Fishing Report 9/24/09

Water temps on the Three Lakes chain this evening were between 70-72 and falling into the evening. Actual lake temps are probably in the mid to high 60's. Good weed growth still remains and is holding good concentrations of baitfish. Conditions have been steady and calm for many weeks but things will change as we head into the weekend with rain showers and dropping day time temps expected. The shallow water bite has been on, and I am talking shallow! Fishing depths of 1-5 feet has been the best. Don't worry about water clarity with the weeds decaying as I do not think it affects the fishing as much as most anglers think - muskies must to eat - but I do think the "pea soup" water color drives the shallow bite. Medium size bucktails such as Bucher's 700 series and spinners along with shallow running cranks such as the 6 inch jake and baby shallowraiders have been producing fish. I have also had some fish go after topwaters in the evening, and this has been a great way to trigger fish that only followed earlier. Again, with lake colors changing on a daily basis, the most consistent way to contact these fish is to go ultra shallow. I am not advocating 100% shallow fishing, but when faced with a prolonged period between the start of "turnover" or "rollover" and the when the process is finished (water temps in the mid-50's) I like to concentrate my efforts shallow. This pattern is easy and it allows for run-and-gun fishing so you can cover water quickly. As always, finding the baitfish has been the key to finding active predator fish. If you are having a hard time finding muskies, try fishing for crappies, walleye or panfish and you will likely find muskie action right along side.

Try this ultra shallow tactic and put more fish in your boat!

Good luck and fish hard!

Chas Martin
www.muskymastery.com