Can’t figure this lake out?

[Jmp_37]

My parents got a place on a walleye lake with practically zero bass in the lake but there is a lake connected to it where an 8lber was caught ( Giant for MN ). I have been running up to the lake when I get the chance and can get a few sometimes but nothing consistent. The entire shoreline of the lake is covered in wild rice with lily pads here and there. No houses on the lake just straight wild rice and pads. I have thrown crankbaits in the deeper basins on the edge of the wild rice and pads on the shoreline with decent success but with the fall turnover all I can seem to get is pike... yesterday I picked up two bass flippin, one in the wild rice and the other I saw bust in 10ft of water and flipped my 1oz weight to it and got him. Just confused on where to start with the whole lake littered with cover  and how to adjust with the turnover

[scaleface]

Man , that is a shallow lake .   I  would   stay near the deep water even if fishing shallow . I like the looks of the area east of the three islands . It seems to rise up with a deep hole on both ends ,  sort of like a reverse saddle .     What is the acreage here ?

[Jmp_37]

23 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Man , that is a shallow lake .   I  would   stay near the deep water even if fishing shallow . I like the looks of the area east of the three islands . It seems to rise up with a deep hole on both ends ,  sort of like a reverse saddle .     What is the acreage here ?

700

[WRB]

My experience with natural lakes is limited to Lake of the Woods region and can offer marginal advice.

Don't listen to local fish tales of big bass, it's possible by highly unlikely someone caught a 8 lb LMB out of this small lake.

This lake a pike population are they big pike? If so what is the primary prey source?

The bass haven't migrated down stream and the walleyes haven't migrated up stream yet the lakes are connected. So The down stream lake is larger and deeper also with a pike population but no bass to your knowledge. What I am trying to determine is the prey source; bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, chubs, shiners, frogs, crawdads and terrestrial critters? There is a reason walleyes haven't established themselves but no reason bass haven't migrated south. Walleyes prefer chubs and shiners or any slender baitfish, LMB will eat anything and so will pike.

Wild rice grows very shallow water but thieves in 1' to 2' of water up north in Lake of the  Woods. Most of the natural Nothern lakes have Lilly pads, Coontail, junk weeds, cat tail pencil reeds and wild rice. I haven't had any success fishing wild rice, only the edges where it lays down creating a mat. The majority of LMB in Lake of the Woods occupy the inside weed break line with Coontail or lily pads, pike tend to own the outside deep break areas. 

When this lake freezes over both thr bass and pike go deep, it's fall so they shouldn't be too far away from the deep areas but located where the primary prey is at.

Looking at the map doesn't help a lot, you can see where the deep water is and know where the coontail, lily pad inside weed line is located (open water next to the shoreline) 

Tom

[Jmp_37]

37 minutes ago, WRB said:

My experience with natural lakes is limited to Lake of the Woods region and can offer marginal advice.

Don't listen to local fish tales of big bass, it's possible by highly unlikely someone caught a 8 lb LMB out of this small lake.

This lake a pike population are they big pike? If so what is the primary prey source?

The bass haven't migrated down stream and the walleyes haven't migrated up stream yet the lakes are connected. So The down stream lake is larger and deeper also with a pike population but no bass to your knowledge. What I am trying to determine is the prey source; bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, chubs, shiners, frogs, crawdads and terrestrial critters? There is a reason walleyes haven't established themselves but no reason bass haven't migrated south. Walleyes prefer chubs and shiners or any slender baitfish, LMB will eat anything and so will pike.

Wild rice grows very shallow water but thieves in 1' to 2' of water up north in Lake of the  Woods. Most of the natural Nothern lakes have Lilly pads, Coontail, junk weeds, cat tail pencil reeds and wild rice. I haven't had any success fishing wild rice, only the edges where it lays down creating a mat. The majority of LMB in Lake of the Woods occupy the inside weed break line with Coontail or lily pads, pike tend to own the outside deep break areas. 

When this lake freezes over both thr bass and pike go deep, it's fall so they shouldn't be too far away from the deep areas but located where the primary prey is at.

Looking at the map doesn't help a lot, you can see where the deep water is and know where the coontail, lily pad inside weed line is located (open water next to the shoreline) 

Tom

Hey Tom, this might help https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=01004000

Small pike, big bluegills and little walleye population. 8lber was a verified state record before it was broken, so no fish tale. And you are correct, down stream lake is larger, darker colored, pike and walleye population and almost no largemouth but a few smallmouth. 

[WRB]

You caught 2 LMB from a lake with marginal bass population dominated by perch and pike. My observation reading the attached DNR survey is young of the year LMB have a very low survival rate do to the pike, yellow perch perch and black crappie targeting the fry. If a female LMB manages to live to adult size there is abundant yellow perch and crappie as a prey source could get big. No big pike (?) means the bass are equals when it comes to location and can occupy the outside breaks.

Good luck, 

Tom

[Jmp_37]

9 minutes ago, WRB said:

You caught 2 LMB from a lake with marginal bass population dominated by perch and pike. My observation reading the attached DNR survey is young of the year LMB have a very low survival rate do to the pike, yellow perch perch and black crappie targeting the fry. If a female LMB manages to live to adult size there is abundant yellow perch and crappie as a prey source could get big. No big pike (?) means the bass are equals when it comes to location and can occupy the outside breaks.

Good luck, 

Tom

Thanks Tom, am fishing right now and have gotten one 2lber. Was fishing a swimjig through pads and weeds and caught a bunch of pike until I let it fall and hopped it right close to the shoreline on the bottom and got a bass. Switched to a flippin jig and targeting more shallow cover.

[papajoe222]

Your experiences on this like will likely repeat often. The small number of bass vs. pike will be reflected in your catches as both species are competing for the same forage. One thing that will possibly tilt things toward catching fewer pike is to fish bottom contact lures. Pike can not tilt their bodies to look down, plus the position of their eyes makes targets above or even with them the ones they go after. 

With all the lakes in close proximity to Aitkin, I'm sure there are some with a larger population of bass. Unless you are unable to access them with your boat, I'd opt for targeting one or two of them.

[Harold Scoggins]

11 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Pike can not tilt their bodies to look down, plus the position of their eyes makes targets above or even with them the ones they go after. 

I learn something new everyday!

[J Francho]

12 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Pike can not tilt their bodies to look down

You've obviously never seen a pike pick up a jig.

[WRB]

My inlaws like to fish for lake trout in the spring using sucker meat on a lake rig, the sucker laying on the bottom. When they start catching pike they moved to another area, the pike have no trouble locating and eating dead fish off the bottom.

Bass have eyes near the top of their heads similar to pike both see the bottom with ease, they simply roll slightly to one side and look straight down.

Tom

[BassinCNY]

19 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Your experiences on this like will likely repeat often. The small number of bass vs. pike will be reflected in your catches as both species are competing for the same forage. One thing that will possibly tilt things toward catching fewer pike is to fish bottom contact lures. Pike can not tilt their bodies to look down, plus the position of their eyes makes targets above or even with them the ones they go after. 

With all the lakes in close proximity to Aitkin, I'm sure there are some with a larger population of bass. Unless you are unable to access them with your boat, I'd opt for targeting one or two of them.

I was fishing a very similar lake in northern NY with a spinner bait in about 4 feet of water. As it got close to the boat I watched a pike that had been suspended vertically with it's head down take off like a rocket for my bait. I realized I hadn't seen it at first because I thought it was a weed. I think that's what it was trying to look like. It was around 24 inches long. So at least a small pike can position itself vertically.

[Jmp_37]

They will definitely eat bottom contact baits but I definitely agree that they would much rather prefer something moving more and in the middle-top of the water column.

[WRB]

I keep waiting for northern regional BR members will ad their advice on how to catch bass in the lake the OP posted in lieu of discussing pike behavior.

Tom

[papajoe222]

11 hours ago, J Francho said:

You've obviously never seen a pike pick up a jig.

Actually I've seen it numerous time and caught many on a jig, but the location of a pike's swim bladder prohibits them tilting their head down and tail up. Almost every one was swimming downward and had likely seen the jig as it was falling.

[J Francho]

Not many fish can "tilt" their head.  Most don't have a neck.

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Not many fish can "tilt" their head.  Most don't have a neck.

"Save the neck for me, Clark" -cousin Eddie