The walleyes are now strongly in their late summer / early fall patterns.
Stick baits, jerk baits, night crawlers on either a jig, under a slip bobber or trolled on a crawler harness have all been producing well for anglers this past week. most fishermen are finding the walleye in pretty skinny water, 3-10 feet on windswept shores, points and weed line breaks.
Pike are still in the shallows as well. The best-producing lures this last week were large spoons like the classic Dare Devil, Red Eye Wigglers, and Dr. Spoon; large Rapalas or similar crankbaits; and buzz Baits. Work thicker weed cover in 3-5 feet of water and entice the fish with more aggressive presentations and action.
Both largemouth and smallmouth bass are following suit, preferring skinnier water in much the same cover. Reduce your lure size and, again, use aggressive action while cruising the bank. In addition, use finesse tactics like Ned Rigs and Whack Worm presentations.
Lake trout have n come up from the depth yet; you will find the in 50+ feet of water. Dro large spoons, Buck Ta Jigs or Tube Jigs to the bo tom and burn them back the surface. If the bare j does not produce, try ad ing a chunk of frozen sme to entice a bite. Within th next week or two, the should start moving much shallow as they prepare to spawn.
Crappies and panfish are found about 6-8 feet of water, suspended about 4 feet. For crappies, a crapp minnow on a plain hook, small jigs wi twister tails, or a Beetle Spin will wor best, with the best bite hours between and 8 in the morning and evening.
Near the end of the month, expe the stream trout in stocked lakes move up shallow in preparation for th spawn. Target them with small Salmo Rapalas, and nightcrawlers.
