It's starting to feel more like summer...minus that cold front that came through yesterday. Still catching fish in 8-12 feet with some wind, but 15 feet is becoming pretty reliable, and we caught our first fish over 20 feet today as they slid out on one of our spots post cold front. I'm still working points and flats and typical structure but looking more for those that are closer to deeper water now. Lots of times we can find fish just above or just below the first break line - depending on their mood - which often is around that 10-12 foot range in many places.
Still staying mostly shoreline related, haven't scouted much of the sunken island, offshore structure with the exception of places that sit along the channel and become migration routes. Bottom bouncers and crawlers are dominant, but experiment with plain hook, slow death, prop blades, standard blades, etc. depending on the day as some seem to work better than others at times. Crank baits have worked well for many, but we haven't spent a lot of time in that world yet.
Being summer, we are seeing more of the 13-15 inch fishing running around, so be prepared to catch plenty of those. Likewise, when you find them, there are often pretty good schools of fish, and now that we're looking in 10-15 feet more often, marking them on sonar below the boat is much more common, though side imaging is still a huge factor especially seeing if fish are shallower or deeper than you are and being able to slide out. Also, this week I started consistently marking and catching many more fish out east anywhere from Garrison to Berthold Bay area, so truly the entire system has the numbers now to get the job done on a given day.
Wall Hangers update...we have a new leader! Wayne Jepsen from Rock Rapids, Iowa, caught a personal best 27 inch stud a little more than a week ago! Raising the bar for those looking to bring home the free replica from Jackson Taxidermy Studio!
And don't forget, the book, Fishing for More, is available in digital, paperback, and hardcover now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers at special, pre-order prices that end September 1st on the release date. Also, you can still read the first four chapters here on the website.
And now, the pictures and the videos:
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