Northwoods Bass 2020 Fishing Itinerary

July Fishing – Summer fishing patterns are in play. The 4th of July Holiday week delivers the most boat and vehicle traffic too. With that kind of pressure, I only fish in July before or after the holiday. I will also stay away from popular lakes with heavy recreational (non fishing) boat traffic. This time of season early mornings, evenings/nights, and traveling to lakes off the beaten path are prioritized.

• Night fishing smallmouth
• AM and late PM topwater smallmouth
• Power cranking smallmouth
• Swimbait and suspended open water smallmouth
• Mayfly hatch smallmouth
• Surface frog and slop fishing largemouth
• Crayfish patterns and the molt
• Ned rigs
• Drop shots
• Onboard and offshore

August Fishing – The same fishing patterns and strategies from end of July carry-over into August. The fishing improves drastically following summer peak, as trophy hunting patterns become more predictable. Much of the fishing we do is out in deeper depths; for smallmouth onboard and offshore, and mid-depth and deep structure. For largemouth, 10-15ft grass and weedlines. Depending on water temps and weather, some shallow water opportunity is available early and late in the day. In August, we prefer targeting trophy largemouth and trophy smallmouth.

• Night fishing smallmouth
• AM and late PM topwater smallmouth
• Power cranking smallmouth
• Swimbait and suspended open water smallmouth
• Surface frog and slop fishing largemouth
• Bluegill pattern largemouth
• Crayfish patterns and the molt
• Ned rigs
• Drop shots
• Onboard and offshore

September – This is the big transition month when all fishing, strategies, location, and lake selection is based on weather and the timing of turnover. Some years we are still fishing shallow water and pounding the flats, while other years we’re already fishing around wintering areas. Following young of the year perch schools throughout the lake often pays off for catching big smallmouth.

• Swimbait and suspended open water smallmouth
• River and flowage smallmouth
• Midday and afternoon fishing times prioritized
• Shallow flats swimbaits and lipless cranking smallmouth
• Offshore and deep grass largemouth
• Vertical jigging smallmouth
• Football jigging
• Blade baits and rip baits

October – I don’t host wintering trips because exploitation of wintering holes and sensitive lake locations isn’t of interest. October fishing is similar to September’s strategy. Except now we enter post-turnover and coldwater period. Many of the same fishing strategies from September are still utilized in early October. After turnover, almost 100% of our fishing is over deep water, incorporating jigging, casting, and position fishing. Some days we may incorporate the usage of specialized livebait rigging.

Nearly all bass trips for the year are completed by October 15th. But productive season may still continue into late month and November 1st depending on weather, climate, water temps, and ice formation. We are finished bass fishing for the season by the time water temps reach below 45 degrees. In 2019, I completed my year of bass fishing on the weekend of October 26th.