gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
What isn’t these days.

The lakes and river I primarily fish have virtually no pressure. I fish those lakes on purpose because there is minimal pressure.

I fish from shore in the northern metro area. Everywhere I have been successful is pressured. Sometimes you wait for someone to leave before you can slide into your preferred spot. And you can still catch fish. Of course, my idea of a successful outing would be considered a bust by most of you here. I’m very happy if I get 3, especially if one is in the 3 pound range.

The small feeder stream into the Mississippi that I have been fishing is now too shallow. I managed to find a 2 lb smallmouth today, but that was it. I had decent luck the two times I went last week, including catching my largest smallmouth (or bass of any kind) ever. It was in the 5 lb to 6 lb range. I couldn’t take a picture because I haven’t figured out how to hold a fish in one hand and snap a phone camera pic using the other hand. I didn’t want to put it down and de-slime it. There were no grassy areas around for me to lay it down.

I stumbled onto this spot two weeks ago. It was probably good for a few weeks earlier also. I’ll remember it for next year, but there are no guarantees. The spot that was hot for me in 2020 and the first part of the 2021 season has been dead ever since. Last year the water level got very low and it seemed the fish disappeared, never to return, even though the water level was good this June. It’s low again now.

Being a bank fisherman, I have limited access to good spots, and it seems they come and go.

Caught 3 more today. Same location. Same setup. No blood.

I’m fishing totally unweighted and the water depth is maybe 3 feet. I could downsize to a 1/0 and still Texas Rig, or I could try an even smaller hook and throw wacky. Maybe I was just unlucky today with hooking.

Reef W wrote:

Edit: in one spot it says “Additional restrictions on a designated trout lake … limiting anglers to the use of one line with one hook at any time (summer or winter) …”

That was the main reason why I asked the question. I know under usual circumstances, one lure, even with multiple trebles, counts as one hook. But the regulations specifically mentions the “additional restrictions” with the “one hook” rule for designated trout lakes. But the regulations don’t expand on it. I suppose I can call the DNR and specifically ask about Cenaiko.

I was out Friday and Saturday my favorite shore spot. But one that has not been very productive this summer/fall. On Friday I seemed to have a couple of fish on with reluctant bites, weird fights, but they got off. Same happened Saturday. One of the fights lasted a minute before the fish got off with a steady swim up the channel that I could not stop. I was puzzled.

But I finally figured out what it was. One time after a “bite”, the treble hook on my spoon had a big scale on it. Carp. Seems they’re so thick in the area that my crankbait and spoon was snagging them, but not enough to get through the skin and hook them. Maybe I’ll go with bread dough balls or corn kernels and try to catch some for fun.

It had been a terrible several weeks. My favorite lake shore spots all suffered from low water. I even stopped regularly going and went out once a week to see if there was any improvement. No dice. So today I tried the Mississippi, a little north of 694. I was rewarded with a small walleye and this fantastic smallmouth. I was wading almost knee deep, casting to what looked like the boundary of the shallower water and deeper water.

My wife was there painting so I finally was able to get a shot of me holding a fish. Usually I’m alone and only get the “foot” shot.

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Bank Fishing – I’ve given up on my lake spots for a while due to the low water and heat. I tried the Mississippi River this morning and to my surprise I caught a nice chunky smallmouth. First one ever from the river.

But the fight was so much different than my lake fish. At first it felt like I had a very heavy weed on. No tugging at all. I slowly pumped and reeled in the weed for 15 seconds or so. Then I felt a bit of tugging and I realized it was indeed a fish. It pulled heavy but drag wasn’t stripping as I would have expected for that strength of pull. As I got it closer, it pulled a few inches of drag a couple of times and made a nice jump. It was about 16 inches, but hefty. I was using a Texas Rigged senko with a medium sized split shot right above the hook.

With this I have a couple of questions about bank fishing the Mississippi.
– Should I be setting my drag a little lighter than I do for bank fishing lakes?
– In some places the current moved my senko very fast. Should I use a heavier weight to slow the movement down?

I caught the fish in an area with riffles and moderate current. I tried to cast out to the area where the riffles and faster smooth water meet. I also fished in the faster smooth water, and saw some signs of fish, like swirls, but I felt my senko was moving too fast. The slower sheltered water seemed dead to fish activity.

I’ve got a lot to learn.

I’m glad you guys are all catching fish. Shore fishing for me has dried up. I’ve caught one small bass in my last 5 outings. At my favorite spot, the water is too shallow and too hot. I’ve tried a couple of new spots to no avail. This time of the year was productive the previous two seasons.

mrpike1973 wrote:

Here it is

Nice!

mrpike1973 wrote:

Rougher day for me yesterday. Another lake before dusk 1 bass for me and a 15 inch crappie on a Ned rig for the wife. I think she sent the pic to everyone she knew pretty pumped she was.

It’s great that your wife likes to fish with you. I would have liked to see the crappie pic.

Deuces wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
His squirmy squiggly line I would think is a tall tale sign, over a nick.

All those descriptions are very subjective.

I should have taken a picture when it happened. That would have reduced the subjectivity. But I was anxious to tie back on and get fishing again.

Reef W wrote:

Do you have different line on your two rods? I think a clinch is more likely to slip the thinner your line is, that’s what it seems like to me anyways.

One has 8lb Stren and the other has 10lb Trilene. So pretty similar.

I’ve examined my rod guides as Mr. Beads suggested. The insides seem pretty smooth but the edges are a little sketchy. It’s an old rod, like decades old, so maybe I now have an excuse to get a new one. I even started looking.

When I started fishing again a couple of years ago, the old reels on my main freshwater rods crapped out pretty quickly. So I replaced them. Now it’s probably time to replace the rods.

Deuces wrote:

I’ve never had a knot slip on mono with an improved clinch.

Never.

Lots of variables on what actually could be happening, but imo it is not your knot.

You could be right. I use two rods. One is exclusively for worm fishing, where I tie on a worm hook. The other is for lures where I tie on a snap swivel so I can quickly change lures. I never had the “slippage” happen on my snap swivel, only on my worm hook. Last time it happen I even successfully landed a bass on it before it “slipped” on my next hookup. It does have that wavy line pattern at the end of the line when it “slips”.

fishthumper wrote:

Not a Bowfin but another surprise catch yesterday. I thought my buddy had another of the Big Catfish we get once in awhile. Took over 10 minutes before we could even see it. Was really surprised to see a HUGE Carp. One hell of a battle on 10Lb. test. If I had to guess a weight on this thing I would say it was around 30Lb.

I have a soft spot for carp. When I was a kid growing up in Queens NY, there wasn’t much fishing around that a kid could get to. There were two lakes within walking or biking distance. Carp was the prized catch. At first we used corn kernels as bait. But at 12 years old we got more sophisticated and started to cook up a cornmeal and molasses mixture. We’d mold it onto a #4 or #6 hook, toss it out with a 1/2 oz sinker and wait. Most of the ones we caught were in the 1 lb to 2 lb range with the occasional 3 or 4 pounder. Fun times for a kid.

So many of these things are firsts for me because I’ve only been seriously (maybe semi-seriously) fishing for 3 seasons. Retirement has its benefits.

What a difference the cooler weather made. I was out bank fishing this morning for 2.5 hours. I landed 10 bass and had one northern bite off after 4 runs. The bite was so good that I was able to use some of my older beat up bitten down senkos. I even got bass thumb.

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mrpike1973 wrote:

Ah bass thumb I wear it with honor on my right thumb. My wife askes how was fishing I show her the “thumb” Fishthumper wear it with pride.

I get bass thumb only occasionally because there are only a few days each season where I catch enough shore bass to have it happen. I assumed you guys who catch large numbers of bass all the time develop an immunity to it.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bob P wrote:</div>
Question : What causes such day to day variance in seemingly similar conditions? Just the nature of fishing?

I think shallow water fish ( Most bank fishing is usually targeting shallower water fish ) tend to mover around more often than do deeper water fish. I believe that shallow water bass have to cover more ground to find food than deeper water bass do. This is possibly the reason your fishing is different from one day to another even though the conditions seem the same. Another possible reason is I believe fish also feed in cycles. If they feed heavy one day they are not likely to feed much again for a few days. One last possible reason is as the surface water temps get warmer I think there are fewer shallow water fish that are not buried deep into cover. The fish you caught the day before and possibly even those from 2 days before are most not going to bite again for a few days. Each fish you catch one day is probably 1 less fish you can catch again the next day or two. Just a few possible thoughts

Thanks for such a well thought out reply. What you say makes a lot of sense. The area in question is quite shallow, but has a fair amount of structure. Even so, it sometimes surprises me how productive it is.

mahtofire14 wrote:

So many things can effect it.

-air temp and water temp
-barometric pressure
-wind (effects surface, water temps, water clarity, and baitfish movement)
-sun vs clouds
-time of year
-water clarity

I try to take note of the conditions when I have good days and bad days.

————————————————————–

Yes, that’s true in general. But I was referring to Tues, Wed, today all at about 8AM. The conditions seemed quite similar. Of the 6 you listed, at least 4 were essentially the same : air + water temp, water clarity, sunniness, time of year, time of day. I didn’t note the barometric pressure, and perhaps it was a little more still today than yesterday.

Often when I get to a spot I’ve fished before, I see and feel the conditions, and I sometimes think “this should be a good day” or “this is not looking good”. I’m almost always right about the latter. When I think it’s going to suck, usually it turns out that way. Also frequently when I think it’s looking like it should be good, it is good. But maybe a third of the time when I think it looks good, it doesn’t turn out that way, like today. When that happens I wonder if the fish just aren’t biting or if I just didn’t solve the pattern.

I fished my favorite (shore fishing) spot the last three mornings for 1.5-2 hours each day. Pretty much the same conditions every day but different results. Bass hitting only senkos and yum dingers. No bass on plugs or spinnerbaits. Northerns hitting senko, spinnerbait, small crankbaits.

Tues – good : two bass (one nice 17″), one 28″ northern and 2 northern biteoffs on senko, one after a couple of runs. Also “caught” a small crankbait.

Wed – very good : 3 bass (small though 12″-14″) and 3 northerns (one on the crankbait I caught the previous day).

Thurs – skunked : one feeble bite on senko. Also lost a new $5 crankbait to an overcast into the lily pads.

Question : What causes such day to day variance in seemingly similar conditions? Just the nature of fishing?

Soft swimbaits for me. It seems like the natural progression from my favorite, TRig senkos. Maybe also topwater plugs. I haven’t had any success with them and haven’t found any I’m confident in.

mahtofire14 wrote:

If you’re doing a lot of shore fishing it can be pretty valuable. I used to do a lot before I bought my boat right when these came out, and it definitely helps to know depths and a little structure info. I never really trusted it to show fish but it did show marks for what it’s worth.

Thanks. I assume that the models have improved over the years. It probably will be worth it for me to get one.

Dutchboy wrote:

Bring 2 rods. One rigged with heavy braid attached to the Deeper and one for fishing. Once you find the depth you want reel the deeper in and start fishing.

I would definitely have a separate rod for it with heavy braid. I usually bring 2 rods for fishing, so now it would be three.

My wife suggested tying it to 2 rods at the same time.

steve hughes wrote:

I would like to see on limits instead of daily limit like 6 <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes how about 3 fish daily limit and 6 fish possession limit it would be like the dakotas do

I’ve often wondered how possession limits could be enforced. Will the DNR come to my home and check my fridge and freezer?

That said, I’m almost exclusively “catch and release”. I kept one bass and one northern this season for eating.

buckybadger wrote:

My biggest concern is enforcement. We can pass laws and changes until we are blue in the face…without enforcement it doesn’t mean anything. It’s already illegal to operate a boat while intoxicated, stuff freezers, not control your wake, etc. Those issues are still a major concern though.

Enforcement is so difficult. Random checks generally don’t uncover anything because the majority of people follow the rules, at least to the best of their understanding. Enforcement is more likely to “catch” a guy who is keeping a slot limit northern out of ignorance than they are to catch the “freezer stuffers” who know what they are doing and take care to not get caught.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bob P wrote:</div>
Most of the people on this site are not “average” fisherman.

I disagree. There are 17,458 folks on this site. I’m betting only about 10% of those folks ever post anything on a regular basis.

Of that 10%, most of those folks, may be above “average” fisherpersons.

I’m not sure about that. Consider that there were about 40 million fishing licenses sold in 2020. All of the 17K members here were serious enough to join a fishing group. Most probably fall into the top half of the 40 million licensed fisherman. It’s probably the case for most people serious enough to join any fishing group, they’re generally in the top half.

I’d say that most of the active members here are “way above average”.

Matt Moen wrote:

@dutchboy

It’s like other sports, though, imho. The gap between the best pro’s and everyone else is massive. I know a lot of guys that are collegiate level fisherman but they ain’t gonna make it to the big dance! Myself included.

I think there are big gaps between multiple different levels
– best pros
– average pros
– avid serious – like many of the guys on this site
– semi serious – like me
– casual

Most of the people on this site are not “average” fisherman. They have lots of skills and knowledge. I’m sure they would out fish me under most circumstances. So big gap between avid and semi-serious.

Yet where I go (shore fishing), I out fish most of the other people there. So big gap between semi-serious and casual.

The most important thing for me is to have fun.

Follow up :

I went to Manomin Park on Tuesday (12/8) and Wednesday (12/9). I fished the mouth of Rice Creek and also a bit up and down the Mississippi on either side. No action. I also walked up Rice Creek to the spillway at Locke Lake. The water is pretty clear along Rice Creek and I didn’t see any fish hanging out.

Tuesday was pretty cold so I stayed less than an hour. Wednesday was a lot nicer and it was enjoyable to be out for a couple of hours. It’s a nice area that I’ll probably explore more next season.

dfresh wrote:

Manomin Park off East River Rd is where Rice Creek dumps into the river. Good multi-species spot, but in December your mileage will vary.

Thanks dfresh. That’s the area I was considering. I took a brief look yesterday. It’s good to know that there could be fish there. Rice Creek was really flowing fast by the trail bridge.