Minnesota Fishing Reports - 2018

[thatbasschigger187]

Are any of you guys excited for the fall season?!?!?! Far less pleasure boaters, less pressure from the tournament anglers and the fish will be schooled up and ready to eat. I finally get to go attack the smallies in Mille Lacs and go look for some 6lb+ plus momma's. No more 5+ hours of scanning... just go out, put the trolling motor down and fish. I'll get to use my topwaters now (they get no play during tournament season) and my big swimbaits. Tournament season is finally over for me. A few pickups here and there if I want to but now I can finally just go fish around.

[ThatOneBigKid]

On 8/24/2018 at 8:36 PM, sully420 said:

@ThatOneBigKid on a tremor head crawling it on the bottom.

Very nice, I use these same heads with the Yamamoto Zako. They work really well and have a real tight action to them. 

 

I got out on to a new lake on Saturday. The lake had mildly dirty water (1' visibility) and temps in the low 70s. with the Fog and overcast skys all day I threw topwaters in the early AM with no takers. Changed to a black and blue swim jig that I make and was able to crack a 4.6lber for my second fish. This lake had a large amount of down timber in the water. Main pattern by the end of the day was dead laydown pine trees. The big one of the day was on the end of a pine and there was literally at least one fish in every pine tree I flipped. caught another fish that was just over 3lbs. This fish looked very sick. Head of a 5lber, but only 3lbs. Probably caught around 30 fish with the biggest 5 going around 14 - 15 lbs. Pattern was a one, two punch of B&B swim jig on the tips of the trees and then punching the heart of the timber with a 5/16oz TX rigged Pit Boss in the "Perfection W/ Blue Fleck" color. 

 

[punch]

I'm always excited for fall. I'm going to try and get out to Stella Washington this weekend to chase some smallies. Next weekend we're going back to Alexandria to camp at Carlos and fish the chain. The classicbass guys are there this weekend beating it up for their final tournament... glad I"m going next weekend. 

 

Then the first weekend in October me and 5 of my buddies rented a couple cabins at Grandview Lodge on Kabetogama. We're going to chase smallies & walleye's for a long weekend. Going WAY north in the fall is a must if you guys haven't done it.  The lakes huge & mostly are dead from boat traffic..  and the fishing can be bonkers if you time it right. It's stupid cheap to go up the resorts in northern MN in the fall. We're spending like $65 a night after tax per person to stay right on the lake with a sick view and boat slips. 

We did this trip last year at the end of Sept, but the weather was still pretty warm.. the first day there we wore tshirts and shorts and it was pretty hot. The fishing was decent... but this year we bumped it back 2 weeks and hopefully we catch the smallies with their fall feedbags on. 

[FryDog62]

Annual Fall fishing trip to Red Gut Bay on Rainy Lake in mid-Sept - and I can’t make it due to a work commitment.  Bought some specific smallmouth lures... see if I can still use them somewhere - -

[sully420]

Sup guys,

I was watching some old bassmaster videos last night on YouTube. I decided to watch one of my all time favorite videos, Paul Elias setting the all time record for weight in a elite series event at Falcon lake. I noticed he was using a c-rig to great effect to complement his deep crankbaits. So at lunch today at work I decided to tie one on myself and see if I could get some bites if the crankbait wasn't working. Boy did it pay off. I started with a dt14 and got some bites but the bass just really weren't committing to it, so I picked up the c-rig with a watermelon redflake game hog and caught this gal.

Next cast I got bit after the first drag and got another biggin just like the last gal right up to the boat. I tried to flip her in and snap, my line broke, above the swivel where I had some glass beads between the swivel and my weight. Big mistake, I will never use glass beads ever again ever I'm positive that's what cut my line. Anyway I picked myself up shook it off after some expletives of course and started working a 3/4oz football head jig and the jenko tremor head. After about 45 minutes I made my last cast of the evening with the tremor and stuck this girl.

Sorry the pic isn't great but this is probably my best bass of the season. I was fishing the edge of a point in 14' of water with some coontail surrounded with rock. The bass seemed to be positioned down wind of the grass on the hard spots.

[JackKlassen]

6 minutes ago, sully420 said:

Sup guys,

I was watching some old bassmaster videos last night on YouTube. I decided to watch one of my all time favorite video, Paul Elias setting the all time record for weight in a elite series event at Falcon lake. I noticed he was using a c-rig to great effect to complement his deep crankbaits. So at lunch today at work I decided to tie one on myself and see if I could get some bites if the crankbait wasn't working. Boy did it pay off. I started with a dt14 and got some bites but the bass just really weren't committing to it, so I picked up the c-rig with a watermelon redflake game hog and caught this gal.

Next cast I got bit after the first drag and got another biggin just like the last gal right up to the boat. I tried to flip her in and snap, my line broke, above the swivel where I had some glass beads between me swivel and my weight. Big mistake I will never use glass beads ever again ever. Anyway I picked myself up shook it off after some expletives ofcourse and started working a 3/4oz football head jig and the jenko tremor head. After about 45 minutes I made my last cast of the evening with the tremor and stuck this girl.

Sorry the pic isn't great but this is probably my best bass of the season. I was fishing the edge of a point in 14' of water with some coontail surrounded with rock. The bass seemed to be positioned down wind of the grass on the hard spots.

d**n sully you catch hogs out of "that lake"... Haven't been out there in the boat all season. My mistake!

[punch]

I don't think I've used a carolina rig in like 4 years... haha. I got to revist some of those presentations I used to use. I ignored the jig for a year or two but tossed one all summer this year to great effect. 

 

Nice job Sully, when are you going to start cleaning up in the local derbys? 

[sully420]

@punch I hope to fish greenhorn next year. I don't think I'll be cleaning up at all but I'm excited to learn and compete with you guys in a competitive setting. The c-rig was my go to bait when I started bass fishing and I got away from it for a couple years. I've learned this year that subtle changes to presentation based on how fish are reacting to baits can really make the difference. 

[punch]

4 hours ago, sully420 said:

@punch I hope to fish greenhorn next year. I don't think I'll be cleaning up at all but I'm excited to learn and compete with you guys in a competitive setting. The c-rig was my go to bait when I started bass fishing and I got away from it for a couple years. I've learned this year that subtle changes to presentation based on how fish are reacting to baits can really make the difference. 

Cool! We're going to fish the Wednesday night greenhorn league again next year. 

[ThatOneBigKid]

d**n Sully, I am mirin' your picks day after day. Are all these studs coming out of the same lake?

 

I am heading out to N/S Center after work today. Going to see if I can find an big girls that want to play (don't tell my wife). 

[sully420]

@ThatOneBigKid same lake been fishing it after work lately. I've never fished north center. I think I'll fish Clearwater lake this weekend and see how that goes. Good luck tonight on n/c

[gim]

Sully you gotta get a selfie stick or take a buddy with more often to take photos.  Those fish are hawgs and your selfies don't do justice!

[starkeer]

Fall pattern seems to not be far away. I was out this morning and it was 51 degrees when I got on the water, and some leaves are starting to change.. I was able to catch more fish on reaction baits this morning (4 on lipless cranks, 2 on a spinnerbait) than I have the last month combined. Biggest fish was maybe 3 pounds but all in less than 10 feet of water. I am ready for more fish to move up shallow. 

[rascalP]

Got out on Chisago today.  What a great action bite.  Caught a lot of fish in the 2-3.5 lb range with a 1/2 dozen 3.5-4lb.  One rod day, though I did try a couple others.  The ned has been ruling for me since using it at Tonka.  So much fun getting all these fish on exposed hook - they nearly set themselves, just lift the rod.  All fish were 5-10 fow near weeds. I tried a little bit of froggin and some heavy pitchin both deep and shallow, but the light ned was all that was working for me.  Green pumpkin goby and 1/8 or 1/10oz ned jig, but I don't think color mattered as much as weight. The fish seemed to be in loose schools in one big area with one tight school giving up most of the big fish. 

      This pattern and technique is perfect for a kid since the light weight keeps from getting bogged in the scattered weeds and the open hook sets easy.  Make sure you pay attention to where you are casting and dial in where a hooked fish comes from and repeat those casts.  Of course, most of you guys know this, but I keep re-learning how tight some of these schools can be.  

   Sully, I think you'll do very well in the derbys as adaptable as you seem to be. 

   Good luck to the guys fishing the GH open this fall -  I'll be heading to Eveleth/Grand Rapids area around that time.

[FryDog62]

On 8/29/2018 at 6:26 PM, starkeer said:

Fall pattern seems to not be far away. I was out this morning and it was 51 degrees when I got on the water, and some leaves are starting to change.. I was able to catch more fish on reaction baits this morning (4 on lipless cranks, 2 on a spinnerbait) than I have the last month combined. Biggest fish was maybe 3 pounds but all in less than 10 feet of water. I am ready for more fish to move up shallow. 

If they move in shallower and the baitfish are larger this time of year, here’s a good “reaction bait” that gets their attention and targets the bigger gals.  

 

The GRENADE:

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-MEGACRANK.html?from=basres

 

 

[thatbasschigger187]

@sully420 shhhhh about the carolina rig.... jkjk. Carolina rig is lowkey hawg-slaying technique. Most people shy from it cause it's slooooooow but man it gets chomped on. I usually run zoom brush hog or a lake fork ring fry.

Another one for you guys to try is a big hair jig while the some fish are still deep. 1/2 to 3/4 oz hair jig. The technique is super easy. Just make a long cast, reel and kill. I usually target really deep points with this. I'll sit in about 30ft and cast into 20ish or lower. Caught some nice ones on Diamond reef doing this. I'll add half a senko to the back of the hairjig if i want it to fall slower/more horizontally and  I'll add some Megastrike on the 1/2 senko for some stank. I use this tech when the DD and the swimbait stop working.

[sully420]

@ThatOneBigKid oh I've got some hair jigs ready. I don't fish the fall like a pattern I fish it day to day. Lots of the fish that are deep now will stay deep and some will move on and out depending on weather wind and water color and bait movement.

[punch]

Changed our plans and are heading to Mille Lacs Saturday morning. The weather is looking d**n near perfect. Fish are biting too. 

[sully420]

Here's a fun fact I've never caught a smallmouth bass in my life. I really need to figure out how to catch some

[RiggityBop]

On 8/29/2018 at 3:32 PM, sully420 said:

@ThatOneBigKid same lake been fishing it after work lately. I've never fished north center. I think I'll fish Clearwater lake this weekend and see how that goes. Good luck tonight on n/c

Ayyy, if you see a red lund on clearwater lake with me on it this weekend, i got a beer with your name on it! maybe even some special gummy bears ; ) was still getting some nice frog action last weekend. haven't perfected catching them deeper yet, so can't be helpful there... pic below was last saturday late night on clearwater, 5fow middle of the lake on hook/worm/glow in the dark bobber. 

 

Also to your never catching a smallie comment... i've been doing pretty well with smallmouth just beating the banks of the misssissippi after work. If you're interested i got a couple spots that hold smallies for sure. I have been taking two rods down, one topwater rig, and one spinning rod with plastics. Topwater marks em, and if you can't get em to bite on top, ned rig/ neko rig/ tubes / senkos will for surely get 'em. 

 

cheers

[sully420]

@RiggityBop I love gummy bears. Are you going out to clear on sat?

[RiggityBop]

15 hours ago, sully420 said:

@RiggityBop I love gummy bears. Are you going out to clear on sat?

My parents have a cabin on clearwater, so i'll be going up there tonight and fishing all weekend. : )

[ThatOneBigKid]

Hit N/S Center Wed night and we caught some decent fish. Only fished for 2 hours, but caught 10 and jumped off a couple. All came on deep cranks. My cousin had never fished deep cranks so it was awesome to get him on some fish with a new to him technique. He thought it was so cool how you could feel the deep gravel with the crank and then BAM! a fish would just bull doze your crank. He caught the biggest of the night too at 3.25lbs. No giants, but all the fish we caught were doing their best impression of the spotted bass from California. All the fish had huge full guts. Hoping to get out somewhere after church on Sunday, but haven't settled on a lake yet. 

 

Good luck to all getting out this weekend! 

[starkeer]

On 8/30/2018 at 5:10 AM, FryDog62 said:

If they move in shallower and the baitfish are larger this time of year, here’s a good “reaction bait” that gets their attention and targets the bigger gals.  

 

The GRENADE:

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megabass_Grenade_Squarebill_Crankbaits/descpage-MBGREN.html

 

 

You got me haha, just ordered one and had to add several other large profile baits gearing up for the fall bite. 

[FryDog62]

2 hours ago, starkeer said:

You got me haha, just ordered one and had to add several other large profile baits gearing up for the fall bite. 

Let me know how you do with it.  I’m also looking at ordering up some big swimbaits like the Hudd 68.