Minnesota Fishing Reports - 2018

[Dubtee]

Quick report:  Fished Saturday morning and bite was pretty good early, west side lake, 76 degree water.  Caught several on a KVD popper first thing around submerged milfoil and the lily pad line. I then went to my jig bite and it was still there, several quality fish.  Picked up a few with weightless a T-rigged senko in the same area as a follow up lure after I felt I picked off the aggressive jig fish.  Bite slowed around 8:30/9.

 

Quick question on vegetation ID.

Does anyone know (for certain) what this type of vegetation is?  It seemed to grow in clumps, 4-8 fow, also seemed attached to bottom.  There are curly leaf patches around it, but didn't seem to be mixed with anything.  It is real limp and grass-like when I pull it out of the water, not real hard stemmed.  Sago Pondweed? 

[gim]

I've had some trouble lately.  I don't know if its the hot/humid weather or what but it has been pretty tough.  Seems like the only way I can get bit is with a very slow presentation, and even that's only somewhat reliable.  I've noticed that the water has gotten a little murkier with some rain too.  Normally I try to target days with inclement weather in the forecast but its either been bright, hot sun or severe t-storms and I aint going in either of those.  What has been working lately and at what depth?  Slow or faster presentations?  Any help would be appreciated.

[FryDog62]

Been a little slow for me too... but as the day goes on.  Seems like the majority of fish I catch are sunrise until about 8:30, then it’s a different game after that I haven’t figured out yet either.  

[Jmhalvo]

I think a July high pressure reading this week that was an ALL TIME HIGH for July qualifies as unusual - I think it did not help at all. So there is an excuse just waiting to be picked up, so I will.

 

Wednesday between storms was fantastic- high pressure hadn’t moved in obviously. Friday was tough, a minor bite til noon then zip. In 8 hours Friday I caught 4 fish, all before 10:30...my partner caught about 8,all T rigged in the thick stuff. Sunday was pretty good (2-3 per hour myself) with T rigged Rage bugs mid depths and some on wood. Only one fish top water. I love lay downs...it seems every tree has fish. I have found the bigger baits better than senko lately.

[FryDog62]

13 hours ago, Jmhalvo said:

 I have found the bigger baits better than senko lately.

I think this might be true and am switching to more jigs.  In fact, I might even break out the big Mop Jig with the 5 inch Megadaddy trailer..!

[sully420]

I'm going out today at 2pm I'll report this evening.

[thatbasschigger187]

Hello everyone!

 

How's everyone doing?!?! How's the fishing been for everyone? Took 2 weeks off from fishing after a huge 100+ boat derby. Pulled close to 30lbs of bass(8 fish). It was a total crazy experience. Outside of that I've been fishing alot of west metro lakes. The fish are "ON"!!! I've been getting 20+ lbs (5 fish) bags just this last week. Lots of 3's and 4's everywhere. Find the thickest, greenest grass and they'll be there. I've been hooked on ripping lipless cranks out of thick grass. It's tiring but its been super effective and it gives the fish a different look from the typical t-rigs and jigs. Frog fishing has been a dud because everyone is doing it right now.

Anyways. I hope you all are ripping lips. Take care and God bless!

[sully420]

Got out today from 3 to 7pm today. Fished around for a bit and decided to fish docks, caught a 5 and a 4 on a shad color swimjig kvd sexy shad I think is the color. Also got lots of bites but the bass were taken the bait funny today an missed them. I wanted to fish grass but the grass on the lake I was fishing was garbage ( dead and full of algae). Thanks @misho187 for the lipless tip I know a lake that should set up well for that technique. I think this season is all about reading the lake and finding the best stuff on that body of water, versatility and trying new techniques that allow you to present your bait correctly in the cover you find seems to be the deal.

[thatbasschigger187]

13 hours ago, sully420 said:

Got out today from 3 to 7pm today. Fished around for a bit and decided to fish docks, caught a 5 and a 4 on a shad color swimjig kvd sexy shad I think is the color. Also got lots of bites but the bass were taken the bait funny today an missed them. I wanted to fish grass but the grass on the lake I was fishing was garbage ( dead and full of algae). Thanks @misho187 for the lipless tip I know a lake that should set up well for that technique. I think this season is all about reading the lake and finding the best stuff on that body of water, versatility and trying new techniques that allow you to present your bait correctly in the cover you find seems to be the deal.

@sully420Yeah gotta stay away from that nasty stuff. I always spend the first hour or two scanning and looking at the map before I even make my first if I don't fish that lake much. I guess it's my tournament mentality. Find the juice before you squeeze it.

I got out last night too from 5 to 8:30ish. I spent an 30 min scanning the whole lake (it's a small lake) picked out a few nice drop offs where I marked some bait fish with healthy coontail on it and got to work. Caught a nice bag again. 16-18lbs of bass (5 fish). I honestly didn't expect it cause I was using a bunch baits/lures/colors I have never used or have no confidence in. Brush hogs, spoons, chatterbaits, etc. The fish were biting like crazy. I think they were just in feeding mode.

@sully420 I'm definitely on the same boat as you in terms of trying new techniques. I think most anglers just get used to using the same techniques over and over again because it works in Minnesota. But when you go to a different body of water in a different state things change drastically. Flipping Tonka is way different that flipping the Cali Delta I tell ya. I know I get stubborn when I can't get that jig pattern to work, cause that's my favorite lure/technique. But I've learned to kinda just fish the moment and let the fish tell you what they want instead of trying to force your will onto them. We are all not KVD! LOL!!!

[starkeer]

I really struck out this morning. Got out on the Minneapolis chain and did absolutely nothing on some normally productive spots. I then went up north to go out on the Mississippi and did absolutely nothing there as well. Probably the least productive day of the season for me. I was out by 5am and it was already 81 degrees, I am thinking the heat kept the fish in a sluggish mood even though I was fishing normally productive times, and spots. 

[FryDog62]

...well I was thinking of going up to the Snake River to fish tomorrow..

[rascalP]

On 7/7/2018 at 10:00 PM, punch said:

So @rascalP got me in our 2nd tournament of the year by .1 LB! He got 7.99lb of smallmouth and we got 7.88lb on the Mississippi river. So we're 1-1 thus far. 

 

Our next tournament is this week on White Bear Lake and Ethan.. I'm ready for ya! Been putting some work in. 

 

yep, you got us.  Well done.  I would have never thought to go that deep. I gotta put a little more time in figuring  out them thar new fangled  e-lectronics.  No doubt, time on the water puts fish in the boat.

[Jmhalvo]

On 7/12/2018 at 9:01 PM, starkeer said:

I really struck out this morning. Got out on the Minneapolis chain and did absolutely nothing on some normally productive spots. I then went up north to go out on the Mississippi and did absolutely nothing there as well. Probably the least productive day of the season for me. I was out by 5am and it was already 81 degrees, I am thinking the heat kept the fish in a sluggish mood even though I was fishing normally productive times, and spots. 

Went out in the afternoon heat today. Horrible, not a bite. Was definitely fishing, not catching. Not a good feeling but I try to enjoy it

[gim]

Relief from this sweltering heat and humidity is coming soon.  This upcoming week looks very comfortable.  I don't know how those guys down south fish in this kind of weather for 5 months straight.

[sully420]

Went out to coon today from 11am to 5. Caught 10 bass 2 3lb. Caught  them on a reed point that had lots of floating degree blown in I was flipping a kvd sexy shad swim jig with a watermelon menace a couple of feet back in the reeds. I love this weather it's right in my wheelhouse puts bass right where I like them. 

[Jmhalvo]

4 hours ago, sully420 said:

Went out to coon today from 11am to 5. Caught 10 bass 2 3lb. Caught  them on a reed point that had lots of floating degree blown in I was flipping a kvd sexy shad swim jig with a watermelon menace a couple of feet back in the reeds. I love this weather it's right in my wheelhouse puts bass right where I like them. 

So sully you use swim jigs even when flippin. Also what determines your trailer style?

 

[sully420]

15 hours ago, Jmhalvo said:

So sully you use swim jigs even when flippin. Also what determines your trailer style?

A swim jig is really versatile and in the sunny calm conditions I had I started with the swim jig just junk fishing some emergent vegetation ( cattails and a wispy kind of grass) there were some pads and really shallow milfoil about 3' at the boat and 1.5 where the cattails were. So I was just covering water with a swim jig, I could cast it and flipp it. I got bit 3' in to the cattails with the jig and went to a 3/4oz skirted punch rig and it didn't get bit as well as the jig so I went with the jig 70% of the time. I think it was the rate of the fall the jig was 1/2oz, the bass seemed to like it off the bottom. Long story short swim jig is a good versatile search bait when conditions don't favor spinners and blades jigs and you can't fish a treble bait clean. 

[sully420]

As for trailer style I consider 3.

1. Size what profile am I looking for and do I need extra bulk maby for skipping ease or displacement in dirty water also rate of fall.

2. Action do I need some king of moving action In warm water or to trigger reaction bites. I cold water I'll use trailers with dead action like rodents or beavers.

3. Rig I am using. Different baits have different pros and cons for the hooks and bait style you are using. I feel like the hook up ratio for big trailers  like rage draws is better on a jig than a flipping hook because the hook needs to penetrate all that plastic bait. On a jig all you need to overcome is the brush guard. I like a lean bait like a sweet beaver or a menace for flipping hooks JMO. Many people overcome this problem by using ewg hooks for flipping because if rigged correctly the bait slides more easily exposing the hook. Personally I prefer the flipping hook for its strength and hold, also is a bit more seedless than the ewg imo. I still think it is worth trying the ewg, it may just fit one's style better.

[punch]

On 7/13/2018 at 12:11 AM, rascalP said:

yep, you got us.  Well done.  I would have never thought to go that deep. I gotta put a little more time in figuring  out them thar new fangled  e-lectronics.  No doubt, time on the water puts fish in the boat.

Thanks man! The electronics helped us find the rock piles (side scan) on the flat near the grass on White Bear Lake. We fished like 4-5 spots in practice and only got bit on two of them, so we fished just those two spots during the derby and the fish were luckly still there and still biting on the same pattern. All the action was in 16-22' pretty far offshore. 

 

That was the first tournament I've EVER won.. and it came on a lake I've literally fished twice in my life. Funny how that works. 

On 7/15/2018 at 2:40 PM, sully420 said:

As for trailer style I consider 3.

1. Size what profile am I looking for and do I need extra bulk maby for skipping ease or displacement in dirty water also rate of fall.

2. Action do I need some king of moving action In warm water or to trigger reaction bites. I cold water I'll use trailers with dead action like rodents or beavers.

3. Rig I am using. Different baits have different pros and cons for the hooks and bait style you are using. I feel like the hook up ratio for big trailers  like rage draws is better on a jig than a flipping hook because the hook needs to penetrate all that plastic bait. On a jig all you need to overcome is the brush guard. I like a lean bait like a sweet beaver or a menace for flipping hooks JMO. Many people overcome this problem by using ewg hooks for flipping because if rigged correctly the bait slides more easily exposing the hook. Personally I prefer the flipping hook for its strength and hold, also is a bit more seedless than the ewg imo. I still think it is worth trying the ewg, it may just fit one's style better.

I pretty much only use 4 trailers on a swim jig these days.. Keitech, rage menace, or a rage craw. I pretty much only use the Menace on 3/8ths swim jigs and either the keitech or rage craw on a 1/2oz. I'm tossing a 1/2oz swim jig like 75% of the time. 

 

[Dubtee]

Love all this jig talk!  I've been flipping around a 1/2 oz cone shaped jig that I can swim or let settle.  Like Sully said, swim headed jigs are pretty versatile.  I've been having recent success with a rage bug as the trailer.  I bite off a little on the top to make it more compact.

[wisconsin heat]

Hi guys, I've moved to the metro almost a month ago now and have spent a lot of my free time checking out what I can around here as far as shore fishing. I own a 'yak, but my current living situation doesn't provide me with the means to keep it here, so in Wisconsin it stays. The past few weeks have been absolutely brutal, and I'm struggling to even catch a fish. I've tried a lot of metro lakes and some sections of the river, but it seems very high right now and difficult to fish. If anyone has any tips to catch some from the bank, that would be greatly appreciated!

 

Tight Lines,

 

Chris

[starkeer]

28 minutes ago, wisconsin heat said:

Hi guys, I've moved to the metro almost a month ago now and have spent a lot of my free time checking out what I can around here as far as shore fishing. I own a 'yak, but my current living situation doesn't provide me with the means to keep it here, so in Wisconsin it stays. The past few weeks have been absolutely brutal, and I'm struggling to even catch a fish. I've tried a lot of metro lakes and some sections of the river, but it seems very high right now and difficult to fish. If anyone has any tips to catch some from the bank, that would be greatly appreciated!

 

Tight Lines,

 

Chris

I was in a very similar situation when I moved here 3 summers ago and it took me about a year before I started to find fish. Renting a kayak/canoe and getting out on the Minneapolis Chain is always a good way to go, you can rent one right on Calhoun and then make your way through the whole chain. Otherwise, the river can be your friend, find public parks that have lots of shore access and work the entire shore, I've done really well this summer with squarebills, topwater (spooks and whopper ploppers), and chatterbaits. Also, the same thing that everyone is going to tell you but try your best to fish peak times, early morning (getting out around 5am) or around sunset. It really is just about exploring and fishing all the spots you can find that look fishy until you start finding fish. 

[FryDog62]

On 7/10/2018 at 10:48 AM, FryDog62 said:

I think this might be true and am switching to more jigs.  In fact, I might even break out the big Mop Jig with the 5 inch Megadaddy trailer..!

Well, I made the switch to the biggest bad-alec jig and trailer I could find it worked!  

[gim]

I fished the river today and they were snappin' at the topwaters.  My Father and I caught 27 smallmouth and 2 pike in about 4.5 hours.  Our two biggest an 18 3/4 and a new personal best river smallmouth for me, a 20 3/4 incher.  We did also have some pike issues though.  Got trimmed off 3 times and lost about $25 in topwater lures because of it.  These weren't 20 inch snakes either, they were GATORS...at least 35 inchers.  Man those pike are aggressive.

[FryDog62]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

I fished the river today and they were snappin' at the topwaters.  My Father and I caught 27 smallmouth and 2 pike in about 4.5 hours.  Our two biggest an 18 3/4 and a new personal best river smallmouth for me, a 20 3/4 incher.  We did also have some pike issues though.  Got trimmed off 3 times and lost about $25 in topwater lures because of it.  These weren't 20 inch snakes either, they were GATORS...at least 35 inchers.  Man those pike are aggressive.

Awesome smallmouth!  I hear you on the pike bite-offs.  When I throw expensive topwater lures like a Whopper Plopper, I use the 2 inch leaders that Wayzata Bait sells.  Doesn’t prevent all bite-offs but the majority of them anyway, and the leaders are small enough not to effect the action of most lures.  

 

Looks like you had a great day on the water... good you got out - I’m hearing 2 straight days of rain now ?!?