Well folks, here's the last update I'll be posting for a week or maybe two. Starting Sunday I'll be going into hunting mode for a week or so and when I get that out of my system, I'll get started with some ice fishing articles and forecasts for the upcoming season. I wouldn't be surprised to be talking about freeze up within the next few weeks.

    The water temperatures continue to fall and even though we're looking at surface temps now ranging from 41 to 46 degrees, fish can still be caught and there are a handful of hearty anglers chasing them. We've spent the past few days Walleye fishing and there's really no change from the updates I've already posted below. We are still catching fish, but be prepared for some light bites and lots of half hearted "pick ups" where the fish lose interest and drop your bait.

    I've been struggling with a way to teach folks how to play see-saw with the fish until they finally inch their way up the minnow and get into hooking range. My best advice is to use the lightest jig you can get away with to help prevent the fish from "dropping" the bait. If you keep a bit of up-pressure on the fish as they nibble, these lighter jigs will tend to hover within their strike range longer and if they drop the bait, you'll have a better chance of teasing them back on to it again. Stinger hooks are okay, but I feel that we get less bites and more snags when we're using them so even if you get a higher percentage of hook ups, the end result is the same number of fish caught. I prefer to teach the "patience in hook setting method". Your other option would be to fish the live bait rigs that allow you to feed out line giving the fish more time to finish their meal before you pounce on them. This is working better on some lakes than others though and you'll have to experiment to see if its right for your conditions.

    Last weekend we fished two distinctly different patterns, both successful in their own way. On Saturday we fished deeper water using live bait rigs tipped with creek Chubs and large rainbow Chubs in the five to seven inch range. This was an annual "big fish" trip where we didn’t plan or expect to catch the eater size fish. Targeting fish in the 22 to 35 foot depth ranges is the best way to single out these small schools of larger fish. We had sparse action during the mid day, but toward evening and up to dark there was a consistent run of nice fish, with the largest coming in at 28 inches. You can read more about fishing this live bait method by clicking here.

    On Sunday, we fished for "eaters" using jig and minnow combinations in shallower water of 8 to 12 feet.  We found that it was a lot easier to get a bite, than to set the hook. The Walleye were fairly willing to pick up the minnow, but we had to nurse them on to the jig before we could get a hook set. I tried to get Walleyes interested in Night Crawlers but except for a couple of half hearted pick ups, this particular approach fell flat this time.

    One sure remedy for fishing the "post turnover" period is to head for your favorite river. Fish in rivers live by a different set of rules than their lake cousins and sometimes when lake fishing is sluggish, you can count on the river fish to be a bit more aggressive. Since river water is constantly churning, changing or "turning over", fish are never influenced by a single, sudden change as they are in lakes. Instead their location is influenced by the food supply, water level and temperature.

    We wanted to finish off the season (my guiding season) with a bang so we headed for the Rainy River. Smallmouth and Walleye fishing continues to be good upstream from Pelland and as luck would have it, the fish were cooperative. My customer had hoped to catch a Sturgeon and as a bonus, he hooked into a nice Sturgeon. Walleyes for a fish fry came intermittently while we fished the Smallmouth Bass on the rocky edge of deeper water holes. Fish location varied form time to time, but we caught most of the fish in 8 to 10 feet of water adjacent to a deeper hole.

    The window of opportunity opens and closes quickly when the weather turns cold and surface temperatures fall into the low fifties. The past week has been a fast transition starting with surface temperatures in what I’d call "prime Walleye fishing range" of 56 to 60 degrees and ending with temperatures in the 53 to 57 degree range. Not the end of the fall bite, but a step closer to the last phase of fall fishing and the time for cold water Walleye anglers to start playing by a new set of rules.

    Some of the Walleyes that have been most active on weed edges and shallow shoreline breaks are moving into only the premium weed areas. Breaklines where green weed growth is still present continues to hold decent numbers of fish. But baitfish and Walleyes alike are evacuating the dying, brown or "soft" weeds. On lakes where there are good shallow rock areas adjacent to weedy flats, you’ll find Walleyes using the rocks on breezy days and off into the deeper edges of the weeds on clam days. These multiple cover spots are good this time of year because the fish don’t have to move far for food or cover. It’s worth taking a look at these areas every time you go out.

    Daily movements of baitfish are important now too. Minnows that ordinarily hide out most days on shallow, sandy weed flats will make a quick move into the super shallow water on warm, sunny days. Calm bays and protected areas with direct sunshine will attract Shiners, young Perch and other baitfish. These movements of baitfish will influence Walleye location on a day by day basis. So even if you know an area that’s been holding good numbers of fish, you’ll need to fine tune your depth a few times every day. For the rest of the fall season, use this rule of thumb. Stay close to the food supply and you’ll find some fish.

    Another key to the colder water Walleye bite is to begin fishing early and late in the day. Fish that have been active during the day during the past several weeks are showing a preference for morning and evening. The exception would be breezy days when the Walleye will still move up onto the shallow rocks and green weedline areas I mentioned before. As the water continues to chill and lakes enter the post turnover period, the prime time evening, night and early morning periods will get more and more important.

    Walleye presentations are still somewhat varied, but in our area the jig and minnow combinations are all you really need right now. There are still folks fishing with live bait rigs tipped with night crawlers or light jigs tipped with crawlers too. I’ve used this approach this week to cut down on "snip off" problems from small Pike. The crawlers are overlooked by most of the Pike and even if it’s not the perfect bait for Walleye right now, we get enough of them to keep it interesting. Evening and night fishing with crankbaits is an option as well. Shallow runners like the #4 Hornet by Salmo, The Husky Jerk or #5 Shad Raps trolled in 5 to 8 feet of water will produce plenty of "night biters", especially during this full moon period.

    Panfishing has occupied a lot of my mid day fishing time this week and I’d say that it’s getting easier to locate schools in open water every day. On Wednesday, we were able to locate several schools of Crappie and Bluegills all within a few hundred feet of each other. This is a big improvement over a week ago when there were still lots of fish nearer to the weedline and tougher to pick up on the Lowrance. Crappies have been most active earlier in the morning and each day we’ve found that almost all of our Crappie catches have come within the first couple of hours in the morning. After that, the Bluegills keep the action going for a couple more hours until about lunchtime. Mid day fishing is slower, but some fish continue to bite. The action picks up again a few hours before sunset and the peak is an hour or so before dark.

    The presentation doesn’t change much for me. A 1/16 ounce jig tipped with a minnow for Crappie or tipped with a worm for the ‘gills. We tend to keep this approach really simple, but it has been proven over time and keeps working. Why change a good thing?

    Perch action has slowed somewhat from its peak a week ago, but there are still plenty of nice Jumbos and even some "magnums" in the shallow weeds and on shallow rocks. A wind makes the Perch fishing better, but unlike the Walleye. Those shallow Perch spots do produce at least some action even on the calm days. If anything, the size may be smaller on calm days with a higher percentage of larger fish caught during those windy times. You will catch some good Perch while you drift or back troll for Walleye. But if you really want to get into them, hover or slow drift with your jig held vertically and directly below the boat. Even in the shallows, the Perch catch is much better when we just drop the jig over the side and let the fish do the work. When the average size gets too small, let the boat drift off into a new area until you get back into the better ones.

    You could just feel it coming. It was one of those periods where the fish were just biting too well. Walleyes, Perch, Bluegills and Pike were on a "hot bite" for a week. The action, especially over the weekend had kept steady in spite of high winds, cold water temperatures and heavy fishing pressure. What were those fish up to last weekend? Now we can see that they were feeding heavily in preparation for this major league cold front to move through.

    With Northwest winds up to 30 MPH, snow and air temperatures in the high 20-degree range, there was just no way we could fish yesterday and  we’ve already decided to sit it out again today (10/13/06). If there were a few area lakes that hadn’t already "turned over", They certainly have by now. With conditions changing this rapidly, I won’t make you read a long report about how the fishing was last week, that's past history now. Instead, I’ll give it a day or two and as soon as I can get back on the water to finish some of my remaining trips, I’ll get a more informative report posted.

    In the meantime, if you’re planning a trip for this weekend, it sounds like we’ll be getting a little moderation, albeit still well below normal temperatures for this time of year. Water temperatures as of Tuesday 10/10/06 were already down to about 53 to 54 degrees (depending on the lake) and I start getting concerned about the turnover at 55 degrees or thereabouts. I’m expecting to be fishing post turnover conditions from here on out.

    Fishing after the turnover usually means that I’ll be looking for Walleyes on a wider variety of spots and expecting to get fewer of them from each location. I’ll be expecting to fish the "evening bite" and if the Walleyes are predicable as I think, I’ll be planning on fishing much slower than I have been. More slow trolling and anchoring, less drifting. Another good game plan now will be to turn to the rivers for some better action. In fact, it’s possible that the early cold snap will trigger a move into river holes earlier than usual.

    Colder water temps should also trigger movements of the fall spawning whitefish and Northern Cisco (Tulibee). When these fish move toward the shoreline to spawn, greedy feeders like large Pike and Musky show up to take advantage of the opportunity. The next couple of weeks will be prime time for trophy hunters casting in the shallows. Crankbaits, jerkbaits and soft plastics like the Sluggo will put some fish in the boat.

    Have you been waiting for the fishing reports to tell you that fishing has peaked before you venture out? Okay, the fishing is at or near its peak and it’s time to venture out. There I said it. I know that there are still a lot of folks out there who’d disagree about the fishing being at its peak right now, but those particular anglers just haven’t keyed in (so far) on the one detail that makes or breaks a fishing trip in the fall. Just like the realtor always says, location, location, location… If you can see fish on your electronics, you can find a way to catch them right now. It may take a day or two before you get the timing right, but if they’re there, they’re going to feed sometime every day. The battle (mentally) is to look for fish and try to avoid the trap of heading for "the old favorite spots" just because they were good in the past. Most folks I know that are struggling right now are fishing old favorites instead of looking for elements that favor finding fish in the present conditions.

    Surface water temperatures are below 60 degrees virtually everywhere in the Grand Rapids/Deer River area and most of the shallow water lakes are hovering at 56 to 58 degrees. We’ve already had a couple of frosty nights and some of the shallowest weed growth has begun to die. Deeper weed patches are still holding their own though and small schools of fish are on the move, showing up on the deep weedline edges. Some open water, shoreline related breaklines are also beginning to attract fish, particularly where there are good schools of baitfish present. Windy conditions nearly every day this week have made rocks and gravel in shallow water good locations as well.

    Walleye fishing for me this week has been all about the deep weedline. I can venture out onto the clean lip areas a little bit, but not far. With weed patches getting thinner and shallow weed turning brown, the schools of fish located in the deeper, Green weed areas are staying longer. Once we find fish, we’re able to make three or four passes drifting or back trolling on the same school of fish. Jig and minnow combinations, rigs with night crawlers or rigs with leeches fished near the weed edges in shallow water are performing better now than most of the trolling approaches we’d used last week. There are few, if any Spot Tail Shiners available in our area, but we’ve had good success with above average size Fatheads. I usually really like the Rainbow Chubs too, but this week a nice Fathead in the 3-inch range has been better for jigging. During this fall period, I try to avoid small fatheads and tend to favor larger minnows. Even some of the Creek Chubs, Redtails and other odds and ends that show up at the bait shop will work well if they’re in the right size range. That’s the key, size is important!

    Northern Pike have been plenty active during these colder, gloomier days. During the past week, the average size has really improved. There are still an awful lot of small ones, but the odds of picking up a few fish in the 30 to 35 inch range are steadily improving.

    Perch fishing continues in the shallow water and we’ve had some fairly good action in water depths of 3 to 6 feet. When I find shallow areas with rock or gravel, there are Perch there. Jig and minnow has been the best approach. We’ve had to move frequently to stay in the larger fish, so don’t get too hung up on any one location. Just cover some water, fish some weeds and shallow rocks and you’ll start finding schools of active fish scattered along the shoreline. In most cases we’ve found enough Perch to satisfy us while we’ve been searching for Walleyes.

    Bluegills and Crappies are somewhat active, with more schools of fish showing up in deeper, open water. For us, the morning bite has been much better than the afternoon. Bluegills are still more active than Crappies, but every day the Crappies are becoming more prevalent. Even when we fish with the jig and worm for sunfish, some Crappies get mixed into the bag. If you’re lucky enough to know about a brush pile, crib or other debris that holds Crappies, you will certainly find some fish on those locations now.  I just posted a new article about fall Crappie fishing available by clicking here.

    Wow, we’ve had about four days in a row with some fairly rugged winds to deal with. It’s definitely been a time to bundle up. In fact, I even had to start wearing pants this week. Nature has a way of correcting errant weather patterns and all of these cold, windy days have really dropped the water temperatures. Last week we were looking at temperatures in the high sixties and even a few low seventies, today they are in the low sixties and even a few in the high fifty degree range. These water temperatures are perfect for triggering the fall bite in the Northern Minnesota area. Ideally, weather will stabilize again and we’ll get a nice extension of our fall fishing season. Either way, the next couple of weeks are going to be the best bet for folks who want to make one last trip to the lake.

    During the past three or four days Walleyes have begun showing a preference for more traditional "bottom oriented" presentations. The suspended fish that we’d been following for several weeks have either found more suitable feeding arrangements near the bottom or have adjusted to the colder water temperatures by temporarily switching into bottom feeding mode. Either way, it’s changed our approach to fishing them. Jig and minnow combinations, rigs with night crawlers or rigs with leeches fished near the weed edges in shallow water are performing better now than most of the trolling approaches we’d used last week. There are few if any Spot Tail Shiners available in our area, but we’ve had good success with above average size Rainbows and Fatheads. During this fall period, I try to avoid small fatheads and tend to favor larger minnows. Even some of the Creek Chubs, Redtails and other odds and ends that show up at the bait shop will work well if they’re in the right size range. That’s the key, size is important!

    According to DNR experts, the reason Walleye and Pike were suspending was to take advantage of huge young of the year Tulibee populations. So I’m expecting to see the return of the crankbait bite as soon as the weather stabilizes and the baitfish start to re-establish their positions on the weedy flats. Stay tuned for more information as that unfolds.

    Northern Pike have been plenty active during these colder, gloomier days. I’d say it has been prime time for Pike action and there have been times when we’ve caught 20, 30 maybe more in an hour, albeit most of them in the smaller size range. I expect to see some larger ones lurking on the weedlines soon as the influence of colder water will begin triggering a movement of the fall spawning Tulibee (Northern Cisco) and Whitefish toward the shallows.

    Perch fishing continues in the shallow water and we’ve had some fairly good action in water depths of 3 to 6 feet. When I find shallow areas with rock or gravel, there are Perch there. Jig and minnow has been the best approach. We’ve had to move frequently to stay in the larger fish, so don’t get too hung up on any one location. Just cover some water, fish some weeds and shallow rocks and you’ll start finding schools of active fish scattered along the shoreline. In most cases we’ve found enough Perch to satisfy us while we’ve been searching for Walleyes.

    Bluegills and Crappies are somewhat active, but with all of the green weeds and above average water temperatures, we are not finding as many fish in the deeper open water, as you’d expect. Panfish are still on or near the deeper weed edges and we’ve had to go in and root them out. This should change quickly as the water temperatures continue to fall and some of that weed growth dies off. I just posted a new article about fall Crappie fishing available by clicking here.

    The weather dished out quite a week for folks fishing in the Deer River area over this Labor Day. With sunny skies and warm temperatures, we fished all week long wearing shorts and t-shirts. Surface temperatures began rising again and on some lakes the algae blooms started back up again. You could have convinced me that it was late June or July. Until this next round of cooler temperatures reaches us, we’re looking at water temps in the high sixty to low seventy-degree range.

    At times, the sunny weather made Walleye fishing sluggish during the daytime, particularly on calm days. But the action has really been picking up in the evening and early night. When the wind picks up, the action picks up too. So if you don’t want to fish until dark, your best bet for Walleye fishing has been to pick the breezy days for fishing Walleye and use the calm days for Bluegills, Bass or mowing the grass. According to the weather forecast, cooler fall patterns are about to set in and we should be expecting another pick up in the daytime action.

    Walleye fishing presentations during the past week continue to vary. But, on Winnibigosh, we’ve seen an awful lot of suspended fish and according to the DNR Big Lake Specialist, these suspended fish are feeding on a bumper crop of young of the year Tulibees. So as long as those Tulibees are the main food source for these hungry Walleyes, trolling the shallow water crankbaits should continue to be a top presentation. The particular baits you choose depend on the water depth where you spot the fish. But you have to believe your electronics! If you see fish four feet below the surface and you fish there, you will catch them. I watch my Lowrance and keep changing baits as the fish move up or down. Sometimes we’ve seen them change their preferences from one bait to another bait every couple of hours, so keep experimenting.

    There have been a variety of crankbaits working for us, but I’d say that hands down, the Salmo Hornets have been the best producers. In particular the small #4 size or the #5 when fish are running a little deeper. The smaller Shad Raps, Rattlin’ Raps and other crankbaits will work too. As long as you can keep them in the right depth, they’re worth trying. Trolling speeds should range from about 1.9 to 2.5 mph and this will depend on wind and water depth. Obviously, if you see the fish out deeper and they are suspended, you’ll need to match the baits to that water depth. Whenever we see the suspended fish move down toward the bottom, we’ve been able to switch back to jig & minnow or live bait rigs and continue to catch fish until they suspend again.

    Northern Pike have also been plentiful and we’ve caught many of them in the 25 to 28 inch ranges while trolling the crankbaits. With all of the sunshine, casting for Pike has been tough. We know the fish are there, but they are reluctant to move toward the surface to hit the higher riding baits. For folks with more patience, bobber fishing with larger Sucker minnows has been producing a nicer average size fish with several Pike in the mid thirty inch range caught this week.

    Perch fishing continues in the shallow water and we’ve had some fairly good action in water depths of 3 to 6 feet. When I find shallow areas with rock or gravel, there are Perch there. Jig and minnow has been the best approach. We’ve had to move frequently to stay in the larger fish, so don’t get too hung up on any one location. Just cover some water, fish some weeds and shallow rocks and you’ll start finding schools of active fish scattered along the shoreline. In most cases we’ve found enough Perch to satisfy us while we’ve been searching for Walleyes.

    Cool nights and moderate temperatures during the day have combined to help gently push the lakes toward some of our favorite fall fishing patterns. For the first time in nearly two months, water temperatures have fallen below the seventy-degree mark on many of the Grand Rapids, Deer River area lakes and Walleye, Northern Pike and Perch have responded fairly well.

    Walleye are getting active again as the fish continue to move back into shallow water. The typical late summer/early fall haunts are getting more reliable every day. Weeds are still holding the greatest number of fish, but on windy days you’ll find fish on the rocks and also using the cleaner lip areas just outside the weedlines. In fact, that’s been the key to my fishing during the past ten days or so. Look for the weedline on the shallow breaks, then move to either the deeper or shallower sides looking for clean areas adjacent to those weeds. Whenever the fish get active, you’ll see them on your Lowrance around these clean lip areas. For me, these have been the best schools of fish to concentrate on because they’ve been more active than fish buried in the heavier cover.

    Even though I’m recommending the shallow bite, there are still a lot of fish on deeper, main lake structures too. Especially the larger bars that connect directly to the main shoreline and have access to deeper water. In late summer these longer bars or points tend to act as runways for fish that are moving from deeper water back in to the shoreline. You’ll find these deeper spots are more "hit and miss" because the moving fish are seldom in one location for more than a day or two. But, if you like to fish deep, it’s still a good option providing you don’t mind looking around until you locate a decent school of fish. Any given day, you can really hit a good bite if the fish are moving when you find them.

    Musky action has slowed down a little and has been replaced with a pick up in the Northern Pike action. We’ve done a fair bit of casting this week and the medium to smaller Pike of 25 to 30 inches are showing up in fairly good numbers. At the moment, I can’t see any real advantage to casting over trolling except that it’s more fun to see the fish hit the baits and it keeps us in the hunt for a bigger Pike or Musky. Folks that are trolling the weed edges are doing just as well, maybe even better at times when the Pike go deeper and get reluctant to hit the higher riding jerkbaits or bucktails we’ve been throwing.

    For folks with more patience, bobber fishing with larger Sucker minnows has been producing a nicer average size fish with several Pike in the mid thirty inch range caught just this week. It’s also possible to combine the bobber fishing with casting by making a slow drift along the weedline. One or two people can drift a bobber/Sucker combo on the upwind side of the boat while the others cast down wind. At times, the casters get some of those Pike riled up and the ones that follow or flash at the jerkbaits will spot that Sucker minnow and grab it instead. This isn’t a bad approach when you’ve got some anglers willing to cast and others that aren’t.

    The Bluegill action has tapered off with the cooler water temperatures. Active fish are less common and it takes a bit of "scrounging" to get a nice fish fry together. As water temperatures continue to drop, fish will move out toward the deeper weed edges again and the action should start to pick back up in the next couple of weeks or whenever there is enough die off of weeds to force those fish out into the open water.

    Crappie are just starting to move into some of the better fall haunts with a few fish showing up on the deeper breaklines adjacent to shore. Crappies that use the heavier weed cover during the hot part of summer begin looking for open water during the fall and winter. We’ve had a few fish showing up in water depths of around 20 feet and I’ve been able to tease out some of the more active ones. But, we have a way to go before I’d call it a hot bite. If you happen to be lucky enough to know about some cribs, brush or deeper cover on a good Crappie lake, I’d start looking there first and then follow the fish out into open water as the water temps continue to fall.

    Largemouth Bass continue to use the deeper weed edges, but spinnerbait fishing in the bulrushes has been producing some great action too. Especially for folks fishing early or later in the day. Early, look for the Bass on the shallow side of the weeds and up into the bulrushes wherever you can locate them. As the sun’s brightness moves fish deeper, move out to those weed edges and pluck some more Bass using soft plastics or crankbaits. The water temps are still fairly high for this time of year so you can fish the weedlines fairly fast. When you hit a better school of fish on a point or corner, stay put for a while because there are some fairly good schools of fish stacking up.

    In spite of another week of clear, warm summer weather during the daytime, lower nighttime air temperatures are bringing surface water temperatures down noticeably. During the past week, water temperatures have fallen from around the 78 degree range down to about 71 degrees. That change probably isn’t dramatic enough to kick the fishing into high gear right away. But lower surface temps combined with a few windy days have been good enough to clear up some of the heavier algae blooms and relieve a lot of the fish kill problems that peaked a couple of weeks ago. As in the past, we’re starting to see the early signs of a trend where some fish return to the deeper main lake bars. As the waters continue to cool, we’ll see fishing action pick up as the countdown to fall ticks away.

    Fishing the mixed bag or "action bite" is probably the best way to go right now. I’d rather have a handful of several kinds of fish, than to spend my time trying to concentrate on any one species right now. But that’s me, I like action so I’ve gone out of my way to find that type of opportunity.

    Walleye fishing for me this week has continued to be a hit and miss proposition. At times, there have been spurts of great fishing, especially in the shallows. The problem is that you never know when it’s going to be good until it happens. You have to have faith and keep on fishing until you finally hit the right spot. Heading into the heavier weed cover to scrounge fish on the calmer days and working mid depth flats on breezy days have helped put some fish in the boat. There have been an ample supply of fish in both types of locations, but they are very well fed and it’s been tough to keep them biting very long once you find them. I’ve had to fish a spot, gather the "cream" and move on to find another group of fish and catch what I can before they spook or move into heavier cover.

    There are still some Walleyes being caught on Crankbaits trolled near the weed edges and on the shallower flats, but the "crankbait bite" is not as reliable as it was a couple of weeks ago. Live bait has become more important during the past few days with a fair number of Walleyes caught on a jig and minnow. We’ve also had reasonable results fishing with a small jig and leech combo. We stumbled into this little gem while fishing for Bluegills, troll slowly with your MinnKota just inside the weedline and work the jig vertically letting the leech do all of the work. Fish located in the heavy weed cover have been tolerant of the boat passing overhead and we’ve caught several really nice Walleye in 5 to 7 feet of water directly under the boat. You can use the same approach with a small jig tipped with a night crawler, or lip hook a lively minnow like a Creek Chubb, Rainbow or Redtail.

    For Lake Winnie Walleye anglers, start to look at the main lake bars again too. The cooling water typically helps to start up a late summer "bar bite" that can hold up well into September. Reports are that a few fish are using these deeper bars again already and while it’s not anywhere close to a peak, there will certainly be some more movement in that direction in the next couple of weeks.

    Musky and Pike action peaked during the hot weather and full moon period a couple of weeks ago. There are still some small to medium size Pike active on the weedlines, but lots of the larger fish are located on mid depth flats where Tulibees, Suckers and other baitfish have gathered. Trolling the weed edges with crankbaits, fishing with Bobbers and Sucker minnows or using a live bait rig with an above average size minnow will catch you some fish. If we get a trend toward cooler, rainier weather, it will help spark some action in the shallows again.

    The fantastic Bluegill action that took place during our hot weather period has slowed. Cooler water temps, fishing pressure and sunny weather have combined to make it tougher to get in on a really "hot bite". But, there are still some very nice fish being caught and it’s worth the effort to look for them. Concentrating on the heavier weeds and getting your boat further into them (the weeds) has become more important. Creep along very slowly and work the weeds with a small jig tipped with a tiny leech or piece of a worm. Once you locate fish, stop the boat and fish vertically to fine-tune the location.

    As the south wind drags another blanket of warm, humid air across the Northland, rising surface water temperatures and Algae blooms are triggering some fish kills on some of the Itasca Area lakes. In particular, the shallower lakes, lakes with darker water and the ones that have a reputation for above average Algae bloom. Surface temperatures are generally hovering in the high seventy-degree range, with a few lakes showing temps back up to about 80 degrees. From here on out, we’re depending on a cool down to trigger movements and lead us into the heavier feeding times of the fall period.

    Some Walleye continue heading into the heavier weed cover, while others are scattered across meandering mid depth flats where they wait for perfect feeding conditions, then feed quickly in spurts. Your timing has to be pretty good right now to get in on a "hot bite", but it is possible providing you’re willing to put in some time and fish enough prime locations to swing the odds in your favor. If you want to keep fishing on the shallower lakes right now, the key areas will continue to be heavy weed cover and rock areas located on wind swept flats. When the Walleye (or any other fish) take up residence on the flats, locating them can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. So using a variety of faster moving baits that you can troll will help put some fish in the boat. On windy days, working the weed edges or rocks with Crankbaits will put some fish in the boat. Calmer days are going to be tricky, but try working the flats in water depths of 10 to 14 feet with spinners tipped with either minnows or night crawlers. Watch for small packs of fish, troll through them a few times and then move on toward another new school.

    A good strategy for this warm water period is to switch over to fishing the lakes where fish are located in deeper, cool water. Lakes like Cass, Walker Bay (Leech Lake), Pike Bay and others that don’t suffer the affects of thermocline. These lakes have deep structure in cooler water where Walleye spend this late summer period. Don’t be surprised to find fish in 30, 40 or maybe even 50 feet of water. Fish the deep reefs, points and steep shoreline points by first finding fish on your Lowrance, then working the area slowly with jig and minnow or live bait rig combinations. Remember one simple rule, if you don’t see fish on your screen, don’t stop. Locating fish before you wet a line will pay big dividends.

    Musky and Pike anglers are catching fish in the heavier weed patches, especially the ones with access to deeper water. If you can find weeds with rocky areas mixed, it will be even better. Unfortunately, high, blue skies have taken the fun out casting because the fish don’t want to move out of the cover. If you want to get them, you’ll have to go in and root them out with live bait. Bobber fishing with Sucker minnows is one option, jig and minnow will work as well as fishing with a live bait rig tipped with a larger Creek Chubb, Sucker or Redtail. If you’re using live bait, be sure to use a 17 to 25 pound fluorocarbon leader. These leaders are almost a tough as steel, but won’t get kinky every time to catch a fish or get wrapped up in the weeds.

    Bluegill fishing continues to be good, but this week we’ve noticed that even the Bluegills are getting a lot more particular about where they locate. Maybe some of the bug hatches have run their course, maybe it’s just the sunny weather. Either way, we’ve had to locate schools of fish and then fish them very slowly, even stationary in tiny areas to keep them biting. One interesting note about the panfish though is that we’re starting to see more Crappies on the deeper weed edges. Areas that have been primarily filled with Bluegills are becoming more mixed and it’s probably an early sign of the late summer/early fall movement of Crappies back out to the deeper drop of areas and eventually out into open water. I’d be watching for that move to start up in the next week or two.

    Bass fishing is probably the best action you can get right now. With the fish using the steeper drops and deep weed edges, it’s been common to find good size schools of fish. We’ve been catching an awful lot of Bass on our live bait rigs while we search for Walleyes, especially Smallmouth. When I get a chance to fish Largemouth, Jig worms six-inch lizards and crawfish imitations are all working well. Fish the weedline anywhere from eight to 16 feet.

     Okay, so it’s not exactly a feeding frenzy. But the storms that moved through the Deer River region earlier this week did provide us with some relief from the heat wave that was threatening to scare away even the toughest Walleye anglers. Surface temperatures are now in the mid to high seventy degree range and this drop in water temperatures of three to five degrees has already perked up the Walleye bite just enough to make it interesting.

    It’s likely that we’ll have a couple of false starts, but we’re on the verge of another major seasonal change that will take Walleye fishing in a new direction. At this point in the summer, most of the insect hatches that affect Walleye fishing have run their course and baitfish are once again the main target of hungry Walleyes. That means that Walleyes will be getting more active on the weedlines, rocks or shoreline flats. Contrary to popular opinion, what makes Walleye fishing sluggish in late summer isn’t that they’re not feeding, but rather that they are feeding so heavily that it gets harder to interest them in our baits. Over the next few weeks, we’ll need to use faster, flashier presentations to get their attention. Trolling with spinners, crankbaits and jig/spinners like the Beetle Spin will produce better results than using the slower traditional Lindy rig or jig/minnow combinations.

    Even though there will continue to be fish in deep water for several weeks to come, the emphasis on shallow water, shoreline related areas will become increasingly more reliable. The dependence on wind to produce better feeding opportunities will also be evident. Don’t miss an opportunity to fish on breezy days right now. Walleye feeding periods are based more on opportunity than on the time of day. A good drifting wind will perk up the bite in the shallows. One good way to start your search is to troll the shallow weedline with small, fast moving crankbaits. Salmo’s, Shad Raps, Husky Jerks and RattleTraps are all good. Experiment with colors and mix up the assortment until you find a combination you like. Once you’ve covered enough ground, you’ll find some areas that have better groups of fish. Now concentrate on those areas with live bait spinners or the Beetle spins to fish them more thoroughly.

    Devoted Musky and Pike anglers already know what’s coming, but in case you haven’t heard, the full moon of August is upon us. If the weather remains stable, this full moon period is one of the best opportunities of the season to fish for larger Pike and Muskies. Go ahead and laugh if you want to, but anyone who devotes some time casting or trolling the "big baits" this weekend and early next week is going to have a better than average chance of catching that trophy. This is my favorite time of the season for big fish and in years past, we’ve had lots of really great fishing days during this period. Don’t mess around! Use the big stuff giant Red Eyes, Daredevils, Musky size tandem Bucktails, crankbaits or my favorite, big wood jerk baits. Try it, you’ll like it.

    Over the past few weeks I’ve said so much about the Bluegill and Bass fishing that I can’t think of much new to add. Even though we’re a little past the peaks of the hot Bluegill bite, they’re still very, very active and catching a nice meal is no problem. They continue to inhabit the weed edges and small clear spots within the weed beds. We’ve had good action with the 1/16 ounce jig tipped with a small piece of worm. For larger Bluegills and to improve the odds of catching Walleye and Bass, try using a conventional live bait rig with a large leech. For some reason this bait is really turning them on right now and we’ve had some really great mixed bags by using this approach.