After a mid-summer slump, fishing has been picking up the last week; the transition to late summer tactics is slowly taking shape. For walleye, 15-18 feet on rock piles is most often going to be the sweet spot. With live bait, leeches and nightcrawlers are still performing best for the most part but based on the small perch fry the walleye have been filled with, the minnow bite is beginning to take shape. If you’re going to try jigging minnows for walleye, don’t gowithbigminnowsquiteyetandbring some leeches as backup. Otherwise, troll a Rapala Deeptail Dancer, (trolls perfectly at about 15 feet), or a Rapala Rattlin’ Suspending Shad Rap. Both in a Fire Tiger pattern are doing very well.
Smallmouth bass are in 8-12 feet of water on rock piles and rocky flats. The most effective approach this week has been soft plastics, Ned Rigs, Swim Baits, Whacky Rigs and Tube Jigs. Not sure where to start with soft plastic presentations? Here’s a list to get you started:
• Whacky Rig. Rapala Crush City Pig Stick, ZMan Zinkers, Yum Dinger, Gulp, or Yamamoto Yamasenko’s. Use a plain hook, size 1 or 2 will do just fine, and hook through the middle of the bait. Cast and bounce pack along the bottom as you retrieve.
• Ned rig. Rapala Crush City NED BLT, ZMan Finesse TRD Mudbug, and Zman TRD Bugz. Tie on a Ned Rig Jig, affix soft bait though the nose, cast and retrieve by bouncing off the bottom. Pull up, let fall to the bottom and pause occasionally.
• Tube Jig. Berkley Power Bait Tube, Coffee Tubes, and Zman TRD TubeZ. Insert the Tube Jig through the bottom of the tube and push the eye of the jig through once it has reached the top of the tube. Again, hop this bait across the bottom as you retrieve it.
• Lastly, swimbaits. Walleye Assassin W/E Turbo, Rapala Crush City The Mayor,orKeitechEasyShiner.Themost common way to fish these is with a jig, ( I use a ¼ to 3/8th ounce jig) hooked throughthenoseandcastandretrieved.
For other approaches, give the Rapala X-Rap or a top water Buzz Bait with Willow Blades a shot. All the above tactics will also work well for largemouth bass as well, but move to more weedy cover.
Crappie are suspended at about 7-10 feet in about 12- 15 feet of water. Keep it simple,aslipbobberwithanightcrawler or a crappie minnow will do just fine. Otherwise,BeetleSpins,smalljigswith a twister tail will prove quite effective.
The big pike have not moved shallow yet because surface temps are still too highfortheirliking.Mediumsizedpike can be found in about 6-10 feet of water and caught with many of the tactics listed above.
