Northwoods Bass Fishing Report, late July and early August, 2019

Summer season has been a blur. July flew by, and here we are in early August. As of late, we’ve had some very good days on the water, and some poorer days on the water. This has all been relative to lake choices, preference of species, and fishing style. Smallmouth have been belligerent and uncooperative for the most part, while largemouth bass have been the best and hottest bite. You just got to take what the fish and lakes will give you.

I recently wrapped up my summer season guide trips that took place during the last week of July.  This time of year usually delivers the best weather, steadiest bites of the season, and patterns are generally consistent. That was not the case this month, as we were met with thunderstorms or new cold fronts every few days, more dry east winds, and zero humidity to create any successful night fishing opportunities.

The first few weeks of July were hot, but things have finally leveled off. Water temps on many area lakes are ranging from 75-76 at cool end, to 80-81 at hot end. The deepest, largest, coldest, clearest waters are remaining coolest. Meanwhile our flowages, shallow water lakes, and brown waters are absorbing the most heat and have the warmest surface temps.

Summer peak is here, and many of our bass now live offshore. Largemouth bass on the deepest greenest weedlines near main lake basins. Smallmouth on mid lake structure, bars, open water, and deep structure within close range to the thermocline.

Weeds are finally sprouted, and look very good and DEEEEP on many lakes. This year our lakes have experienced some of the best minnow specie and panfish hatches. Baitfish balls and schools of minnows are loaded everywhere on many lakes right now. It’s a challenge competing with all the food out there, but when fishing where the food is at odds are in your favor.

Fish early and late. Presently there is an obvious morning bite that has lasted from sunrise thru late morning. Midday thru afternoon hours has been near worthless, and will be until a cooldown ever comes to knock down the warm surface temps. Midday fishing does improve when there’s been weather changes though. Then the fishing picks back up again during evening to sunset hour.

For those of you wondering, evenings and nighttime hours haven’t been worthwhile yet this summer due to wind, cooler temps, and lack of humidity. Most days, I’ve actually stopped fishing by 8-9 pm. Nighttime hasn’t been paying off.

The main constant as of late has been fishing the deepest, coldest, clearest lakes to counter summer heat, warm water temps, and lack of wind. On these waters, the best smallmouth fishing was experienced. Many lakes now have thermoclines avg. 22-25ft, while in some down to 16-18ft. If your electronics isn’t displaying a distinct visible colorline, trust me it’s down there though not obvious like it normally would be in most years. In my opinion, there is no need to fish that deep quite yet unless fish are roaming and suspended in pursuit of ciscoes and other baitfish. Most bites are happening in the magical 8 to 15ft zone right now, wherever the best rock and wood is located. There is also no need to fish depths greater beyond the thermocline either. Most fish contacted are relating to structure and contour; as shallow as 5ft during lowlight conditions, to as deep as 20 midday. Fish have been feeding heavy on crayfish, while in other lakes cisco and yellow perch where these baitfish dominate the biomass.

Fish are now taking up residence along deep rocks and wood 10-15ft depths. Midlake rock bars and humps (topping off at 5-10ft with rock and boulder) have been money spots, and we have been finding fish loaded on a few of these locations on some lakes. So too are ledges that go drop down from the shallows towards the lake’s deepest basins.

Most bass, daily, have been located in wolfpacks, and if one is caught, the potential for several others nearby is often a strong possibility. Fish on rocks and sand are focusing on crayfish; fish roaming open water and deep humps are focusing on passer-by cisco and other suspending balls of minnows.

What’s Happening Now

Summer peak has set in, and smallmouth are in summer period. Water temps 76-80 nearly everywhere. Fishing will be as steady as it gets between now and Labor Day. August is typically one of the most stable weather months of the year, and it generally leads to consistent and predictable fishing. However, time and effort is required, as multiple feeding windows will be taking place daily. Recently, early AM post-sunrise has been awesome, and so too are evenings. Midday can be good just as well, but only if any weather events and changes are taking place.

Smallmouth will be found using a variety of structures and habitats throughout the lake. Fish can be located everywhere from open water schooling, to deep rock and gravel humps, first and secondary points, sand bars and flats, fish cribs – usually most at 12-15ft level, some 20ft or more, deep weedlines where perch and baitfish present, and the shallows. That’s a lot of likely places they will set up on. In mid summer, smallmouths can be caught as shallow as 2 feet to as deep as 30 feet depending on water temperatures and the developing thermoclines and summer stratification. Weather and water temperatures will drive their feeding movements and locations.

To be successful, take what the fish and the lake you’re fishing will give you. If the smallmouth or largemouth bite is slow or nonexistant on one lake, move to the next lake on your day’s list. All month I’ve been averaging 2-4 lakes fished per day. Pick a region to fish in, and work the available bass fisheries within it, or within close driving distance to maximize productivity and best bites.

If I could redo majority of my July trips and fishing days, we would have been targeting largemouth bass instead. They have been smokin’ hot. Right now on many of the weedy lakes, their locations are correlating with YOY bluegills. Offshore, and deep weeds. Catching them on surface frogs, topwaters, swim jigs, deep diving cranks, and swimbaits is a blast. If fishing shallows, you will find steady action from pads, slop, piers, and wood. On any hot and humid calm day, my favorite method to fishing is working a surface frog thru pads and slop, and finding schools of juvenile bluegills along deep green weedlines in 10-15ft depths that largemouth schools will gang up on.

If water temperatures cool down into the low 70’s, look for fish shallow early and late in the day. They will be feeding. If crayfish aren’t around where they should be, then don’t bother with the shallows unless baitfish have a presence. Fish will only be shallow for feeding. If water warms and midday fishing is unsuccessful, fish early or late. It’s very difficult to catch big trophy smallmouth when water temps are 78-80 degrees midday. Too hot for me.

Night fish especially, with topwaters, loud surface baits, and crankbaits. High humidity helps make this bite magical. When weather is consistent, smallmouth locations are more centered on presence of forage rather than ideal habitats.

As we progress into August and head towards Labor Day weekend and into September, there will be continued movements of smallmouths into the shallows as long as water temps remain in the low 70’s and cooler. This will relate to presence of forage and cooling water temperatures. Rock bars and offshore points are great areas to start. Then we will have the perch migrations, and a lot of smallmouths will be found utilizing deep weedlines.

If chasing trophies, use any noticeable feeding windows, peak periods, or weather changes to your advantage. This will make the difference!

Largemouth bass meanwhile could offer more consistent fishing and catch rates if weather stays warm, and it remains like it has been lately. During recent heat waves like we’ve experienced the past few weeks, their fishing has been unbeatable and action packed. My recommendation is to fish LMB’s during coldfront and high heat days. The species always responds best to adverse conditions.

The largemouth bass bite in the Minocqua area and many of its weedier lakes has been outstanding in July. I hope this continues on thru the month of August when I return to water an eternity from now, after wedding time. I have a lot to catch up on and write about since last week, so here goes a short story….

In between the SMB trips last week and during the weekend, I snuck away for some late afternoon and evening largemouth at a handful of lakes. We haven’t gone on a single LMB guide trip all season, and it felt good to switch it up. Smallies obviously haven’t been that great despite the results and big fish. I don’t think my boat hit 50 smallmouth all week!

Largemouth are now set up in summer pattern. Some fish shallow early and late in the day in thick jungle and wood (flipping jigs and surface frogs), while majority down deep utilizing the steep breaks and deep greenery in 10-15ft depths.

What I’ve found on our weed oriented lakes around Minocqua is the bluegill pattern. This is taking place on all of the area lakes where biomass is predominantly bass & bluegill predator & prey relationship in weedy environments. Lots of juveniles and young-of-years are in the weeds this year, and packs of hungry largemouth are setting up on the deep edges and eating everything that comes within range.

On any new or familiar body of water, the areas I look for are isolated weed humps & bars, offshore points and extensions leading into deep water, the weedlined mouths of bays and pockets, and deep weedlines that drop down and extend into the lake’s basin. Green cabbage & pondweed, and coontail have been best greens. 10 to 15 foot depths is all to look for. However, on some lakes look deeper, and others shallower. Waters that develop a slight green tint and bloom from algae and all the nutrients can deliver the best action and aggressive bites – non spooky fish.

To catch them from the deep greens, I first search out with a DT-6 crankbait (Parrot, all the time), and a swim jig with creature or paddletail trailer. If I need to slow down, I then fan cast a casting jig or plain creature+weedless jig. If fish are surfacing, a topwater like Rapala X-Rap pop takes them early and late in the day. If lots of fish are present, I slow down and go in for the kill with a 5″ Kalin’s Fishing wacko worm (baby bass) rigged on a 1/8oz weedless wacko jig, or rigged up Neko style. For those of you wondering, I plan on experimenting the tokyo rig with creatures in August.

Unless water temps cool and make smallmouth happier, returning them to the shallows, I anticipate LMB’s to be the better local fishing thru the month of August. They reliably respond best to heat waves, warm water temps, and dog days of summer if healthy habitat and forage abundance is there. Water temps everywhere at 76 to 80 degrees.

Largemouth bass in the Minocqua area continue to be underutilized and non-appreciated resources. I won’t bother fishing the infestation dink waters, but seek the LMB weed bowls that are populated by fewer but larger fish, and offer best trophy possibilities.

When a best bite is present, I don’t hesitate to drop one specie and fish instead for the uglier green cousin.

Bass Bling

We’re hitting the dog days of summer, and that means just about everything in your tackle box could be working. On some days, all it requires to catch smallmouth is just a few of the showcased lures. However, some days it’s required the entire boat and kitchen sink. While I do keep about 30 rods and reels rigged and ready at all times, I can only use one of them.

Smallmouth BLING – Our smallmouth fisheries are driven by forage abundance and preference. Some lakes are cisco, others perch, and most crayfish.

The minnows are everywhere right now. Cisco and minnow imitators are often the best search baits. You will notice my paddletails, swim jig, and spinnerbait choices cater to those fisheries. These are serious cisco bling.

Crayfish haven’t started molting yet, but will be soon. Smallmouth are now preferring these food sources more and more. Crankbaits such as my favorite DT-6, Crankin Rap 05, and Bandit 100’s are a must. So too are craw swim jigs, Chompers hula grubs, and Coffee Tubes in Crazy Craw.

Always pay attention to what fish are puking up. These will be indicators of what you should be throwing!

If you haven’t bought a Rapala Skitter V yet, what are you waiting for? The magic month is NOW!

When search baits, cranks, and topwaters aren’t going, tubes and my variation of big oversize ned rigs (4 and 5 inch models) dragged and popped have been most effective.Jigging and dragging tubes has been money. I consider this method precision structure fishing as the objective is maintaining bottom contact and running baits right thru the dwellings of fish. But when these two aren’t going, then the going gets tough and fishing isn’t good.

Every day on trips, I have been experimenting with a variety of baits from the back end of the boat, and there’s still an overwhelming preference for jigs, drop shot rigs, or some type of finesse plastic during the hottest midday periods. However, early mornings and evenings, paddletails, topwaters, and crankbaits have been best producers.

Largemouth BLING – Largemouth bass are present in areas with the highest concentration of juvenile bluegills. The best locations are offshore, and deep weeds. Presently I’m catching many fish on all of the above – surface frogs, topwaters, swim jigs with paddletail trailers, Rapala DT 6’s, casting jigs with Bizz Baits craw trailers and Missile Baits D-bomb creatures.

If fishing shallows, you will find steady action from pads, slop, piers, and wood. Biggest fish are coming early and late in the day, and in the middle of weather events. Go jigs and Vexan Ninja Frogs all the way here. On any hot and humid calm day, my favorite method to fishing is working a surface frog thru pads and slop.

If fish are offshore, then I’m looking for deep grass and any visible signs of offshore schools of juvenile bluegills that packs of largemouth will gang up on. Bluegill swimmers like the 5″ Kalin’s Lunker Grub (bluegill) I have rigged up on a Freedom Hydra head is all it takes sometimes, fished with a slow steady swimming retrieve. Last, a creature rigged on a plain weedless jig and worked slow thru the grass and edges, and DT-6 Parrot for covering water are my best producers.

To really load up on the LMB’s right now in the easiest possible way, all you need is a couple of Kalins wacko jigs and a bag of 5″ Wacko worms in baby bass. Less is more, and this is simply fishing.

Recent Fishing Trips

The Final Word

I’m getting married on Sunday, August 11th. Wish me luck.

Back on the water again August 24th thru Labor Day weekend. No guide trips again until mid September.

FALL 2019 FISHING DATES AVAILABLE

September 2019, Open Dates
16, 17, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

October 2019, Open Dates
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

My rates are reflective for up to 2 anglers ONLY.

Visit Availability Calendar

Thanks all for reading. I wish I had more time to go into detail more with strategy and specifics, but you can schedule a day with me to learn more!

Please practice catch and release on all smallmouth bass. Help educate to others, locals, and other guides the value and excitement of these sportfish. We release every bass we catch, and I reserve the right to void trips if intentions are keeping and depleting the resource.

Andrew Ragas
www.northwoodsbass.com
tel: (708) 256-2201
andrew@northwoodsbass.com