Jim,

I appreciate your expertise and experience with smallies on Mille Lacs and your willingness to offer tips to others. I mostly fish largemouth in the metro area, but tried Mille Lacs briefly with my two oldest boys last week for a couple hours. My son, Joe, ended up catching a 19 1/2-inch smallie, and we caught three total along the west shore just south of Garrison. He wants to go back, which we will try to do next week. I'd love some more tips from you. He caught his fish on a tube jig in about 8-10 feet of water, based on the recommendation from the guy at Tutt's. Is that what you use? Are there other areas in the lake that are better than the west shore? Does time of day matter? How about sunny vs. cloudy weather? Do all or most of the rock reefs hold good numbers of smallies? Is it just a matter of fishing your way around them? I'd greatly appreciate more tips. Thanks!

Dave