Across northern states and Canadian provinces, and most notably in Wisconsin, the invasive rusty crayfish has significantly altered every native ecosystem it’s invaded. Negatively, lakes infested by them were quickly deforested, void of aquatic plant life. The whole food chain and fishery suffered as a result. Recruitment of certain fish species grew poor, with

  Stubbornness is our worst enemy, and falling under its spell ruins every trip. It’ll dictate how and where to fish, throw you off course, and ultimately prevents from catching.

  Drought and drawdown-plagued waterways present obstacles to finding and catching fish. Whether due to drought or it’s the annual fall drawdown, many anglers fishing rivers and reservoirs for smallmouth are challenged by these situations.

  Across many northern natural lakes and lowland flowages, some of the biggest bronzebacks available in the system can be found dwelling in weedy cover. They’ll utilize weeds for cover and habitat for cover and feeding opportunities more often than you think. These weed oriented smallmouths continue to be overlooked and under fished, with the

  Eons ago, during pre-settlement times, the natural shallow water areas of many northern lakes were brimming with vast amounts of wood cover and plant life. Entirely undeveloped centuries ago, these lakes were pristine ecosystems. I could only wonder how virgin and unexploited our current fisheries were back then.

  Bump-bump-bump went the crankbait, crashing and banging off of every rock and boulder it made contact with through the mid-river current. I kept a firm grip on my casting outfit, knowing what would happen next.

  Cold fronts are déjà-vu, and frequent. During a typical fishing season, two or three days of stable weather per week always seems to be followed by an equal amount of cool, breezy, bluebird days.