Local Knowledge: What’s REALLY Working for Sturgeon Bay Smallmouth
STURGEON BAY, Wis. – The waters around Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin are home to monster smallmouth bass that draw people from across the country for a chance at a fish of a lifetime. When visiting the Door Peninsula, a first stop should be at a local tackle shop to see what the fish are biting.
Howie’s Tackle is a must-stop: They have the best bass selection in Sturgeon Bay.
Howie’s has been a popular stop for the anglers competing this week in the Covercraft Stage Five Sturgeon Bay Presented by Abu Garcia. Lance LaVine has manned the counter as they go in to replenish their gear.
“I’ve seen several of the guys come in and go straight to the tube aisle,” he laughed. “They know what they want and have been buying tubes, some spybaits, and Ned rig stuff.”
What the pros are buying isn’t news: those dependable baits are what’s working now, along with a few other smallmouth staples.
“Fishing is pretty dang good now, and guys who can figure it out will catch some impressive weights,” LaVine predicted.
Mainstay Smallie Tactics
The tube bait is a must when it comes to Great Lakes smallmouth, and they’re working great now, according to LaVine.
“Tubes are a mainstay and we make our own shorty tubes that are a little smaller,” he said. “They emulate a small goby, which is what the fish eat around here. The main key is fishing them as slowly as you possibly can.”
There are a host of color options that work, but the key is to replicate colors of gobies.
“Green pumpkin is a good one and there are several goby-looking colors like DC Goby that are producing,” LaVine said. “It is the same with Ned rig stuff: that has been a major player here in the past few years for all of the tournaments out of Sturgeon Bay. Again, the key is to fish them very slowly.”
Drop-shotting is another mainstay for Great Lakes smallmouth, and will continue to be a factor this week.
“There’s always a lot of drop-shot fishing here, and Set the Hook Baits is a really popular brand around here,” LaVine said. “The Jackall baits and even some Yamamoto Senkos are great baits to drop-shot.”
Spybaits and Hair Jigs
The spybait craze took off with clear-water smallmouth, is something to watch for this week.
“Spybaits are huge up here,” LaVine confirmed. “They came on strong a few years ago, and they’e still going strong.”
Hair jigs are yet another must-have in the Great Lakes, and Howie’s makes their own. They’re custom made and tucked away in a back room. If you’d like some, a staff member will escort you to their stash of hand-tied marabou and bucktail jigs.
Swimbaits and Jerkbaits
There’s also a swimbait and jerkbait bite to be had, according to LaVine.
“We had a lot of alewives in the bay the past few weeks and that hurts the fishing because there’s so much bait, but that helps the fish,” he said. “There seems to be less now and if the wind blows, a jerkbait, spinnerbait, or a Keitech swimbait will be good.”
LaVine said that Megabass jerkbaits are by far the best seller at the store.
Again, LaVine advises fishing slow, even with reaction baits.
“We call it the ‘painful Door County pause’ with jerkbaits,” he said. “It’s a rip, rip, and long pause while you bite your sandwich. These fish like that long pause.”