Mountain Island Lake
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Mountain Island Lake Fishing Reports
Stay up to date with the latest fishing reports from Mountain Island Lake. Reports are submitted by local anglers, fishing guides, and our team of fishing experts.
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Largemouth BassTechniqueHard Topwater (Walking)SeasonSummerStructurePointsEarly morning: bass are set up on points next to deeper water feeding on shad as they're transitioning out deep as the sun rises. Twitching a Teckel Kicknocker in Bone across points has been key for me this summer first thing in the morning. Mid-morning: A few bass are still up shallow feeding on the bluegill under overhangs and docks, skipping a jig or a stick bait under them will produce some bites for the reminder of the day. Bass are still busting on baitfish off the ends of laydowns next deep water, topwater walking baits works for the schooling fish and a jerkbait being a good choice for the single fish. Mid-day: typically the time I'm working my way towards the ramp due to boat traffic on this small impoundment. Using your electronics will help you locate the balls of bait & once you located the bait fan casting your favorite drop shot lure or a small swimbait in the general area of the bait & that will keep the bite going. Keep the topwater close by, the spotted bass are schooling throughout the day.
- Species
Spotted BassTechniqueHard Topwater (Walking)SeasonSummerStructureLaydownsTopwater bites are happening all day long on Mt. Island, twitching a hard walking bait around/over the laydowns will produce some vicious topwater strikes. Once the sun tops the trees, small swimbaits on deep water main lake points & humps will fire up the school long enough to catch a few on topwater.
SpeciesLargemouth BassTechniqueHard JerkbaitsSeasonSummerStructureBouldersToday was hot, sunny, and clear skies. Luckily I went out around sunrise before it got too hot. When I first got there I saw some shad being chased around some boulders that were in 6-9ft of water. For most of the morning, I targeted these boulders with the megabass vision 110 in matt shad. I like the matt shad early in the morning and in clear water. I was throwing this jerkbait on my st croix mojo bass 7’1 mh spinning with a shimano stradic 4000. I had 15lb braid to 12lb mono leader. I also used a snap for jerkbait fishing because it allows the bait to move more freely and it’s easier to change colors when I need to. With the water being so warm, the fish were very active in the morning so I was working the jerkbait really fast. I had little to no pauses in between every jerk. As the day went on, the bite got slower because it got hotter and windier. Also I didn’t see any more shad being chase after around 9:30am.
- Species
Striped BassTechniqueHard JerkbaitsSeasonSummerStructureDamI went out to a local dam early in the morning targeting stripers, hybrids and bass. I had most of my success throwing the Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait in Mat Shad because the water was fairly clear. I was throwing this on a 7’1" St. Croix Mojo Bass MH spinning rod with a 4000 Shimano Stradic spooled with 15lb braid. I caught most of my fish working the jerkbait really fast. There is almost no pause to the jerking action. The wind was blowing around 10mph which is fairly high there. After around 10am the bit really slowed down.
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueFinesse JigsSeasonSummerStructureLedges
This technique is a little bit tricky, because it does require you to know where the ledge is and it helps to know if there are fish suspended on the ledge. But if you make casts parallel with the ledge, and let the bait fall while slowly reeling. Throw in some rod twitching and jerkin, those suspended bass will eat.
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueHard Topwater (Popping)SeasonSpring (Post-Spawn)StructureBaitfish
Went out early in the morning right around sunrise targeting schooling bass that were chasing small shad on the surface. Using the Megabass PopMax was the perfect imitation of the shad that they were feeding on. I was using a 7’1 M St. Croix Mojo Bass spinning rod with a 2500 Daiwa Ballistic MQ to make long casts to reach the fish easier. I had the reel spooled up with 15lb braid and 2.5 ft of 12lb mono leader. I would say the water temp was around 72 degrees all morning with about 5-6 ft of water clarity. Majority of my bites that day were casting to areas where I seen fish on the surface feeding on shad. Only a couple of fish were caught blind casting around.
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueStructure JigsSeasonSummerStructureLaydowns
Started the morning fishing a topwater bite without success. Started fishing a small swim bait in schooling shad and caught a couple of keepers. In the afternoon I fished laydowns with a jig and caught my 2 biggest of the day
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueHard Topwater (Walking)SeasonSummerStructurePoints
Mt. Island in my opinion is the best its been in a few years when it comes to fishing a topwater walking bait, once you locate the shad migrating into or out of the creeks just begin fan casting and you will get bit. Plenty of spotted bass being caught on topwater throughout the day, the best times are during low light conditions. Wind blown points near deep water are holding plenty of fish, mixture of largemouth & spotted bass can be caught after the sun tops the trees with a variety of techniques such as: deep diving crankbaits, drop shot, jigs, & weightless flukes.
