WBL- clear water- Bass... (Is it fall yet?) Senkos!

[Slyster]

Welp!... Went out to WBL yesterday (Mon 9.26.05)... first time in a long while... and things have not changed as much as I thought. Same weed beds and the weeds seem to be ok and not dying off yet.. must be the clear water... like mentioned earlier in an earlier post of mine... I did catch 4 nice bass using senkos... but took 4 hours.. quite slow!

I tried cranks.. spinnerbaits... senkos... and tubes- but ONLY caught fish on senkos... bubblegum and green/white...

Is that typical of this time of year? I would think things would have changed since I had fished last. When ARE things going to change (for a clear lake like WBL) or will senkos keep on working ALL THE WAY until ice?

Thanks for the tips.. saves me a many years of trial and error!

[delmuts]

one thing to watch will be the water temps. as they start to fall, don't be afraid to exsperiment. as the fish get going on the feed ; don't be afraid to try rattle traps too. a spinner bait,rattle trap are all reaction type lures and can be hot as fall progresses( don't be afraid to try a buzzbaits too).if they don't produce , then start falling back to the slower presentations.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I havn't fished any clear lakes lately..but as del said.. Traps have been catching a lot of fish!!! Clear water is always a few weeks behind.. but I would give them a shot! Try both a steady retrieve, and stop and go and also try and fish them like you would a jig.

[Slyster]

OK.. went out today.. Saturday Oct 1.. WARM and beautiful.. but.. for the FIRST time this year.. I was skunked (Bass) and only caught 2 small pike and 1 perch. And I really tried.. 8 hours.. every bait.. including a massive effort with topwater baits.. poppers.. frogs.. spook.. buzzbaits..

I fished shallow.. docks.. weedbeds.. all the way to 16 foot deep weed edges...

NOTHING!

Unreal... where did they go? Maybe it was "just the day" and not a typical thing this time of year? Very discouraging. Perhaps the worst day of 2005.

Any clue on what's going on here? Tx.. How did you all do on this beautiful day?

[Ray Esboldt]

Slyster,

I've fished good old WBL for 20 years. And, one thing I know about this lake that is for sure, is that the bass fishing just disolves in October. I have no idea why. My suggestion would be to fish another lake. I know you love the Bear as much as I do, but sometimes you just have to make a move.

[Slyster]

Really? WOW! I thought the fall bite was supposed to be the best of the year?

Based on 20 years I have to believe you.. where do they go? That's too bad. Anyway.. I can't get out more than a time or two before I put the boat away now.. and my arm is killing me (tennis elbow from fishing the doc said).. maybe I'll make some runs to phalen with my trolling motor.. that's always a nice relaxing (quiet) lake.

How about Bald Eagle lake?

[cableguy031]

Bald Eagle is a good lake for bass. Gotta get out there early to beat the rec boaters if you fish the weekend. I hit four yesterday: 3.5, 3.3, 2.7, 1.3. Try top water lures.

[sicheneder]

for me in the st.cloud area i have thought that the fall bite has been very tough or atleast right now. i was on lake sylvia that has numbers of bass if caught about 15 bass in seven hrs. half deep, half shallow. the shallow fish were way more aggressive and than the deeper fish. i would say that the water color is pretty close to the water color on wbl

[cableguy031]

I agree with you about the sahllower fish bing more agressive than the deeper ones. When I caught that 3.5, I was merely trying to draw attention to my wife's bobber by throwing it toward shore and reel it back. Third cast, slow retrieve, and it hit me about 6 ft. from the boat. It was nice.

Try slowing down a bit, I found that helps a bit too.

[jackfish]

Sly:

I find that the senkos start working the best when the wind is blowing onto points and steep banks in the fall. Cast them into 8-15 feet of water, put your rod down, pour a coffee, light a lung dart, make a comment about your fishing partners wife, then pick up the rod. Often a fish has it.

On deep weed edges one of the best presentations I've seen is a jig and Reaper combo,(choosing the appropriate size and color is the trick) Rig the Reeper on a stand up jig, (like the triangle shaped ones in 3/8 oz or a little heavier) Dead stick the thing just wiggling it once in a while. The fish love them.

Try it. Good luck!

Jackfish