A land where bronze is better than gold

ISLE, Minn. - How far would you go for truly fantastic angling?

Personally, I have tried to find a few select spots locally that would satiate my hunger for big smallmouth bass. But it's been many years since I've tangled with 5-pound smallmouths, and I decided that it was time to continue the hunt.

So when Babe Winkelman suggested I join him in his boat on Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota for smallmouth action, I quickly jumped at the invitation.

Mille Lacs Lake, 87 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul, is known as a "fish factory."

I never realized just how good this massive, 132,000-acre body of water was in regard to supplying anglers with big-fish thrills and excitement. And when Babe and I zipped around the lake in his new 19-foot Polar Kraft boat, I felt as if I was gliding on a cushion of air. Riding in this thing was one of the smoothest jaunts I have ever had.

When I lived in the Twin Cities, I focused my fish-catching on about 20 metro-area lakes for largemouth bass, pike and crappie. It was only when Mille Lacs transformed itself into a frozen platform that I ventured on to the ice for a weekend of ice fishing.

Winkelman has taped a number of his famous outdoor television shows on Mille Lacs while sight-fishing for jumbo smallies. And a 5-pounder on this lake is OK, but people really take note when the scale hits the 6- and 7-pound mark.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you there are hundreds of both shallow and deep reefs on Mille Lacs, with most harboring huge smallmouth and monster muskies. The lake has always been known for its great walleye angling, which has drawn fishermen from throughout the Midwest.

But as fate would have it, I arrived at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd right in the middle of a massive mayfly hatch going full-strength on Mille Lacs.

The last time I stayed at Cragun's, Brainerd looked like a sleepy, little village. Now Cragun's offers five-star lodging, food and golf, as well as fishing on Gull Lake.

Both walleyes and smallmouth had been gorging themselves with an endless supply of mayflies, and that, coupled with some high winds, made our mission to film us sight-fishing the big fish an almost impossible task.

Because Winkelman is an outdoors perfectionist, both he and I weren't satisfied with the way things were going on the lake. We put in about 15 hours a day scouring the reefs for the big bronzebacks and only popped a few.

There were several moments of excitement when I made a short cast to a shallow reef.

I was using a Little Action Mac, pre-rigged plastic worm, and when the rig skirted the huge rocks I felt a terrific jolt. A jumbo smallie grabbed the worm and skyrocketed out of the water. It went close to five pounds. At that point both Babe and I thought we had found the mother lode. But it wasn't to be because of the mayflies.

Seven-pound smallmouth have been routinely caught off the reefs during the summer months by fishermen using artificial lures. It's quite common for anglers to pop a half dozen or so fish off one spot and then find another school 15 feet away on another section of the same reef.

So, the way it stands now, I could very well be back up here in August for another try for the big bruisers and the completion of another taping session.

If that's the case, my bag is already packed.

Outdoors notesI'm not sure how the survey will impact the average angler, but nevertheless, the American Sport Fishing Association asked what it believed to be the pertinent questions regarding fishing in this country. Here's what the ASA discovered:bull; Public lands are important to anglers as a means to access places to fish.bull; Angler access is tied to boating access.bull; Fish and wildlife professionals are concerned about angler access.bull; While liability is an important issue for landowners, a landowner's privacy is the most important reason why they don't open their land to more people.bull; Landowners are generally unaware of the many programs that agencies and organizations have to help them create access on their property.Fishing report: Plenty of opportunities out there.Fox Chain: It's prime muskie time now, especially on Channel Lake and Lake Catherine. A few anglers using surface baits have taken fish right on top of the heavy weeds. Look for walleye action right in the current near the Grass Lake Road bridge. Big bluegills being taken on Pistakee Lake in eight feet.Fox River: Smallmouth appearing again in deeper holes, about five-foot depths, near Batavia.Geneva Lake: It's still the largemouth bass story here, with good catches coming from many areas, including Williams and Geneva Bays.bull; Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@att.net, and you can catch his radio program 6-7 a.m. Sunday on WSBC 1240-AM.False13282000Big numbers of big smallmouth bass are one big reason to fish Mille Lacs in the summer.Mike Seeling photoFalse <p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p><p class="News"><b>Lodging:</b> Cragun's Resort, Brainerd, Minn.</p><p class="News"><b>Phone: </b>800-272-4867</p><p class="News"><b>Launch facilities:</b> Mille Lacs-Hunter's Point (<a href="http://www.hunterspointresort.com/" target="new">www.hunterspointresort.com/</a>)</p>