By Steve Weisman
What a time of the year! Crops are coming out at breakneck speed, fall colors are showing up like crazy, the duck season opened again last weekend, the Youth Pheasant Weekend is this weekend, the 100th anniversary of the first hunting season in Iowa is set for Saturday, October 25 and, yes, I almost forgot, the fish are biting!
With all this going on, I thought it time to focus on the fishing right now. I thought I would discuss bluegills and yellow bass, walleyes and muskies.
Bluegills and yellow bass
For my part, last week my grandson and I headed to West Okoboji for bluegills. We knew we could find big fish in 25-35’ of water. The trouble is the schools are always on the move, so we would catch a bluegill and then move…it was constant. Still, using a Shuck’s Jigger Minnow tipped with a Belgian worm did the trick. All were over 8.5 inches with a couple pushing 10 inches. I also know (after watching a recent scuba video, the gills and bass are heading shallower toward the deeper docks on West Okoboji, but we didn’t have time for that on that day.
Then it was time for a change. Hunter wanted to cast a jig and plastic. So, we headed to East Lake in search of schools of yellows. We didn’t want to keep any; we just wanted to have the fun of the strike.
We found them around rocks. Hunter put a smack down casting to the drop-offs beyond the rocks (into 10-12’ of water) using a 1/8-ounce jig tipped with a pink plastic. He went through three plastics and two jig heads. I kept fishing with my Jigger Minnow on the edge of the rocks and caught lots of yellows and some bluegills. Several of the yellows were over 10 inches, but there was an assortment of sizes.
Walleyes on Big Spirit Lake
Ever since the PIGLIFT teams targeted the Big Spirit Lake walleyes the first weekend in September, the walleye bite has been pretty consistent. Most of the action at that time was in the deep basin.
Now, according to Nick Klatt, owner of Kabele’s Trading Post, the bite has continued, but the fish have gone shallower.
“We’re now finding the fish relating off shallow structure along the weedlines. There is a tremendous number of young of the year fish right now, and they are looking for the weeds for protection. The walleyes are moving to these weedlines, following the bait fish.”
Whether it is Stony, Little Stony, Red Nose, Reeds Run, the Foot Bridge, Templar, Buffalo Run…all of these areas are holding walleyes. Klatt says, “The key is to work these areas working to replicate the rocks, weedline and depth for success.”
Wind is also a key. Windy days will push the baitfish into the weeds, and if it’s not too windy, that’s the place to fish. If it is too windy, come back after the wind goes down. The baitfish will be there for the next day or so. Find the baitfish; find the walleyes.
Two presentations are working. “For those who have Forward-Facing Sonar, you check out the area until you find the schools of baitfish and then look for the walleyes. Once you find them, pitch a jig/minnow or jig/nightcrawler to the area.”
If you don’t have the Forward-Facing Sonar and just have a regular locator, you still find the hard weedline and look for signs of baitfish. Then, it’s fan cast to the spot.
The key here is patience. You can’t just expect to be out on the water for a half hour or so and catch fish. It takes persistence.
A friend of mine found this true on Big Stony last week with the walleyes on the outside of the weedline and then the perch were on the inside in 5-8’ of water. So, it was walleyes first, then the perch.
Another presentation that will work right now is pulling crankbaits like Berkley Flicker Shads, #4 Salmo Hornets, or the smaller Berkley Hit Sticks along these deeper weed edges. These crankbaits will most likely run in the 7-9’ depths, and if you follow the distinct weedline, you can cover a lot of area. This is a true reactionary bite.
The difference between these two presentations is the size of walleyes you will probably catch. According to Klatt, pitching the jigs will give the opportunity for larger fish, while the crankbaits will catch smaller walleyes in the 10-14 inch size with an ample supply of eater fish in the 14-17 inch size.
The walleyes are there, no doubt about it. However, patience and more patience is the key. If you have a buddy that is on the bite, that shortens the learning curve immensely. I do know of some anglers who have pulled bullet weights and holographic spinners tipped with nightcrawlers and taken some nice walleyes. Again, this is another search presentation (although slower) like the crankbait presentation.
Musky and pike
This time of year, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the musky and pike bite on Big Spirit. Every day, I hear reports and see photos on Facebook of nice muskies and pike coming from Big Spirit.
Not many anglers chase muskies and pike as effectively as guide, Shane Akin. “Right now, Big Spirit probably has the best musky and pike populations. So far, my biggest musky has been 49.5 inches with an average size of 42 inches. There seems to be two sizes of pike in the lake: 24-28 inches and 32-36 inches. However, I’ve had pike up to 39.5 inches.”
High sun and dead calm conditions are the toughest times to get muskies and pike to bite. Ideally, a fairly cloudy day with a 5-10 mph is the ticket. Moon phases can be crucial with the full moon and new moon periods the best, especially the days leading up to and following these two periods.
The key right now is finding the still-green weeds in the many weedlines all around the lake. “If I can find a spot where the weeds and rock are mixed, that seems to hold the muskies and pike the best. Akin says he uses two presentations this time of year: casting and trolling.
“When I am casting, I will use jerk baits and rubber baits like Bull Dawgs and Paddle Tails. I will cast the baits 3-4’ into the weedbed and then work the bait above the weeds and then back to the boat.”
Not a snap of the fingers
Nope…all of these presentations take time and practice. If you’re like me, nothing ever really comes that easy. I feel relatively confident with my bluegill fishing and presentations on East and West Okoboji (especially), but that is because I have done this for over 45 years, and each time out, I learn something new. I also have probably 100 or so icons on my locator for late spring, summer and fall fishing.
I think you know why I reached out for the walleye and musky fishing. I went to anglers who especially target those fish. The only way I would do well would be with somebody who fishes them like I do the bluegills.
Mike Preucil with a 25 inch walleye taken recently on Big Spirit.
Tron Dandy with a 48 inch musky from Big Spirit.
Curt Weisman with a 24 inch walleye taken last weekend on Big Spirit.
The author with a nearly 10 inch bluegill.
