Fishing Reports
3326 Fishing Reports
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Hard Jerkbaits
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Perch
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Football Jigs
Structure
Open Water/Basin
Forage
Crawfish
Marked fish on bottom with DI. Slowly dragged a 1/2 OW Sniper Jig w/ Lil General trailer on a large flat.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Frogs/Toads
Structure
Lily Pads
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
80°
Killer night frogging on Delavan. You NEED to buy swamp lords if you haven’t already - only frog that has ever competed with a SPRO in my opinion.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Texas Rigs (Pitch/Flip)
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
58°
Pitching up close to the bank and dragging it slow back to the boat through the elodea was the ticket on catching this hammer.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Topwater Popping
Structure
River Channels
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
77°
Poppers are very hot on the river
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Football Jigs
Structure
Laydowns
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
67°
Slow jig bite
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Frogs/Toads
Structure
Lily Pads
Forage
Bluegill
Frog bite
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Spinnerbaits
Structure
Docks
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
70°
Both colors did really well skipping underneath docks for bass this past summer. Most the largemouth were staged in the shade out of the wind.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Ned Rigs
Structure
Humps
Forage
Alewife
Water Temperature
55°
Slow dragging up shallow for pre-spawn fish
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Frogs/Toads
Structure
Matted Grass
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
74°
Matted grass clumps around the edges of deep bullrush patches held lots of fish, black spro frog worked amazing once the sun got up high enough in the sky.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Vertical Jigging 10-19'
Structure
Dam
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
46°
I use a modified Dubuque rig with just an octopus hook instead of a jig on one line. I use a minnow on both. I tailhook the minnow on the hook. Look for current seams in 12-17' of water under the dam.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Standing Timber
Forage
Crawfish
Water Temperature
52°
Bass were hanging off wing dams in deeper water with some wood.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Texas Rigs (Worming)
Structure
Points
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
65°
Throwing sinkos on long points and slowly dragging them were key to getting fish to bite due to all the baitfish being pushed up shallow.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Vertical Jigging 0-9'
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
46°
Days are numbered with ice up coming, but with water temps at 46, we still have maybe a week left of open water fishing. And this is THE time to be out on the water. Still, the bite on the Croix continues to be tough with the bumper shad crop this year. Predators are well fed and aren't showing much interest in baits (live or artificial). Nevertheless, I muscled 5 walleye on 2 3/4in jigging raps long casted on the top of ledges in 8-10 FOW. They had tiny heads and plump strong bodies indicating they were young and well fed! 3 of the 5 came from an active pod I spied on my Lowrance Active Target. I got lucky and decided to record my retrieve through a pod and I happened to hook up with one. Check it out - https://youtu.be/EXOWRcfdnCw. The Active Target was an invaluable tool to search for fish and I didn't waste time casting where I couldn't see fish. I think I have one more outing in me, then it's time to put the boat into storage. Boo Hoo!
Species
WalleyeSeason
Fall
Technique
Vertical Jigging 0-9'
Structure
Dam
Forage
Minnows
Catching with jig and minnow on slow retrieves
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Crankbaits 7'-12'
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Crawfish
Water Temperature
44°
Slowly retrieving the Rock Crawler along riprap banks. Also caught fish on Core Tackle Ozark rig with a Berkley Power Hawg trailer down the steep outside bends in the river.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Hard Swimbaits
Structure
Points
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
45°
Slow retrieve over and around points.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Winter
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Pilings
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
53°
With this looking like the last week of nice weather in Chicago before it really gets cold I had to get out. Fishing is already slow, but knowing they’re fattening up on baitfish, I threw a cold weather staple in a shad-like color as a last resort. Picture doesn’t do it justice, but this one was a FATTY. Had some shoulders on it. Hoping I can find more this week before fishing shuts down next week.
