait choices and it’s easier to just quantify what lures I will be using. For me on a smallmouth trip I rig a Ned, Dropshot, Senko, DShad, crankbait and topwater depending on the time of year. Gear selection includes factors for depth, cover, current, etc. I’ll be the first to admit, I use 2 lines. Different sizes of Straight Mono on everything except bed fishing where I use straight 35lb braid.

59 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I have fished the St Lawrence in Canada and I fish St Clair in Michigan/Canada and Jig Man is spot on. There are so many preferences regarding gear that are personal to every individual so much so that I would never try to suggest that what works for me will work for you. I know what works for me in my bait choices and it’s easier to just quantify what lures I will be using. For me on a smallmouth trip I rig a Ned, Dropshot, Senko, DShad, crankbait and topwater depending on the time of year. Gear selection includes factors for depth, cover, current, etc. I’ll be the first to admit, I use 2 lines. Different sizes of Straight Mono on everything except bed fishing where I use straight 35lb braid.

35# braid, on a spinning rod? Why so heavy?