“Wisconsin Fishing for Muskies, Smallmouths, Trout and Crappie with Ed Spoerl”

Part 3: River Fishing for Smallmouth Bass

Editor’s Note: Ed Spoerl from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, fishes three tournaments a year, including the Wisconsin Muskie Tour and a tour hosted by a local muskie bait shop in Manitowoc, Wis. Although he’s a tournament muskie fisherman, he’s not one dimensional. He fishes for walleyes, smallmouths, panfish and trout. Though Spoerl doesn’t work as a guide, he enjoys guiding his friends and often donates guided trips for worthwhile causes.

Question: Ed, you fish for smallmouth bass too, don’t you?

Spoerl: Yes, I do. When I fish for smallmouths, I like to fish the Mepps Aglia with dressed treble hooks on the end of it. I like to fish a No. 3 and No. 4 blade on the Aglia, and I fish pretty much the same areas and the same way that I fish for muskies in the holes on the river. But, typically the smallmouths will be holding around the boulders on the bottom, the current breaks that are behind the boulders and the downed timber on the river more so than in or near the holes. Any time I can find a big timber snag just off the timber break, I can usually catch a smallmouth.

Question: Which color Aglia do you like the best?

Spoerl: I like the chartreuse Aglia, and I prefer the No. 3 and No. 4 with dressed treble hooks. I usually fish them on a 6-1/2-foot spinning rod with 6- to 10-pound-test line. Typically, I like to fish 6-pound-test line because I like to let them fight a little bit more, but most people like 8-to 10-pound-test line.

Question: How big are the smallmouths you’re catching in the river?

Spoerl: They can be as much as 21-inches long, and we have caught some nice 4- or 5-pounders. The river is being managed as a trophy fishery, but the average size that we catch will be 16 to 18 inches. You can catch and release as many as 15 to 20 in a day, but I consider 10 a really-good day. One of the neat things about fishing the river is that you can fish a hole with a Mepps muskie lure and then downsize your spinner to the Aglia for smallmouths. The smallmouths and muskies seem to cohabitate fairly well together.

Question: What else are you catching on the river when you’re fishing the Algia for smallmouths?

Spoerl: I get an occasional walleye, especially in the spring when the walleyes become aggressive. Sometimes you’ll catch a muskie when fishing for smallmouths, as well as white bass or Northern pike. So, if you fish all day on the river, you can have a mixed bag of several different species.

Question: How many different kinds of each species could you expect to catch if you spend a whole day fishing on the river?

Sproel: On an average day fishing the Aglia, I’ll probably have the chance to catch one muskie, 10 to 15 smallmouths, maybe one or two walleyes if I’m lucky, three to four white bass. When you put them all together, that’s a pretty good day of fishing.

To fish with Ed Spoerl, email fightingbsox@yahoo.com, or call at 715-340-9101.