By Bob Jensen
Fishing the Midwest Fishing Team

(photo by Bob Jensen) Pro bass angler Cole Floyd changes techniques to match the situation with much success.

There are still lots of fishing trips ahead for the summer and fall of 2024.  In fact, some of the best fishing of the year will be in the next couple of months. Recent conversations with friends who fish indicate that they’re excited about upcoming days on the water.

Those same conversations have revealed that those anglers have come to the conclusion that fishing isn’t like it used to be.  Not in a bad way. Just different. In fact, many of them believe that fishing is as good and even better in many places. But it’s different. Here’s why.

Almost all of the anglers that I’ve talked with have indicated that the water in many of the bodies of water that they fish continues to get clearer. Clearer water has been a reality for a while now. The clearer water is due to the efforts of state and local officials as well as local residents. Zebra mussels have also contributed to the clearer water.  “Zeebs” strain the sediment out of the water, which results in clearer water.

Walleye chasers have learned that because lakes are clearer, walleyes in particular can sometimes be harder to catch. The best-bite times are earlier and later in the day than previously. Lower light periods are often better for walleye catching.

This clearer water also allows vegetation to grow in deeper water. In lakes where the deep weedline used to be in twelve feet of water it’s now in 15 feet and maybe more.

In clearer water fish get spookier. There’s a newer technology called forward facing sonar(FFS). Traditional sonar reveals what’s going on directly below the boat, while FFS looks ahead. My experience with FFS is very, very limited, but it enables an angler to spot a fish ahead of the boat before the fish gets spooked by the boat.

FFS has become a major factor in professional fishing tournaments. FFS or not, in clearer water, longer casts will often put more fish in the boat. Again, it’s the spooking concept.

Due to the clearer water, many anglers are using smaller baits more frequently. Baits like KVD Dream Shots and Half Shells on a dropshot rig or a Ned Ocho on a jig are gaining in popularity because they’re productive. Bass tournament anglers are successfully using smaller baits with much more frequency and success.

Records gathered by people who gather such things indicate that average water temperatures have also increased. These records reveal that water temperatures are about four degrees warmer than they were fifty years ago. That might not seem like much, but it affects things in the fish world.

The growing season is longer, so fish are getting bigger in places that have the ingredients necessary to grow larger fish. There is also more vegetation growth, so there is more habitat for baitfish.

The clearer and warmer water affects some fish species more than other fish species. In a good number of lakes, smallmouth bass populations have increased significantly, while some fish like tullibee that live in the colder, deeper water are having a tough time adapting.

Some people, I’m one of them, resist change. I’ve learned though, that change can be a good thing. Some of the changes in the fish’s world have made catching some species tougher to catch. However, those same changes have made other species more abundant and bigger, and if we’re willing to adapt, we can take advantage of those changes.