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The Ultimate Smallmouth Bass Trip | Fish'n Canada
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Apr 15, 2025
This Fish’n Canada episode is all about the Smallmouth Bass. Pete and Ang outline easy-to-access bass meccas as well as bucket-list hard to get to destinations. They help you put together the ultimate trip for what some feel, is the ultimate fish. Pete states right off the hop, that he feels the Smallmouth is "Canada’s toughest most belligerent fish in all freshwater." Ang agrees. During this show, they talk about the diversity of Smallmouth opportunities that are available for those that want to get out there. Starting from local lakes within an hour of your house, to extended road trips throughout the province and all the way up to a fly-in “Bass Only” trip of a lifetime. Along with this, they also cover specific areas like the St Clair River, Clear & Stony Lakes, Lake Ontario’s eastern basin, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Temagami, Hastie Lake & Hawk Lake, all of which are phenomenal Smallie waters. ► Subscribe http://bit.ly/youtube-fishncanada Don't forget to leave a COMMENT and give us a LIKE if you enjoyed what you saw. SUBSCRIBE for new videos and episodes released weekly! CONNECT WITH US -------------------------------- ► WEBSITE http://fishncanada.com ► FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/FishnCanada/ ► INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/fishncanada... ► TWITTER https://twitter.com/angeloviolafnc/ One of Canada's longest-running fishing shows, Fish'n Canada travels from coast to coast in search of trophy fishing opportunities. First started by brothers Angelo and Reno Viola in 1986, The Fish’n Canada Show has been on the air for over 30 years. Today, Angelo is joined by lifelong fishing buddy, Peter Bowman, and the pair continue to travel across Canada educating anglers using the experience they’ve gained over the years
View Video Transcript
0:00
the smallmouth bass holy
0:03
mackerel this fish in my opinion is
0:05
canada's toughest most belligerent
0:07
species in all of fresh water
0:08
mayhem small boats mayhem fight like a
0:11
pit bull
0:12
that thing fought like a demon
0:15
they pull like a truck
0:17
[Music]
0:21
they jump like an acrobat
0:25
they never seem to give up you might as
0:27
well catch a smallier too why not
0:31
the fish in canada show brought to you
0:33
in part by
0:35
ram trucks built to serve
0:39
princecraft boats dominate the waters
0:43
garmin plot your paradise reel them in
0:47
mercury outboards go boldly
0:51
and ontario canada in partnership with
0:54
destination ontario
0:58
[Applause]
0:58
[Music]
1:02
hey everybody the smallmouth bass
1:05
this fish in my opinion is canada's
1:08
toughest most belligerent species in all
1:10
of fresh water
1:10
fight like a pit bull they pull like a
1:12
truck they jump like an acrobat
1:14
they never seem to give up now although
1:16
they can be found across canada the
1:18
province of ontario has the largest
1:19
number of smallmouth waters
1:20
in the nation from the southwest through
1:23
the south to the southeast
1:25
through central northeast and northwest
1:28
the numbers of smallmouth water in
1:29
ontario
1:30
is incredible and the fishing just seems
1:32
to be getting better and better
1:33
every year and now even with the
1:35
lingering effects of covet 19
1:37
there's never been a better time to get
1:39
out there and take advantage of this
1:40
outstanding fishery
1:42
[Music]
1:45
of course as anglers we have to do our
1:47
part and make sure to abide by all
1:48
pandemic protocols that are in place in
1:50
the various regions where smallmouth are
1:52
found
1:52
get in here yes holy
1:56
mackerel after all it's our world out
1:58
there if we don't take care of it
2:00
who will anglers have proven time and
2:02
time again
2:03
that when it comes to taking care of and
2:05
protecting a species at risk for
2:06
instance
2:07
nobody does it better well this time the
2:09
species is us
2:11
with such a vast distribution of fish
2:13
and this better than ever smallmouth
2:14
fishing going on throughout the province
2:16
this is the year to get your butt out
2:18
there and participate in some of the
2:19
most enjoyable fishing imaginable you
2:22
probably have some excellent
2:23
opportunities right near your home
2:24
however
2:25
as i said earlier there is world class
2:27
smalley fishing throughout the entire
2:29
province
2:29
here are some of the best that anza i
2:31
recommend might as well catch a smallier
2:33
too why not
2:36
the southwest portion of ontario is the
2:38
warmest area within the province
2:40
and it is hot oh man
2:43
with that comes great bass fishing
2:45
smallmouth included
2:46
lake fury the detroit river lake st
2:49
clear and the saint claire river
2:50
epitomize excellent smalley fishing in
2:52
the most southerly portion of the
2:54
province
2:55
it's bang bang bang bang two three fish
2:57
and uh
2:58
consistently all day long mayhem
3:00
smallmouth mayhem
3:02
yes on saint claire i love smallmouth
3:05
mayhem
3:07
oh you just spit on a great big look at
3:08
that a f what do you burn a
3:10
bird yes give me that
3:14
wow look what this spit out this is a
3:16
smallmouth bass folks
3:18
smallmouth bass a baby duck and that's
3:20
like a baby duck like that's
3:22
that's recently look at the
3:25
size of this thing
3:29
holy smokes he's got that in his mouth
3:32
so it's not even in his gut yet and he's
3:33
eating again that
3:36
just came out of that wow little ducky
3:40
uh hey my two favorite sports dog
3:42
hunting and bass fishing buddy
3:51
wow i don't want to sound biased but the
3:54
south central and eastern portion of
3:55
ontario is quite honestly a smallmouth
3:57
factory
3:58
from the niagara basin along the north
4:00
shore of lake ontario
4:01
and on into the saint lawrence river all
4:03
the way to the quebec border is some of
4:04
the best smallmouth bass fishing on this
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planet
4:07
[Music]
4:12
period that is
4:14
wicked it's like a paint job on this
4:16
fish oh this is the coolest
4:19
folks look at that
4:22
paint job psychedelic smelly
4:28
look at that that's just jet black and
4:31
then the mouth
4:32
his mouth's all kind of discombobulated
4:34
a little bit probably been caught or
4:35
it's crippled at one time or
4:37
caught and released a couple of spots
4:40
there
4:41
and there but that right there is so
4:45
cool look at that like a paint job
4:48
that's a good fish too that's a nice one
4:51
see you later buddy
4:53
treat every fish as if they're a troll
4:57
from early season and right on into the
4:59
late fall period the 600 kilometer
5:01
stretch of shoreline gives you access to
5:03
mind-blowing smallmouth bass fishing
5:04
for both quantity and quality major
5:07
urban centers like niagara falls
5:09
toronto kingston and cornwall along with
5:11
hundreds of other smaller towns and
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villages
5:13
offer a broad range of accommodations
5:15
and dining options for the traveling
5:17
angler
5:19
here's another one
5:24
oh man that's another nice fish
5:27
that's actually a bigger fish too did he
5:30
ever here he comes again oh
5:31
nice
5:35
without question this whole cornwall
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area is incredible
5:39
look at that thing get in there fatty
5:41
get in there fatty get in there
5:43
nice one that's a heavy fish
5:47
wow this thing's got
5:50
length he's got width he's got it all
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baby
5:55
[Laughter]
5:58
look how long that fish is
6:05
let me set up what i feel is the perfect
6:07
fishing day
6:11
look at that thing
6:15
so we just talked about southwestern and
6:17
eastern ontario being two smallmouth
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factories for those who crave smallies
6:21
it's awesome look at that thing
6:25
oh man for those of you are
6:28
multi-species anglers the smallmouth
6:30
bass is that perfect addition to a full
6:32
list of other species this is too much
6:34
fun for one person to have
6:36
i'm telling you way too much fun for one
6:40
person
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in this scenario i'm referring to at
6:43
least a two-day trip to either a cottage
6:45
a campground or a fishing lodge
6:47
with at least two target fish species
6:49
including smallmouth
6:50
in reality though there could be as many
6:52
as three or four species
6:56
he's a nut case oh god
6:59
get in there i got her somehow i got
7:02
that fish than that
7:03
holy smokes what a bonus
7:07
fish oh that's awesome
7:12
let me set up what i feel is the perfect
7:14
fishing day
7:15
you start out an early morning top water
7:17
bite on some vicious northern pikes
7:20
that's the one they're out and about
7:23
they're hungry and they're ready to play
7:25
it's an awesome time to be on the water
7:36
but as many good things do unfortunately
7:38
the morning bite eventually comes to an
7:40
end
7:41
knowing that you made plans with the
7:42
rest of your fishing group to be back by
7:43
11 for a feet of bacon and eggs a late
7:45
breakfast
7:46
your evening plans of course are we go
7:48
after the low light sunset walleye bite
7:50
but that's hours away
7:53
so do you sit around the camp and do
7:54
nothing all day you better not
7:57
the smallmouth bass is that perfect
7:58
midday species to take on
8:00
yeah they bite great in the morning and
8:02
in the evening but they're also the best
8:04
of all these species to target in that
8:05
middle of the day time frame
8:07
i think a bunch of those when the pike
8:08
aren't going it's a good looking
8:10
smallmouth bass right there folks and
8:12
i'll tell you what that thing
8:13
fought like a demon
8:17
it sets up to create the perfect fishing
8:19
day
8:20
whoa those days is going to get better
8:22
and better i think
8:24
listen we don't all have time to plant
8:26
our fishing trips don't get me wrong
8:28
but if you ever have the opportunity to
8:30
make it all work it's like the perfect
8:32
storm
8:32
there's three more underneath that no
8:34
way yeah get your bait down get your
8:35
bait down
8:36
let me just do an amazing frenchy going
8:38
on down there
8:41
you got him you got him he came over to
8:42
you how cool is that
8:47
i'm gonna get this guy in see if i can't
8:48
get the one underneath oh wow
8:51
this that mayhem craziness man
8:55
there's fish right underneath the boat
8:57
by the way is there yeah
8:58
[Music]
9:04
oh i got a walleye that's what i thought
9:06
it was yeah i got a walleye in there
9:08
wow that's what a spot even cooler
9:11
that's nazi walleye the school is small
9:14
though
9:14
obviously it's competitive down there
9:16
and that's why every time we're dropping
9:17
stuff in there
9:19
yeah and that's molly that i just had on
9:21
followed your wallet yeah
9:22
exactly you got him
9:25
i got him on the blade not big but he
9:29
jumped a mile
9:30
oh what a jump these fish jump higher
9:32
than ever
9:37
they are insane nice fish
9:40
wow that is so nice easy
9:45
after a phenomenal outing of busting
9:46
bass from top to bottom it's time to
9:48
head back to the camp for a steak
9:50
dinner and then grab the walleye sticks
9:51
because things are about to get even
9:53
crazier
10:02
this hot spot is a shallow flat area on
10:04
the martin river system that holds
10:05
roaming feeding smallmouth during the
10:07
summer and early fall months
10:09
the wave point on your screen will get
10:10
you there and i love throwing fast baits
10:12
like spinner baits in spots like these
10:14
if the weeds are too thick try a
10:16
topwater bait or jerkbait as well
10:18
move around in anywhere from three to
10:20
six feet of water and keep casting
10:22
eventually a smallie should smash your
10:24
bait for more hot spots like this one
10:26
check out fishingcanada.com
10:32
to get to today's mart river smalley
10:34
fishing we first drove north on highway
10:36
400
10:37
we then turn right onto highway 11.
10:41
our final turn was a left on 64
10:44
then onto martin river lodge this
10:47
classic fishing and hunting destination
10:49
is steeped in northern ontario history
10:51
and it shows
10:52
through the personality of the 90-plus
10:54
year old log buildings
10:56
the lodge owners have done their best to
10:58
keep the traditional field going
11:00
as a bonus to the guests after a long
11:02
day of battling smallies walleye and
11:04
pike
11:05
there's a night of great foot tapping
11:07
entertainment by lodge owner ray sapiano
11:15
look at how fat these fish are oh
11:19
baby high five on that one yeah baby
11:22
bounce up
11:28
smallmouth bass are a great exploratory
11:30
fish species often we'll choose an area
11:32
on our gps and simply head out fishing
11:34
a classic example was on a trip to the
11:36
mighty lake tomogame we decided to
11:38
explore the furthest reachable area of
11:39
the lake
11:40
and it paid off handsomely look inside
11:43
oh here's your net buddy go go go go go
11:45
throw something i don't care what you
11:46
throw
11:48
oh those were nice fish i got one you
11:51
got a fish rod yeah
11:56
okay i'm going underneath it alright no
11:57
wait wait wait i gotta go underneath
11:59
okay take yours away
12:03
look at these two mutes this is fun
12:06
this is fun oh my god there's why you're
12:10
trying to back up your body every every
12:12
now and then what back it up is all
12:14
about
12:15
okay bring him in buddy go ahead with
12:18
yours and then all the way
12:19
whoa three one whoa
12:22
and two one two buckle your shoe
12:26
high five on that little yeah baby
12:27
double we found something
12:30
and you know this these these series of
12:32
lakes especially tomogram here but all
12:34
the other ones as well
12:35
they get hammered for for lake trout
12:39
walleye to some extent but smallmouth
12:41
bass like nobody's fishing up
12:43
and the nice thing about this area too
12:45
is that you truly are in the wilderness
12:47
when you come up here it's only a six
12:48
hour drive from toronto but
12:50
but really honestly i mean look at this
12:52
you are
12:53
in the middle of nowhere it is a true
12:54
wilderness and especially absolutely
12:57
that's great man good job fun stuff
13:01
one of the best kept smallmouth bass
13:02
fishing secrets may be sunset country in
13:04
northwestern ontario
13:06
here the perception is that the pike and
13:08
walleye are king but the reality is
13:10
smalling numbers are almost comparable
13:12
to both these species they're that good
13:15
there he is oh yeah that's a nice fish
13:18
oh yeah oh that's a gorgeous fish man
13:22
[Music]
13:24
i'll bring him in too you know how long
13:26
he is mama
13:29
yes got some you got some beef on that
13:32
guy
13:33
good lord like we came for the walleye
13:36
obviously that was the main
13:37
treat but look at this look at that
13:38
thing oh that's massive
13:41
fat good job
13:47
something to think about for a smaller
13:48
trip is what gear am i going to bring
13:50
well
13:50
on a drive to bring as much as you want
13:52
if you're towing your own boat
13:53
load that rig up if you're renting a
13:55
boat bring an ample amount of gear that
13:57
can either stay in the truck until
13:58
needed
13:59
or it can stay in the boat or the
14:00
cottage when trying to figure out which
14:02
base to bring to a small mouth lake
14:04
look at it in three sections the surface
14:06
or just below
14:07
the midsection of the water and close to
14:09
the bottom
14:10
for surface baits consider bringing
14:12
poppers walkers
14:14
ploppers and buzzbaits for mid-level
14:17
baits
14:17
pack some suspending jerk baits square
14:20
belt crank baits
14:21
swim baits spinner baits and when the
14:23
fishing gets tough believe it or not
14:24
some number three
14:25
and four in-line spinners and finally
14:28
for bottom baits
14:29
bring along some tubes soft stick baits
14:32
various jigs
14:33
net rigs deep diving crank baits and
14:35
never forget some drop shot baits
14:38
and one more thing don't forget to bring
14:40
some terminal tackle like hooks
14:41
weights snaps swivels and if there's
14:44
pike and musky there
14:46
make sure you bring some leaders or
14:47
leader material remember a well-equipped
14:50
angler is ready for anything a fish like
14:51
a smallmouth bass can throw at you
14:53
it's better to have too much and not use
14:55
it than not enough
14:56
and then smack yourself or your body in
14:58
the head with an i told you so
15:01
look at how fat these fish are look at
15:04
that
15:08
[Music]
15:10
wow
15:13
this hot spot is a rock weed transition
15:16
that bass of both species will use
15:18
throughout the season
15:19
the waypoint on your screen will get you
15:21
right there now the key to fishing a
15:23
spot like this
15:24
is to experiment with bait choices a
15:26
senko might work one day
15:28
and then a top water might be killer the
15:29
next always
15:31
change things up for more hot spots like
15:33
this one check out fishingcanada.com
15:43
that's the biggest bass i've ever seen
15:44
in my life
15:46
maybe what are you coming up oh
15:50
what is that
15:55
oh right on the edge of that weed what
15:57
are you coming up oh
15:59
what is that big smallmouth oh is that
16:02
ever nice
16:02
so with all these fantastic smallmouth
16:04
bass locations being so conveniently
16:06
located
16:07
why would anyone want to travel for a 5
16:09
10 or 20 hour drive
16:10
to find that smally heaven where they
16:12
can get great smallmouth fishing right
16:13
near home
16:14
simple because if you're a smallmouth
16:16
addict the opportunity to fish a new
16:18
body of water that promises to deliver
16:20
your personal best molly
16:22
is irresistible like that that is the
16:25
biggest bass i've ever seen in my life
16:28
have a great day now if you really want
16:30
to spruce it up
16:31
how about exotic fly-in bass fishing
16:34
well that my small mouth loving friends
16:36
is a whole other show there he goes
16:39
little guy little wee tiny no
16:43
not tiny but
16:49
nice fish he's not tidy at all
16:53
that's what we call a slurpee he didn't
16:55
smack it he didn't come out of the water
16:57
and jump down on it
16:58
he just got underneath it just just
17:00
slurped it down
17:03
traveling to no man's land in pursuit of
17:04
that trophy of a lifetime while spending
17:06
a few days on a secluded back lake
17:08
without another soil for hundreds of
17:09
miles
17:10
and knowing it's chock full of monster
17:12
smallies that's a game changer
17:15
oh this is a toad this is a big one
17:18
oh my god look at the size of this fish
17:22
oh my god even bigger than i thought
17:25
best run i've ever had on a small mouth
17:28
[Music]
17:30
ever
17:35
whoa there's what we're looking for kids
17:39
that my friends is a smallmouth and an
17:42
acrobat
17:44
whoa
17:48
best lake i've ever been to a
17:50
combination largemouth smallmouth for
17:52
sure
17:52
a lake that you can take a little three
17:54
and a half horsepower
17:55
and catch fish like this but like here's
17:58
the lake right here i can see it all you
18:00
fly in
18:00
one camp on the lake you're the only
18:02
boat or the only group
18:04
if you want to come in with the place
18:05
you'll sleep 10 people you go out if 10
18:07
you boys come in here
18:09
and each one of these catches one like
18:10
that you've had yourself one heck of a
18:12
trip
18:13
oh maybe
18:17
wow massive
18:21
as you can tell ann's and i have the
18:22
utmost respect for smallmouth bass
18:24
they're one of those species that we
18:25
find hard to throw negative comments at
18:28
yes there are anglers have yet to
18:29
embrace smallies hopefully through time
18:31
they'll see the light so remember if
18:34
you're a smallmouth bass fan and you're
18:36
planning an extended fishing trip
18:37
then consider making these great
18:39
fighters your priority in that once in a
18:41
lifetime bass mecca
18:42
or drive to a multi-species destination
18:45
and make smallies that midday game
18:47
changer
18:47
sandwich between morning mayhem
18:52
and that low-light pandemonium got one
18:54
yeah
18:58
no matter which row you take we're
18:59
pretty sure you'll be happy with the
19:01
results
19:01
and finally during these trying times
19:03
remember be smart
19:05
be vigilant be safe and have fun
19:10
[Music]
19:15
today's hot spot is where nick latched
19:17
on to his giant smallmouth bass
19:19
the waypoint on your screen will get you
19:21
right there
19:22
we have lots of wheat cover some really
19:25
nice rock transitions
19:26
and deep water close by a variety of
19:29
baits will work including top waters
19:31
jerk baits spinner baits shallow crank
19:34
baits
19:34
and an array of soft plastics rigged
19:37
weedless
19:38
for more hot spots like this one check
19:40
out fishingcanada.com
19:43
[Music]
19:48
to get to today's great fishing we first
19:50
drove north on highway
19:52
12. we next traveled north on highway 11
19:55
until we reached new liskert we then
19:58
took highway 65
19:59
northwest until we reached golden eagle
20:01
camp
20:04
the fish in canada show brought to you
20:06
in part by
20:07
ram trucks built to serve
20:11
princecraft boats dominate the waters
20:16
garmin plot your paradise reel em in
20:20
mercury outboards go boldly
20:23
and ontario canada in partnership with
20:26
destination ontario
20:29
closed captioning for this episode was
20:31
brought to you by fishingcanada.com
20:33
the gateway to your next fishing
20:38
[Music]
20:46
adventure
20:50
[Music]
21:00
so
21:02
[Music]
21:12
you
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