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Summer has drawn to a close and the high heat of the last couple of weeks has kept most of the fish deep. While leeches still work, if you can find any that are big enough, crawlers and larger minnows, (pike suckers), have been working quite well for walleye. For the most part, successful fishermen have been finding bigger walleye in 15-20 feet of water until evening or early morning hours when they come up slightly shallower, 8-12 feet. Trolling a three-hook crawler harness spinner on a bottom bouncer or minnow / crawler jigged have been effective. The fish are not overly active with the rise in water temp, so keep your trolling very slow. If you are not using live bait, get your swimbait or crankbait to depth and very slowly troll or slowly retrieve.
Small mouth bass are holding at 10-15 feet. Concentrate your efforts on rock piles, rocky points and rocky flats. Large minnows under a slip bobber is an easy, yet effective approach. For a more active tactic, Live Target Crawfish retrieved over rocky flats is producing big small mouth consistently.
Look for largemouth bass in weedy bays or on weedy points. The larger bass will be sitting at 5-10 feet. Whacky Rig soft plastics, cast medium, flashy spoons or Mepps Spinners or a top-water crankbait like a Whopper Plopper or frog pattern.
Crappies have been active this last week. Find thick cabbage cover close to steep drops in weedy bays and set your slip bobber at 8-12 feet over a crappie minnow in about 15-18 feet of water. Beetle Spins and Thumper Jigs, the smaller the better, are also producing very well.
If big pike are your preference, look deeper, 15 – 20 feet. Find steep drops from the edge of shallow weedy bays. Set a large slip bobber at 10-12 feet over a large sucker minnow hooked just in front of the tail. For more active, smaller pike, work the weed edges of shallower bays with loud, flashy spoons and top-water crank baits.
As Autumn overtakes summer, the temperatures will continue to drop. Since this the last Angler Report for the season, let’s cover fall fishing for a little fishing guidance. When you see the temperatures drop, in general, switch up your gameplan to shallower water. As the water cools through the fall, walleye will move to rocky points and main-lake breaks at about 5-10 feet of water. Minnows and Rapala and Berkly Flicker Shads will be most effective. By mid-September, look for lake trout in about 20 feet of water and troll large Salmos or medium Rapala’s. Bass will move into shallow areas, rocky for small mouth and weedy for largemouth. Spoons, Mepps and minnows will become your go to. Crappie will still want thick cabbage cover but will be a bit shallower. Use the same gear / bait, just move a bit shallower.
