Hey Hall of Fame family,
Like many of you, I've been fishing since I was a child. Public water, private water, fresh water, salt water, flowing water, and stagnant water. And in my 25, nearly 26 years on Earth, two distinct times come to mind when someone mentions a fish feeding frenzy. Let me set the stories for you.
The first takes place in the Boundary Waters Wilderness. In 2017, Paul and I, along with 5 or 6 others, took a week long canoeing and camping trip up to the pristine wild area that makes up the Canadian border with Minnesota. We had been fishing all week, and the fishing was VERY good, catching smallmouth, pike, and walleye with relative ease. While planning the trip months before we left, our friend's dad mentioned wanting to find Eddy Falls, a 'secret' waterfall on Knife Lake where the fishing was supposedly better than anywhere else we had fished. There were only two issues: we did not know the exact location of the waterfall, and we did know that the waterfall was at least a 3-6 mile paddle from our campsite. We set out one day trying to find it, unsuccessfully. We ended up portaging to a different lake entirely. We set out again the following day, paddling further than the previous day. Nearing the 6 mile mark, we found it, tucked back into a small bay. The waterfall was stunning. It connected Knife Lake with a smaller lake on top of a cliff. We stayed there all day, catching some fish here and there above, below, and around the waterfall. Nothing too crazy. However, after lunch, something changed. Paul and I started catching 2+ pound smallmouth bass every cast right below the waterfall. I was throwing a 1/8th oz wacky rig with a watermelon red flake Zoom finesse worm, and Paul was throwing a weightless wacky rig, with a similar profile worm. We were standing in rushing water, casting as far as we could. A fish would nail the worm on the fall, and if they didn't, they would on the first or second twitch. We must've lucked into a school, as the fishing was good all week, but not this good. Paul and I probably caught 10 or 15 nice smallies each from this spot after lunch. This crazy feeding frenzy was on completely public water.
The second instance of a fishing frenzy that comes to mind also took place in Minnesota in 2022. Paul and I were spending the week kayaking on Mille Lacs Lake and it's surrounding waters. We had been catching bass all week, both of us breaking our PBs on a lake just south of Mille Lacs. One day, we decided to drive about an hour from our campsite to Little Falls, Minnesota to try fishing on the Upper Mississippi River. Upon arrival, we were slightly intimidated, not only because the river is literally called the 'Mighty Mississippi'. We wanted to put our kayaks in above a large dam, but the water was flowing quite a bit stronger than we anticipated. And going in the water below the dam was a death sentence. Not wanting to waste the time we spent driving, we decided to go for it and put in above the dam. We would stick close to the bank if we found the current to be too strong. This was probably the strongest current I have ever kayaked in, we always were battling upstream. But putting in here was one of the best decisions Paul and I have made. We caught so many big smallmouth that we lost count, and we stopped taking photos of the 4 pounders. We probably only went two miles upstream, and it took us every bit of 5 hours to do so. Granted we were fishing the entire time, but the current was no joke. We would paddle/struggle up to a spot, catch a nice fish or two, and before you knew it, you're back 100 yards downstream again. The strong current was so worth it, though. Just check out that Upper Mississippi River fish in the cover photo. I was pretty much throwing the kitchen sink, as was Paul. I would catch a few on a crankbait, then a few more on a jig, then on a jerkbait, then topwater for fun. I truly believe there was no wrong bait to throw. It was truly a public water feeding frenzy.
I hope you enjoyed these stories, they are ones I will never forget. Sometimes, every now and then, we anglers get lucky and find a feeding frenzy with lots of hungry, big fish. And it doesn't always have to be on some stocked, private oasis, either. Those are nice though...
Until next time, tight lines!
Erik Hoffman, Hall of Fame Outdoor Co