Is Grand Rapids, Minnesota the most underrated place to go for bass?

As you approach the south end of Grand Rapids, Minnesota on 169, a sprawling body of water appears on both sides of the highway. A bridge splits Pokegema Lake in half with about 4 miles or so meandering to the east and about 4 miles meandering to the west. A few islands and rock piles break up stretches of deep water extending beyond the 100-foot mark. This creates the right habitat to grow big fish. The fishery has walleye, bass, muskie, pike, crappies, bluegills and even lake trout. It’s connected to the Mississippi River so it’s possible to find other fish too. The lake is also a popular destination for families and recreation, making it a destination for anyone looking to enjoy a day on the water.

It wouldn’t be a big time summer spot without restaurants on the water that you can boat to such as the Pickeled Loon Saloon and the obligatory Zorbaz.

But, if you would rather get off the beaten path and find some quieter, more secluded lakes, there are many, many options.

Where Do You Start When Fishing Grand Rapids, Minnesota?

Grand Rapids, Minnesota area has over 1,100 lakes. Itasca County is covered in water teeming with fish. It’s a popular destination for anglers, hunters and families looking to enjoy Minnesota’s great outdoors. In this travel blog, I’ll break down what you can expect in Grand Rapids and how to plan a trip.

We were there to fish, but with all those lakes, where do we start? Luckily for us, onX Fish has made life easier when it comes to which lakes to launch the boat. During our trip to Grand Rapids, we stopped for a bite to eat at Boulder Tap House to do some research. They were located next to where we were staying, My Place Hotel, so we could park the truck and trailer and walk over.

We quickly found out what lakes had walleyes and which ones had smallmouth, lake trout etc. There are driving directions to boat accesses and even spots to try on the various lakes. It made our trip so much more efficient.

Even with this information, it always takes a day or two to really figure the fish out, so I always recommend a multiple-day trip when you go to a destination like this. There are plenty of lodging options that I’ll list below, along with whatever you might need in the city from Target/Walmart, restaurants, fuel and small local businesses that deserve your visit. If you have boat trouble, Ray’s Sport and Marine has a service department that can help.

Click here for more options to listen to our Grand Rapids podcast.

Is Grand Rapids The Best Under-The-Radar Area for Smallmouth Bass Fishing?

While we planned to do some multispecies fishing, we started to hear about all the smallies there. We talked with Sam Westenee from Thousand Lakes Sporting Goods. He offers fishing reports for Visit Grand Rapids that you can read on their website here. We told him we were going to one particular lake and he mentioned that it was “infested” with smallmouth. So we decided to focus on bass and hopefully find a lake trout along the way.

Many anglers will work shorelines and weed edges to find bass. We started on structure, looking for humps that relate to deeper water. This habitat is capable of holding a variety of species and all the ones we wanted to catch.

We Found Smallmouth Bass On This Type of Structure

When we first approached this hump, we scanned across the ledge with LiveScope. Soon a large school appeared and we pitched swimbaits into the middle of it. The fish actively chased, but were a little tight-lipped. I stubbornly stuck to my jig and plastic presentation while Dan Amundson started to cycle through baits to see what worked.

The first fish succombed to a drop shot and an X Zone Hot Shot Minnow. A hard-fighting smallmouth bass zoomed to the surface and splashed it’s way to the boat. I quickly tied a drop shot on with a live bait presentation to see what would work better. We had to let the school settle before another one would bite. The cycle would repeat for the rest of the day.

While my drop shot with a leech caught fish, I also tried it with a crawler and even some plastic offerings. Dan continued to pull fish after fish in by switching baits more often than I did. While the lake was loaded and fishing was really good, changing up the presentations was key to our success.

How The Weather Played A Role In Where We Fished for Smallmouth Bass

You always hope for the best weather when you plan a trip, but Mother Nature makes the rules. While we didn’t have to deal with any storms that kept the boat on the trailer, we did have a little wind and rain. Nothing too out of the ordinary for most anglers, but not always the best for filming. We chose a few lakes that offered sanctuary from the wind and protected accesses.

Don’t forget that if you’re going to fish multiple lakes, make sure work to protect these bodies of water from aquatic invasive species. They’re some of the most pristine lakes in the state here and AIS inspectors sit at many of the boat ramps working to keep them that way.

Wind can help anglers by concentrating bait and moving fish to certain areas. Fall fishing can be different from the rest of the year because forage can be at an all-time high. The health of the fisheries was on display everywhere we went with giant schools of baitfish. Ciscoes, smelt and other fish foods covered our electronics screens from end to end.

We also found windblown points and humps to be holding fish. Once we picked off a bunch of bass on that first spot, we looked at the electronics for similar structure. Our next spot was even better with bigger bass present.

We even pulled two largemouth bass from the school. Catching bass 20 feet down is always a weird concept to me. But it was working and the spot was stacked.

A Smallmouth Bass Paradise?

We were surprised to see how good the bass fishing was in the Grand Rapids area. We usually fish for walleyes and we easily could have done that here, but when everyone kept talking about how good bass fishing was, we had to try it.

It did not disappoint.

After a full day of smacking smallies, we switched gears and went exploring.

What is the Clearest Lake in Minnesota?

It’s a debate as to what holds the title as the clearest lake in Minnesota. If you google it, there are three lakes in the Grand Rapids area that came up. Caribou Lake, Deer Lake and Sugar Lake. We drove around and spent time on a number of the lakes and it honestly would be tough to say which one was the best. There are other lakes across Minnesota that try and claim the title as well.

It was hard not to jump in and swim. In fact, my lab Tiny, did just that. To be fair, she loves the water. But as she swam around the boat, it looked like she was in someone’s swimming pool.

Links to Amenities in Grand Rapids

Lodging

There are a lot of options. From lodges and cabins, VRBO’s and hotels. You can see a larger list of options on the Visit Grand Rapids site here.

My Place Hotel: This is where we stayed. The rooms were big and comfortable. There are full-sized fridges, stoves and microwaves if you want to do your own cooking. There was also parking spots dedicated to trucks and trailers. Each lightpole has an outlet so we were able to plug in the boat easily each night. There’s no continental breakfast, but they do sell breakfast sandwiches and frozen dinners that you can heat up in your room.

Here is the description from Visit Grand Rapids: My Place Hotel-Grand Rapids, MN is an affordable, extended-stay hotel with guest rooms featuring a full kitchen, free Wi-Fi, and pillowtop beds. This pet-friendly hotel also offers an outdoor grilling pavilion and indoor swimming pool. Located near multiple restaurants and shopping centers, My Place is your Grand Rapids hotel destination!

Traveling to Grand Rapids, Minnesota

By car:

From Minneapolis: 3 Hours
From Fargo-Moorhead: 3 Hours
From Chicago: 8.5 Hours
From Omaha: 8.5 Hours
From Sioux Falls: 6 Hours
Madison, WI: 6.5 Hours

By plane:

Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport: The Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport has one 5,755 foot paved main runway, a paved parallel taxiway, and a 2,968 foot paved cross-wind runway. No sod runways are available. The Airport has a private seaplane base. Call 218-326-1226 for PPR.

There are a number of seaplane bases in the area as well and we saw float planes flying over often.

Duluth International Airport: This is your nearest International Airport. It’s located 1.5 hours from Grand Rapids, MN.

Restaurants

We went to Boulder Tap House a couple of times because it was within walking distance. We also had a McDonalds, Culvers, KFC, Dunkin Donuts and more close by. The city also boasts a couple local breweries, Mexican options, and lakeside stops like Zorbaz and The Pickeled Loon Saloon.

Boulder Tap House: I sampled a local brew from Klockow and built my own burger on a pretzel bun. The cube-shaped cheese curds and tap-house potatoes are worth an order. There are some happy hour specials on wings and they have shakes and malts!

The Pickeled Loon Saloon: If you’re fishing near the middle of Pokegema Lake, you can stop into a few restaurants on the lake. On the east side of 169, there is a small channel on the north side of the lake that we idled the Lund Impact through and docked at this unique establishment. Dan continued a cheese-curd themed meal with a cheese curd burger.

Rapids Brewing: This local brewery is a favorite among residents and visitors combined. We drove by on a Monday night at it looked busy with a bonfire burning brightly on the patio. We stopped back out on Wednesday night to sample some of their beers and grab a bite to eat. Dan had a recommended smashburger while I opted for the brisket mac and cheese. I tried their “Hands On Hazy IPA” and the “Papermaker Cream Ale.”

Click here for more food options

Tackle Shops and Other Stores

Ray’s Sport and Marine: 895 NE 1st St Grand Rapids, MN 55744: If you want to get a new boat, this is the place to go. If you need service for your boat, these guys know what they’re doing.

Thousand Lakes Sporting Goods: 331 NW 4th Street, Grand Rapids. This outdoor store is located right on Highway 2 in town. Offering all sorts of outdoor gear. Open 8a – 6p Mon-Sat and 8a – 4p on Sunday.

Pokegema Lake Store: 19457 US Highway 169, Grand Rapids, MN, United States, 55744: This connivence store offers tackle as well as live bait. We were up early to hit the water, so we stopped here to get leeches and crawlers. We also filled up the Fundra and topped off the Impact at the fuel pumps. They were located just off 169 south of the lake, near Zorbaz.

We needed to get some tech stuff for charging filming equipment so we stopped at Target in town as well. Just about anything you need is available in town, but you can get out into the northwoods and escape the hustle and bustle in about five minutes in every direction.

Other Attractions

Grand Rapids is also the home of Judy Garland. Tour Judy Garland’s restored home and see the world’s largest collection of Judy Garland Wizard of Oz items. There’s a speedway, escape room, orchard, forest history center and other family friendly ideas.

If you are looking for a hardcore fishing trip or a family trip that includes some fishing, here are trip ideas courtesy of Visit Grand Rapids.

Here is a link to the Visit Grand Rapids Visitor Guide

Thanks to Visit Grand Rapids, onX Hunt, onX Fish and Ray’s Sport and Marine for the great trip to Grand Rapids, Minnesota!

Here are more pictures from the trip: