Northwoods Report, Early September

My girlfriend Amanda and I had an outstanding Labor Day weekend of fishing the local waters. She did incredibly well for a first time fisherwoman, catching a handful of smallies up to 18 inches. I let her outfish me 24 to 6 for the holiday weekend, and I had trouble keeping her off the water!

During the short and quick three days, we worked a few local lakes in the Minocqua region focusing on numbers. But the places we fished also encompass many fish of good size. The places fished usually have low boat traffic too, thus they were the perfect options for the busy holiday weekend, even though boat traffic and tourist activity was light and we could have gone to anywhere but the congested Minocqua Chain.

Our fishing encompassed a lot of finesse presentations such as wacky rigging, texas rigging plastics, tube jigging, casting paddle tails with swimming heads, and fishing with swim jigs and swimming grubs. In most scenarios fish were responding best to these presentations, and most fish were contacted in depths as shallow as 2 feet to as deep as 20 feet. They’re all over the place now but most are shallow.

The start of the weekend was difficult and bites were few. Conditions were poor due to heat, warm water temperatures and high skies. Amanda had difficulties keeping fish hooked so I tried my best to catch whatever could bite and pass the rod over to her. She had a blast reeling them in.

On Sunday, we did the same again but this time on different water and in completely different conditions. Rain was threatening for the entire day but didn’t move in until the evening hours. We fished from 12 noon until 7pm. Boat traffic on our lake of choice was very light, skies were overcast, and water temperatures were 72-74 degrees. Conditions were perfect and to my surprise a lot of smallmouths and largemouths were active in the shallows and feeding.

Applying the same techniques from the previous day, I let Amanda take me to school on Sunday. While I was often experimenting with other presentations and purposely not catching a whole lot, she was masterful at fishing the tube jig and used nothing else for the entire day. The fish wanted nothing other than a Strike King Coffee Tube and Stankx Bait Company 3.5 DD Tube.

We began catching largemouths in the shallows, then progressing into deeper waters where big smallmouths reside. Her technique was perfect, just the way I wanted it to be done with slow dragging, and dead sticking.

Towards the later afternoon hours, the big fish were on the prowl and the overcast skies certainly helped us and turned the fish on. We focused on working depths of 5 to 20 feet, with the underwater terrain featuring sand and rock transitions, and the occasional scattered fish cribs giving way to deep ledges and nearby open water.

I thanked Amanda for letting me catch my first of the weekend, a 17 incher that took the Coffee Tube rigged with Freedom Tackle’s Zodiac jig.

A few hours later, Amanda was on some big fish of her own, hauling in a pair of 18 and 17 inchers all by herself. The fish went airborne 3 feet high. After a 30 second battle with multiple power dives and drag singing, Amanda’s first ever big bass was scooped into the Frabill; an 18 incher!

As if this big boy wasn’t enough, she followed up with another towards evening.

My smallie girl took me to school on Sunday, winning the battle at 14 bass to my catch of 6. I couldn’t be happier. She fished exceptionally well and mastered the techniques, fishing better than any beginners and new anglers I’ve ever fished with, and exhibiting the determination and patience needed in order to be successful.

Day 3 was Labor Day, thus we had a shorter day on the water. We fished from 9am until 2pm, our third lake of the weekend. Morning conditions were overcast and windy, and quite poor. At least there weren’t very many boats out, which was the nicest thing about it. We had a difficult time finding active fish but once the overnight front of rain moved away and sun burned through the clouds, the fish woke up. I allowed Amanda to outfish me once again, 8 to 4, and she had the magic touch once again with the tube jigs.

All fish were found surprisingly shallow, relating to shoreline sand bars, edges of weed flats, remnants of old fish cribs, and rock/gravel flats. 10 feet or less. On this lake we spent some time looking for smallies and perch schools along weedlines but all we could find were walleyes willing to strike swim jigs…… any day now.

From 1 to 2pm, the best fishing was had, and big bass were on the prowl. Amanda’s largest of the day was the 16 incher pictured above taken on the coffee tube dragged through wood. A short while later, my favorite fishing partner and I concluded an excellent weekend together with this 4 pounder she let me catch off the same spot. Crankbaits took a few large fish like this guy below when they were most active, but feeding windows were short and spotty. I’m definitely sensing a transition from a crayfish bite to more baitfish as evidenced by the lure color patterns we were using. This will become more obvious as waters drop into the 60-65 degree range.

In the coming days, a cooldown will be taking place, thus lowering the 72-74 degree water temperatures down to the 60’s. This should take a few days to materialize. I look forward to this time of season as more bass will be moving into the shallows and feeding on baitfish until turnover period. A pattern I like to capitalize on for this time of season is locating migrating schools of yellow perch. These congregations will be found in sand grass, and along the deep edges of weedlines (cabbage beds best). A lot of traveling schools of smallmouths can be located nearby, following these perch schools. Swim jigs, swimming grubs, suspending jerkbaits, flukes, lipless crankbaits, and carolina rigged minnows can capitalize. Look for this pattern to develop on a lake nearby you any day now. Largemouth bass will follow suit as well.

I’ll be back on the water full time starting again end of next week for my favorite time of year – though it brings its share of challenges and lots of screwy weather and fish movements. I expect this perch pattern to be in full swing then, and more fish focusing on a baitfish bite rather than crayfish.