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.
We're getting down to crunch time now and we're probably only a report or two away from the end of (my) fishing season. Check back in a couple of days for the update and enjoy yourself if you're heading out this weekend.
