News & Stories
End Of The Summer Fishing
Posted by director on August 13, 2019
Summer took it’s time arriving this year, fishing has been good for many people in many places. Now we’re thinking about fall fishing. It certainly is true: The older we get the faster time goes by. Late summer and fall fishing can be very good, but if we want it to be very good, we need to change the way we go about our fishing. Following are some of the things that we need to do if we want to experience that very good, even outstanding fishing.
Right now and for the next few weeks will be a time of plenty for predator fish. There is lots of food in the water. The baitfish that were born this spring are now at a size where the larger predator fish can utilize them as food. In many bodies of water, the gamefish don't have to look very hard for a meal: Food opportunities are all around them.
Some anglers subscribe to the “Match the Hatch” theory. “Match the Hatch” suggests that we use a bait that looks like something that gamefish like to eat and lives in the same water as those gamefish. Pretend you're fishing for walleyes on a lake that has lots of perch, and many of those perch are 3 to 4 inches long, perfect walleye food. The walleyes see and eat those perch regularly. Maybe it’s like people. We see and eat hamburgers regularly, so when we’re offered the choice between a hamburger and a slice of pizza, many times we go for the pizza. I don’t know if that’s the way it is in the fish world, but I do know that I've seen lots of times when a bait that looked nothing like a perch out-produced a bait that looked like a perch on a lake that had a strong perch population. If the fish aren’t responding to a bait that looks like something that lives where they live, try something that doesn’t look like anything they regularly see.
If you want to catch largemouth bass, move through an area faster than you would in the spring or early summer. Fish are willing to take a fast moving bait when the water is warm. Also, by moving your bait faster, you're covering more water and showing your bait to more fish. Try working a weedline with a crankbait. At this time of year for the past 2 years we’ve taken lots of bass, as well as northern pike and walleyes, on Strike King’s Pro Model 5XD. As mentioned above, sometimes they wanted a natural appearing bait, but at other times the more unnatural the color, the more they liked it. Move them fast. If you catch fish on consecutive casts or really close together, slow down and work the area thoroughly. Try a jig rigged with plastic or live bait. After you've thoroughly taken the willing biters, move on with the crankbait and cover more water. By the time you’re ready to call it a day, you'll often have caught a good number of fish in a variety of species.
We know that summer is winding down, and we also know that autumn can provide some of the best fishing of the year. However, this time between the dead of summer and mid-autumn can provide some memorable fishing also. All we need to do is get on the water with an open mind and a willingness to try different things. Do that, and you’ll find yourself looking forward to this end-of-summer, first-of-fall fishing every year.
PHOTO CAPTION: This summer bass preferred a Strike King crankbait in a gaudy color. Sometimes fish like a natural appearing bait, sometimes they don’t.
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Lotsa' Lakes and Lotsa' Fish!
Posted by admin on August 9, 2019
Mike Frisch details the good fishing action available in the Alexandria (MN) lakes right now!
Explosive Largemouth
Posted by director on August 5, 2019
It was almost a year ago last summer that I got to spend a day on the water chasing largemouth bass with Mike Frisch. Some, maybe much of the time, when we think about late summer fishing for largemouth we think weedlines and crankbaits or jigworms. However, throwing artificial frogs in shallow water can be equally productive, very visual, and will often get the bigger bass to hit. You’ll see every strike: Sometimes the bass will lightly slurp the frog off the surface, other times they’ll absolutely destroy it. Often you’ll see a wake in the water as the bass approaches the frog, or you’ll see the lily-pads or reeds moving as the bass approaches. Either way, it’s one of the most exciting ways to catch largemouth bass. Here’s how you can get in to the action.
Find a lake that has shallow water cover and a good population of bass. Lily-pads and reeds will often be the best shallow vegetation for bass, but there will be other options in some bodies of water.
Approach this shallow cover quietly. If you make too much noise, you’ll see the water boil as the bass spook out of the area. There are several things that can cause fish-scaring noise. Approaching too closely with the outboard running will do so, as will an electric motor running on high speed. It’s best to keep the electric running slowly. Shutting it off then turning it back on on high speed will spook fish, as will tackle boxes or whatever dropped on the floor of the boat. Too much quick motion can also spook fish. It might sound over the top, but if you know you’ll be fishing shallow, wear clothing colors that blend in with the sky. The sky is the background to what the fish see, and light colored clothing blends in with the sky better than dark clothing. It’s a little thing, but it makes a difference.
Now that you’re in the area to be fished, you need a bait. You want something that will come through the heavy cover without getting hung up. A KVD Poppin’ Perch, Sexy Frog, or a Hack Attack Pad Perch will do that. They all have a different action in the water, and sometimes a particular action will be more appealing to the bass. For instance, the Poppin’ Perch creates more noise than the Frog. Everyone in the boat should be throwing something different until the fish reveal their preference.
On our day on the water last year, we worked large reed beds. We fished quickly and covered a lot of water. We threw along the edges of the reeds, and also cast beyond the heaviest clumps and retrieved our bait so it went right through the middle of those heavy clumps. We retrieved the baits with a straight retrieve sometimes, but we found that a stop and go retrieve was best. Most strikes came as the bait started moving after a brief pause.
One of the keys is to try not to get too excited when a fish hits, and this can be hard to do. When you see the strike, drop the tip of your rod to the fish, then set the hook hard.
This is heavy cover fishing, so you need equipment designed for heavy cover. 65 pound test P-Line XTCB Braid is the way to go. It doesn’t stretch and enables long casts. That’s what you want for frog-fishing. There are rods made just for froggin’, but I like a Lew’s Flippin’ rod teamed with a Lew’s reel with a high speed retrieve. When the fish hits, you need to get it coming your way immediately, and this rod/reel combination allows that to happen. Additionally, this combo is outstanding for pitching jigs or throwing spinnerbaits. I like that versatility.
If this visual action sounds like something that you would enjoy, now and for the next month, it’s available. Make time to get in on it.
Photo Caption----This bruiser bass couldn’t resist the KVD Frog that invaded his territory.
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