What's Workin Now...

[CALVINIST]

Hopefully I can bring my son out this evening and wear him down bringing in gill after gill at one of my favorite lakes just outside the metro area. Lots of nice gills in there, crappies too. Seeing my son doesn't quite understand the importance of setting the hook yet (he's only 5), I'll rig him up with a piece of crawler on a circle hook about 2-3 feet under a float and work the outside weed edges. I put a very small glow bead just above the hook to get their attenttion. I tried this yesterday morning for the first time and was amazed how you don't even have to set the hook...just start reeling in and you got 'em! I'll probably do the same, and work a paddletail also. I'll report tomorrow how we did. You just gotta love reeling in those big, feisty gills in on ultralight!

[CALVINIST]

We did make it out and caught large #'s of gills with a few crappies mixed in. The size seemed to be smaller than what I have caught out of there last year. Anyhow, Lucas had fun and so did I.

[Corey Bechtold]

I fished a small multi species tournament Saturday and mainly targeted Panfish. What we found was that the bigger fish weren't in their typical haunts. Live bait caught fish but catching the piggies was not happening. Don't know what would have got the bigger fish to turn? Fishing during not so prime time didn't help either. The Bluegills were shallow and really roaming. They wouldn't stay put! I did find a few Crappies as well but after tournament times. They were under docks and skipping plastics under and around lifts/docks and swinging the bait back to the boat took some nice fish. The Berkley 2" Power Minnow skips a long way.

It was a good outing despite the rain that we endured and tough fishing conditions. I hope to get out again soon to see if I can find the bigger Panfish.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[markkstanley]

Same for me on Minntonka. I was roaming deep weed edges and caught all the 6 to 8" crappies I could stand but nothing bigger. Tried fishing deeper water - no fish. Tried fishing a little deeper - no change in size. If I went shallower the crappie/sunnie ratio tipped towards sunnies. Had a blast catching fish anyway but am getting really curious as to where the bigger crappies are hiding. The bluegills are on the beds so it was a bit easier to find some nice size there. Also had my third musky of the year on a crappie I was reeling in. Just would not let go even at the boat. Maybe it's time to break out the crappie colored cranks and spinnerbaits and go musky hunting.

[Corey Bechtold]

Looks like the spawn is just about all wrapped up. We should be starting to look for fish to be holding off of shallow flats in 8-12 feet of water and sliding back up at sunset. Hopefully I can get out soon and put the theory to the test.

Anyone else been having success lately?

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[CrappieJohn]

I was out yesterday and again today. What's the song go like...."what a difference a day makes"? We're finito here. The cold front that ushered in last night's downpours shot the bite in the kiester except for small sunfish.

Yesterday I was able to find some crappies yet along with some nice sunfish bulls. And I was catching those hens with huge bellies too. 7" was tops today. Not one crappie iother than a loner that came off at the boat. It was the largest fish I noticed today that was on a line. I couldn't even get a carp to hit.

Oh well, its time to do as Corey has suggested and try another approach. For me it will be praying for hot weather to drive the fish down a ways over deep water. Right now I think they are scattered shallow so bad that they won't show up on the lcr. I noticed yesterday that there was a bug hatch happening and the fish were quite high up over the deep water following wind-blown slicks. The nw wind today got rid of the slicks and things were certainly a different color bite-wise.

[Corey Bechtold]

Tom, if the lakes are a bit stained your way, what color's have been working for you. Some of the lakes I fish have definately seen algae blooms something fierce. I will be opting to fish some brighter combos to get their attention. Also will be trying some smaller inline spinners to search for the Panfish.

Later,

Corey

[CrappieJohn]

Corey....Last week when the water turned tochocolate for a couple days the purple/chartreuse, blue/chartreuse, black/chartreuse really did well. The white/chartreuse did good when we had sun , even in the murky water. Its my feeling that the addition of chartreuse in stained water really livens things up, regardless of the primary body color.

[Corey Bechtold]

Well, it's been a while since I have wet a line. Today I was able to take out a friend mine and do some fishing. We took my bro-in-laws boat because my friend is interested in buying it. The boat hadn't been used in 2 years so there was a lot of monkeyin' around. We finally hit the water at 6 o'clock and went to some key areas in search of Panfish. We started pitching plastics around docks and lifts and was able to manage a few. We deciced to move a little deeper and found Crappies and Sunfish to be cruising the deep weedline. The Crappies would hit the bait as it swing to the boat after a short cast. The Sunfish tended to be relating more to the bottom of the breaks and wanted more of a "in your face" presentation. The Sunfish would bump the bait and they were on but the Crappies needed more finesse presentations. A lot of times a float is a great strike indicator but there are times when they just don't let you know what's going on.

There has been a trick that I have been using for a long time to help me notice the subtle strikes that Crappies tend to have. This involves watching your line very closely. There is a small ripple where your line enters the water and if you pay attention to the steady ripple as the bait swings back to the boat you can actually see the change in the ripple. Sometimes the Crappie's will just intercept the bait on the slow fall and that is indicated by the line pausing. Sometimes they will just tap the bait and that shows up as a short pulse where the line enters the water. If your sences are really on key then there are times when you will be able to see the water that is on the line tighten so there is a light mist that comes off. That's having ultimate concentration but it helps me to realize how the fish is reacting to my bait and this helps me duplicate the process and do it again. There are a lot of subtleties that come with paying attention to your line more so than your rod tip or what your brain relays to your hands when feeling bites.

In know that this kind of fishing helps me put more fish in the boat but more importantly it helps me understand how the fish need to have baits presented to them. Paying attention to the little details means a more enjoyable time on the water.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Corey Bechtold]

Wednesday after I got home from work I loaded up the whole family to take them out fishing for Crappies and Sunfish. We got to the lake at 6:30 and headed out to a sharp weedbreak with deep water nearby. I had pre-rigged several rods with all kinds of different plastics to try out. I started with a small Mister Twister/Exude nymph on a 1/32 oz jighead. That was getting the attention of the small Sunfish so I upsized to a curly tail and the fish didn't care for it. Brooke was drop shotting a Berkley Gulp mini earthworm and was getting the little stunted fish to take in all the bait except for the hook. They would hold on till the lure came out of the water. Bailey and Lisa were throwing Berkley 2" Power Minnows and started catching fish. Crappies were located in a shallower flattened out area next to the steep break. Cole was handling the net and it was a blast watching him get the fish in the boat while Brooke helped take the fish off the hook! It was after about 10 Crappies between Lisa and Bailey when I decided to change baits. I went to a Pink and White Berkley 2" Power Minnow on a 1/16oz jig and tossed it adjacent to the drop and let it swing back to the boat. The Crappies were taking the bait and swimming with it sideways. The little Sunfish were still there trying to get the bait but were never able to get the hook in their mouths. Occasionally there was a nice sized Gill that would hit the Power Minnow. They were nice sized and hit hard.

We kept on fishing till 9:00 and the fish were still biting when we left. We C@R'ed 50+ Crappies between 8-11.5", some nice sized Sunfish biggest being 9", and a few LM Bass to boot. Surface temps were around 76 degrees and there was some hatching insects starting to emerge from the surface.

I'll get some pictures up when I figure out the new camera.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and gets some fish to boot!

Corey Bechtold

[Corey Bechtold]

Bailey with a Crappie

Brooke with one

Me with a nice Bluegill (Notice my netman Cole behind me)

The 3 Stooges

Me and Roo

[Matt Johnson]

Nice reports and awesome pictures Corey! Looks like there was fun had by all!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Matt Johnson]

Corey Bechtold and I hit the water today for a few hours in search of sunfish. We found a school holding in about 6-10 feet of water amongst a large pocket in the weeds, as well as along the weed edge on certain spots. The wind was blowing a bit, but we managed to hover over the school long enough to pick up several nice sunfish before they scattered. It was a weird situation though, one second they were there, and a second later they were gone, never to be found again, I'm still confused on that one. Oh well, we ended up switching gears and found some crappies on the outside edge of a thick weeded shoreline in about 4-5 feet of water on the wind blown side. 1/32 or 1/16oz jigs tipped with either a 2-inch power minnow, Stub Grub or a white twister tail seemed to do the trick. We also got to watch fish after fish after fish break surface. They weren't really feeding on anything, just flopping around, another weird occurrence. Most of them appeared to be crappies too. And one point they were literally flopping in all directions. Here are a few pics from today...

Corey with a couple nice gills

Corey with a crappie

Myself with a couple gills

Overall, it was a little on the warm side today, and if you weren't in the wind you were baking. We tried the calm end of the lake a few times but it pretty warm and uncomfortable in a hurry, and plus the fish weren't biting in those areas The wind made the mid 90 degree heat seem much more tolerable. Tomorrow looks like we're going to see some more warm temps and it's going to be a similar day to today. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Corey Bechtold]

Another interesting occurance for the day was the grab bag of other species of fish we caught while fishing for Panfish. There were quite a few Largemouth Bass holding in deeper water tight to the bottom. And of course the occasional Pike that couldn't resist a small meal.

As far as the sudden disappearence of the Panfish, the only thought I have is that there are Pike that get drawn into these areas while the fish we were catching made their way to the boat. Sunfish will retreat to the weeds for safety when the big toothy's roll in.

It was a great day on the water, heck, anytime you can get out on the water is a great day. Thanks Matt for joining me!

I hope everyone managed to enjoy the weekend and warm weather.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Corey Bechtold]

I made it out today to do some searchin for Panfish. I had the boat to myself and decided to try some different baits. I finally got some collerless jigheads for the Stub Grubs and Rat tails so they got the nod. I caught quite a few nice Crappies on the purple jighead with the purple/chart bodied Rat tail Grub. There was a guy working on his boat house and he came down to watch me fish for a while. He said that the Crappies were done this time of year and they are hard to come by till Fall. Much to his suprise then I pulled 3 Crappies right in front of him. He was pretty suprised that the Crappies were still in shallow and he mentioned that he had fished with live bait with no luck. I guess he'll be shopping for some plastics . I fished the deep weedline and saw quite a few fish suspending 3 feet off the bottom in 10-15 feet of water. I hovered my jig in front of the fishes' faces and caught some nice Gills and a few Crappies as well. Though I didn't do that great with numbers tonight the size made up for it.

Here's what worked tonight:

Rat Tail Grubs on a 1/32oz jighead (purple/chart)

Berkley 2" Power minnows on a 1/16oz jighead (smelt, black shad, pink/white)

6'ML Abu Garcia rod and a Mitchell 310X Gold spooled with 3lb Micro Ice.

6'6" Berkley Lightning Rod with a Mitchell Ideal reel spooled with 4lb Sensation.

Both "swinging" the bait and vertical jigging caught fish. I even caught a couple Bass near the docks and 4 Walleyes on the Power Minnow out deeper near the bottom.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water and it was fun to get on the fish too.

Here are a few pics from the night...

Good Fishin'

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

Corey and I chased down a few crappies last night. Another interesting day on the water. We positioned the boat parallel to the deep weedline and worked a steep break off the ends of some docks trying to see if we could locate them warm watered specs. We found one nice 10 incher holding off the end of a dock in about 7 feet of water almost right away. But that one seemed to be the only taker for the time being. Sunfish were willing to play but nothing of any size. So, we moved out towards some floating wharfs in about 15-18 feet of water and managed to pick up another crappie in the 10 inch range. Again, it seemed to be the only one willing take the 3 pound test ride. Venturing farther down the shoreline we then found ourselves focused on a dock in 7 feet of water once again. But this time the crappies were in much better numbers and we managed to pick up a few before the action died off. We landed a couple in the 11-12 inch range and several others in the 9-10.5 inch range. Healthy fish that appeared to be properly fed. 2-inch power minnows, Exude Micro Shad and Rat Tails all worked well without the help of a float or bobber. Best times seemed to be around 7-9pm...

Corey with a crappie

Exude Micro Shad crappie

Corey "Muscle" Bechtold releasing a slab

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CRET]

Matt & Cory, NIce fish! I went out on Friday night from 6:30-9:30, We absolutely nailed the Crappies and a few nice Sunnies. Boy! That Purple Head / Chartruce ringin Rat was the ticket! Also Black/ purple - char. was superior tonight. The Pink head / white /pink was ok also. Since the hot snap, I was unable to get-out,so I was a little concerned about the action. I found a good deep weed line were a cast was 3-5 feet, and a cast in the other direction was a good 20+ feet. I had the boat in the strike zone,(10-13 feet) we moved along the weed line for a good quarter mile, all you wanted to catch! Kept a few for a buddy who don't go fishing much, otherwize - all went back! The size was a little smaller than last time, but was still some very NICE fish caught. Let me know if you ever want to hook up, You can just drive up to St. Frncis and I have the boat. (2004 18.5 Bass Tracker) and I'll guide you out, and then you can GUIDE me! ha ha!

Bob

[bmc]

I took the family out last night in search of gills and we did really good. Lots of fish in the 8-9" range. We fished the edge of a cabbage bed in about 8-10' of water. My wife and kids prefer bobber fishing, so we did that with #6 gamakatsu hooks and panfish leeches. When using live bait, how can I keep the gills from swallowing the hook? I know to set the hook right when the bobber starts moving, but the kids usually have the fish hooked deep. Maybe try using medium sized leechses? Anyways here's a pic of my oldest daughter Savanna with her biggest of the night, a 8.75" gill. She also started the night off wiht a bonus 14" walleye.

Brian

[Dan Thiem]

Nice picture bmc! She sure looks proud.

About the buried hooks, have you ever tried a long shank hook with leeches? It seems they don't hooked get so deep when I use a longer shanked hook.

[bmc]

Thanks Dan, proud is an understatement. I told the kids if they get one over 10" we'll get it mounted. Last spring at late ice she caught a 9 1/4" gill. They're knocking on the 10" door. I'll have to try the longer shanked hooks, any specific brand and size you like?

Thanks,

Brian

[CrappieJohn]

Gami makes a nice aberdeen....very sharp. The TruTurn hooks were always favorites of mine for pannies when bait was used. I have a ton of the TT's but they don't even get out of the box anymore. Plastic has sort of pushed the conventioal tackle into hiding.

[bmc]

Hey Tom,

My boats only a 15' so you can imagine what it'd be like with the 12 year old, 7 year old, wife, and myself trying to cast plastic. LOL Somebody probably would have a pierced eyebrow or nostril by the time the night was done. LOL What are some good plastics a person could use under a bobber?

Brian

[CrappieJohn]

BMC....

Mine is 14', sooo.

Plastics? Funny you shopuld ask that question. In all seriousness though, and I don't want to sound like I'm pushing these, the Stub Grubs, Crappie Rats, Culprit Paddletails, and the Exude MicroShads in that order.

You don't want to forget hair jigs either. I make a jig similar to the flu-flu but with much less hair/feather. They are 1/32 ounce and today they were murder on sunfish. If you can find some flu-flu's in a yellow head/ white feather, trim the feather down so it is not so bulky looking and they will work. TackleCity.com, the on site tackle shop, has the flu-flu-s if you are having trouble finding them.

The Stub Grubs were getting the few crappies I got.

[Corey Bechtold]

What's working now??? Well, last time I was out I found the Panfish to be hiding under docks and lifts. The sun was hot and the water too. These Panfish were seeking the shade, shelter and cooler temps. If there was some weeds around that was another place to find them. The usual plastic presentation was taking these fish but the way of fishing them was a little more along the lines of Bass fishing. Skipping the baits under cover or pitching them around the bases of lifts or docks was the place to rest your bait. Another good way to fish the docks and lifts is to use a long rod like a cane pole to dip your bait and wait for the fish to strike. The vertical presentation worked a bit better than the swinging retrieve as these fish showed little desire to leave the cover or chase the bait.

Remember to try to respect lakeshore owners property when fishing next to their docks, lifts, rafts and boats. There is a lot to offer as far as good fishing near these obsticles but a hook in someones boat seat can make fishermen look bad.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[united jigsticker]

Dad and I hit the water early this AM in pursuit of the Crappies.

However, we found some pretty aggressive Walleyes hanging with the Crappies, as the first 30 minutes produced 6 Walleyes to 4 Crappies.

Once the sun got higher, it was all Crappies, hiding under logs, floating docks, and ski jumps. (yes, I said ski jumps)

I free casted a jig with success while Crappie Todd had some excellent luck with a jig and float combo.

Plenty of fish caught today (and released) for some really good August action.

Great day on the water with excellent company.