Slip’s 2015 LOGS, STATUS AND STRATEGIES… 2ND HALF EDITION

[Slip Sinker]

... postings concerning the second half season of fishing 2015

[Slip Sinker]

20151006 – Very frustrating with no B’Gills or P’Seeds in the zone…

Using panfish jigs and baits I could not get a B’Gill Or P’Seed to bite… obviously they were not around . Only panfish to bite was a lone Y.Perch. in the a.m.. I went back in the p.m. at least test for crappies in the zone but took a SMB on the first cast with the 2” Power Minnow a fighter  with a powerful dogging run and acrobatics in full display. Moments later I connect with a real powerhouse 18" class SMB that had me wrapped up for a while … gave her some slack for a few seconds and she took off again. All the fish were tight up against some deeper structure in the form of building debris of concrete and rebar… tough stuff my braid and Nanofil. A dink 13” Walleye was brought to net with 2 SMB’s fighting for the jig in his mouth… what a sight! Had (4) SMB’s on and only landed (2) of them. Still had a blast!!

BFOTD!!

[Slip Sinker]

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[Slip Sinker]

20151008 – Fall Turnover… a very frustrating time to fish…

I like to experience major changes in the lake environment especially when im out on my boat with my electronics. While fishing from shore late this morning  I had a discussion with a couple gents in a bass rig discussing the lake conditions…. He said water temp is at 57 degs down from the low 70’s less than 2 weeks ago the main lake body exhibited signs of fall turnover… cloudy water, low water temps and no thermocline shn on the electronics. They had a great time with the SMB s near the banks.

I ended up with a thinnish N.Pike with no panfish bites on the 2” jigs on 1/32 oz heads. I added a little bling to the jig to tag the Northern.

 

20151008 – Spinner rig and Jig used

 

[Slip Sinker]

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[Slip Sinker]

20151009 - when something's working on the fish ... i leave it on the rod till it stops producing.

yesterday i saved the day by attaching the spinner jig rig by enticing a N.Pike to save me from a skunking at the bridge... very tough bite as the cold front continues. today i leave the rods setup as they were yesterday and head out to the bridge for some more punishment...

g

i end up with a mixed bag of SMB and White Bass. i was particularly excited to hit on the W.Bass thinking i may have located a school of them. they typically run in tight knit groups and provide great angler action. the fish hit on a Tabbert Jelly Jig worked close to the bottom of a 15' wide pool... but proved to be the only fish in the zone.

12" class W.Bass... love these fish

20151009- Never seems to fail… you get into a hot bite earlier in the week and you want to share the hot bite with friend or family member and the pattern or bite intensity degrades by the time you fish. I had a decent Y.Perch hook up straight away… then I had a nice bite and I felt the jig pull free… I then speed reeled to finish the cast and throw out the bait again in that spot… the 4# SMB followed the  bait all the way in grabbed it at the last second turned 180 degrees and started a reel screaming run!. Wow!! Fish exploded out of the water and thru the hook… I apparently did not have time to properly set the hook when the fish grabbed it! These fish never seem to amaze me. hooked into an adolescent SMB shortly after.

 

[Slip Sinker]

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[Slip Sinker]

20151010- Worst Personal fishing day on Wixom Lake ever...

marked tons of fish yesterday suspended in the water column through out the lake. tried micro jigging the fish suspending in front of their mouths using the sonar ... not one panfish hit. caught a lone N.Pike of 25" that looked like it had a close call with a Muskie. Post turnoveer fishing could be brutal for awhile till things settle down.

[Slip Sinker]

20151010- The Question is…Why Fish a Lake at Fall Turnover when you know the outcome may be poor results?

You fish the bad times for valuable time on the water… firsthand experience recognizing negative or neutral fish behavior during the most stressful periods of time during the fishing season… the spring and fall turnovers. The waters are near common temps throughout the water column and the fish become confused and severely disrupts normal behavior. Fishing those times … actually experiencing this behavior builds on your fishing repertoire and experience and makes you a better fisherman overall. Actually presenting the bait down to suspended fish with enticing jigs and bait tippings with ice fishing electronic precision and having the fish turn its nose towards it … is valuable experience.

[Slip Sinker]

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[Slip Sinker]

20151011- Fishing a Lake experiencing the fall Turnover compared to a lake that doesn’t have a Fall Turnover

I had a great opportunity to fish two lakes in two straight days of similar weather patterns to compare the effect of the fall turnover on overall fishing performance. 20151010 fishing on Wixom Lake fishing mid fall turnover I experienced probably the worst fishing experience of my life…. Fish were recorded on sonar everywhere in the lake because of uniform temps and neutral behavior … suspended in the column from top to bottom ignoring all our offerings. We tagged one pred N.Pike all session without another bite.

We decided to fish a small natural lake the following day that does not experience a fall turnover and experienced a completely different occurrence. Fish were feeding in the shallow weed beds following the lake edge shoreline as a pattern. We slammed them in the shallows with slip bobbers and bait( crawler bits and Pink Waxies). The boat brought in easily more than a hundred fish (conservative estimate) between Earl and I. what a night and day experience between fishing outings! We extended the outing into the early dusk to experience the night crappie bit and we did just as well.

g

BFOTD!!! drop shotting the flats along the weedline with Pink Waxies

Trophy P'Seed caught slip bobbering the bank with crawler bit

 

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some of the shorelines we were fishing ...

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fishing setups of the day...