Northwoods Bass Fishing Report – May and early June 2021

Having seen weather doing it all since 2020, I am certain the perfect fishing day no longer exists. Some trip days, we get highs in the 40’s that gives us a non-existent pre-spawn. The next day, temps could increase by 40 to 50 degrees as they did frequently in May, and on these disastrous heat waves, fish begin nesting. Then the next few days, rain and thunderstorms wreck everything, and then another dramatic coldfront affects fish behavior and their feeding.

This was May 2021. It was an unbelievable meteorologist’s dream. As a fisherman, not so much.

The first two weeks of May were good. We had a great 2 weeks of buddy trips and guide trips. Each day had pre-spawn phase fishing and perfect conditions. We also had the sun working for us. We didn’t cream the fish, and they weren’t prevalent like usual, but the ones we contacted were very good specimens.

On the weekend of May 17th and 18th, it all came crashing. Two straight days of sunny and windless 85 degrees decimated the spring bite and both bass species began their spawns. Then came two catastophic coldfronts in 5 days, and consecutive days with thunderstorms. We didn’t have the sun for over 8 days straight.

I don’t fish for spawners. Had we targeted fish atop nests, we certainly would have enjoyed trips with 25 fish or more, and specimens larger than 17″. But I won’t do that, nor will waste your time (and mine) doing that.

I believe the difficulty we experienced in May is a result of our extremely early ice-out from the third week of March. Since then, our beloved bass had 6+ weeks to decide when to feed, and begin their annual reproduction. That is a lot of time in between. On top of the screwy weather, the fish were dazed and confused, and MIA. Last, a 10+ degree water temperature swing in less than a week is never good, sending most fish into thermal shock.

We had a number of tough trip days in May. We seek results and success, but not every day will be like a TV show.

In this profession, if you aren’t teaching, informing, instructing, showcasing, and educating about the fisheries and target specimens, then why do it?

We’ll never control the weather or the crap conditions being dealt with. We seek results and success in the present, but that’s not always possible.

Weather affects the smallmouth in a variety of positive and negative ways.

What’s good is there’s always the next day. A lot of you found success the next day after I hosted you, running back to some of the same waters and areas I brought you to.

This is gratifying. And why I do it.

From PB’s, to popping cherries, and the first triple in boat’s history, we did good in May even though it was nowhere close to good as previous spring seasons.

As anglers, we must not attempt to re-live the past.

Video Report – First week of June

Video report for the first week of June. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend, and that the fishing for has improved since we might have last communicated. If our May fishing was tough, I wonder how June might be? Here’s what’s currently happening in the world, underwater.

By mid May, bass were not only in a thermal shock, but were quickly digging out nests and already bedding. We had no pre-spawn fishing window whatsoever this year. There was no avoiding of the spawn.

Fishing traffic and bass boats heavy on Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays and midweek, everywhere empty. My favorite.

Even though numbers days were nonexistent again this spring, the boat’s average fish size for smallmouth remained high. Largest fish measuring 21.5″, but too many 18 to 20 inchers to count was this month’s norm. Each day produced anywhere from 5 to 10 fish of these sizes, including some personal bests for a few guests.

Due to bass spawn, I have been off the water since Memorial weekend. Trips resuming June 13th.

For timely, real-time, up to date and almost daily fishing reports, PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW me on Facebook at NORTHWOODS BASS FISHING ADVENTURES. You will get the daily scoop delivered there!

Bass Bling

Below has been my go-to since the last week of May.

Starting for us in late May, the tackle box opened up. Plastics and jigging applications took over.

With smallmouth in the shallows and no longer in pre-spawn, it was time to deploy my sticks for jigging and soft plastics. This already started during last week’s two major coldfronts. This will continue all through June.

St. Croix Rods Legend Elite ES70MHF is my go-to for dragging tubes, jigging, finesse plastics, wacky rigging, power shotting, nedding, finesse footballing, carolina rigging, and a plethora of many other jigging and soft baits applications.

A lot of anglers fishing with lighter action rods soon realize that my oft-preferred medium-heavy fast action rods are the best choice for hook sets, and taming the brown beast. Its best characteristics are bite detection and power. If you currently don’t employ any MHF spinning rods for trophy hunts, I think you’ll reconsider. This specific model is not heavy whatsoever.

This season, I have my two Elites paired with Quantum Fishing Smoke 30 PT’s, each spooled with 20 lb. Cortland Line Masterbraid.

Learn More – https://stcroixrods.com/products/legend-elite-spinning

Go jack a hawg with a Legend Elite this June.

Good Bass Bites

Photos overload from May 2021. Top catches, with anglers and dates captioned. I slacked off with daily reporting and keeping my log up to date.

Great first trip day of the year May 11th, hosting Rick. Lots of 18-19″ caliber fish. Classic pre-spawn strategy and locations.

We’ve got world class rivers in the north. The fatsos were on the prowl on my May 12th day off. Today I caught “Fat Amy”, “Tub MacFarland”, and “Kringel McDingel”. A hefty trio out of 30 other specimens.

Fished solo from 10am to 4pm. Perfect leisure day!

1 rod, 1 bait all day. Note the cracked crank in all directions. St. Croix Rods Legend Tournament Glass 72MM is fire.

On May 13th and 14th, I hosted my neighbor from Lake Zurich, IL, Rob and Kip.

The next 5 days, things got really weird.

With exceptionally challenging fishing, there hasn’t been much positive to report on since prior to the weekend.

Consecutive windless, 80 degree sunny days in mid May is horrific for any pre-spawn smallmouth bite. This is the warmest May month we’ve had since 2016. That year, bass were on beds everywhere by now. Currently, fish have built nests, but they all seem to be vacated, for now…… or, they’ll be returning on them again during next week’s full moon.

Since Saturday, we’ve had weirdness each day. The gloomy overcast rain from Saturday pushed fish down the breaklines, turning them negative. Making matters worse, Sunday and Monday were flat calm heatwaves. I don’t care what you think about May and spring warm ups, but any time water temps explode 10+ degrees in less than a week is horrible. Our traditional pre-spawn strategies and locations are no longer in existence it seems.

Less than a week ago, water temps were ranging between 49-54 degrees. Now, I am seeing a humongous range from 55 to 66. Just note these are surface readings. While the top of the water column and its shallow water fish are baking, 5-10ft down the waters are still chilly.

I’ve written about the fish bowl theory a lot in the past. Imagine your pet fish having to acclimate itself to such a drastic change in temperature in its surroundings. That fish will lay and do nothing. This is what our smallmouth are undergoing.

During the past few days, we’ve observed disengaged schools of fish cruising along the edges of flats. We’ve also seen others laying along bottom. All of them doing nothing. Catchable, but very uncatchable no matter what creativity we attempt.

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday trips, a dozen fishes were the standard. At least we grinded out a 20” and a 21.5” on Monday’s and Tuesday’s trips. Both of them on swimbaits. Congratulations to Mitchell on his 21.5” beast. Second cast of Tuesday. Just remember it all goes downhill from there….

This is the time of season where crankbaits, search plastics, fluke minnows, and suspended jerkbaits rule. They’ve each been catching some fish, but it is difficult to catch fish when they aren’t around or atop their pre-spawn locations which consists of flats, staging sites, bays, ledges, points, and so forth. I feel that any day now, as waters continue to warm, plastics and jigs will soon take over my boat’s approach.

Changing lakes can help make a difference, but nearly everywhere I’ve visited SMB’s are negative or neutral.

I have not observed any obvious feeding windows. However, mid mornings thru the early afternoon hours have been better. When smallmouth have gone silent after 3pm each afternoon, crappies and largemouth have made the evenings exciting and engaging.

On June 19th, we had a 50 fish trip with Ron and Dave.

The next 5 days, the fishing crashed once again….

Been fishing and hosting daily, just not succeeding with the large specimens of May that we are so used to every day.

Tough trips since my last writing last Thursday. Went from a 50 fish trip to scrambling for bites on rainy and cold Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

My boat is catching. Just not the spring giants. Weather is the most important variable to success right now. Rain – rain – heat – rain – coldfront. All are no good. It is impossible to get the perfect day.

Coldfronts this week will no doubt send most spawning males off their sites. This is good, and maybe this week will improve. My boat will not target beds, ever, period. Some prespawn opportunities still remain. Take care of the fish so they can keep returning each year!

Had to dodge lots of fishing pressure over the weekend. Some of the worst traffic I’ve ever seen for mid May. Other angler success varying from good to ok to poor.

Water temps across a variety of lakes are now stabilizing. Upper 50’s and steady.

The entire tackle box has been open in my boat. Swimbaits, paddletails, jerkbaits, xraps, flukes, neds, tubes, hair jigs, tubes, assorted plastics.

In between the next week of difficulty, King Dave had a great trip. The sun came out for about 8 hours before it went into hiding for the next 5 days.

On Memorial Day weekend, we found some last minute pre-spawners before the bite went to pure misery and non-catchable status for the 25th time of May. Great outing with Matt and Bobby! Where was this for the 29 days prior??!!!???

What’s Happening Now

Water temps right now in the mid to upper 60’s on every water has accelerated this year’s bass spawn. Smallmouth were already nesting after our few mid-80 degree days in mid May. They concluded spawn this week. Largemouth went up next last week, and they have completed for the most part.

This was the first spring we had NEITHER of a distinct pre-spawn and post-spawn fishing phase. I keep getting messages from some of you seeking advice. Try everything and search everywhere. I haven’t had any answers for the last 30 days LOL!

You’ll still find leftover spawners, but not many. I had a few requests for spawning trips this month, and I declined them all.

I don’t fish for spawning smallmouths. My philosophy is to take care of the resource so that in return it takes care of me. There are some rare scenarios where you might have to bed fish if there is no other alternative method to catching fish in the particular lake you’re on. If you have the urge to bed fish, please avoid live bait hooks (gut hookings), don’t feed fish any line, and minimize handling and playing fish to exhaustion. Don’t even use a net altogether, especially if big mama smallmouth is about to burst out with eggs. By taking care of the vulnerable resource, the fish will take care of you also.

Also an important reminder, PLEASE remember northern Wisconsin inland northern zone smallmouth bass are immediate catch and release only until June 19th. Zero possession and any captivity in livewell or otherwise for your end of day Instagram hero all-star photos can result in overbagging citations from the local wardens. In some instances, it can even be considered as poaching. I ALSO HOPE YOU CATCH AND RELEASE YEAR-ROUND! 

I’m off the water now until June 13th for annual spawning break.

For my June fishing, I like fishing mid month through July 1st. This assures bass spawn completion and normal fishing tactics resume. Finesse plastics and tube fishing produces huge numbers. Topwaters can too, on calm humid days. Don’t want smallmouth? Largemouth bass explode in June, and I personally enjoy fishing them most during this month. Largemouth are more responsive on foul weather days. Additionally, their spawn finishes quickest, fish recover quickly, and we enter their summer patterns.

• Post spawn largemouth and smallmouth
• Drop shot smallmouth
• Wacky worm largemouth
• Mayfly hatch and topwater smallmouth
• LMB and SMB numbers fishing
• Offshore and deep grass cranking largemouth

For a current report, smallmouth are in the middle of spawning, but you might still see a few leftover prespawners and empty beds on our area’s deepest, largest, and coldest lakes. Largemouth are concluding with theirs. For these guys, it’s all varying from lake to lake. Expect feeding fish to remain in shallow depths up to 10ft. Bigger bass right now will be recuperating from spawn and setting up for their midsummer offshore movements, 10-15ft depths. This week’s minor heat wave will send smallmouth into summer patterns quickly, and that’ll be no fun for us in scrambling for bites.

For smallmouth, some of my favorite tactics for June post-spawn is power fishing with crankbaits and spinnerbaits. As the waters warm into the low 70’s, these aggressive methods truly shine. Wind helps too. If calm, it’s topwater time and I always keep a few different walk the dog and popper styles tied on; regardless of time of day. Then for soft plastics, you can’t beat dragging around a tube jig and craw imitator, swimming a 3 to 5″ Kalins grub, casting a jig worm, and drop-shotting soft plastics such as leech and and minnow imitators – only do the latter when fish have been located and you are precision fishing. Crayfish are in abundance and on the prowl, and even my summer night fishing patterns can begin.

Mayfly hatches will happen in about a week or two. Hair jigs, leech bites, and topwaters are my top producers. Locate the calm areas of the lake flies hatch and heavy concentrations of surface-slurping bass can be present.

This time of year, the tackle box opens up and the amount of baits that works to catch smallmouth will be your greatest lure diversity of the season.

For largemouth, we likely won’t be fishing often for them unless I have an off day, or weather & conditions tell us to go fish them. All trips right now are requested smallmouth rodeos. I have a difficult time laying off of a weightless texas rigged stickbait. This excels in the shallows where weedgrowth is best and most feeding takes place. The same can also be said for a 1/8 oz. jig and wacky worm too, and slinging deep diving crankbaits worked along deep edges of weedlines where bass set up for mid-summer. Another winner is a jig and creature combo, and even a swim jig with either a creature, swimming grub, or paddletail trailer (experiment trailers accordingly – if they don’t want one they’ll go for the other). When vegetation has sprouted and surface activity is high on calm humid mornings and late evenings, I do damage fishing the jungle with a surface frog (hollow belly and buzz frog styles).

End of June through early July is fun and engaging. Many waters fare well, and you can’t go wrong with most tackle and lure selections.

My lake selection in the coming weeks will be diverse. That means I will be taking customers all over the region as we seek the best bites. Big water, midsize water, small hundred acre lakes and several places in between. I love lake hopping several waters per day looking for the best bites and making use of our elongated daylight hours. Pick a region to spend your day in, and go!

Booking Summer and Fall Dates

Mid summer bass trips from end of July through August are popular activities of interest northwoods vacationers and serious fishermen. The angling draw can be long feeding windows, fantastic weather, fast action days and high numbers fishing.

As usual, I always fish from end of July through August. At this time after mid July, the July 4th holiday traffic subsides.

By mid July, summer peak establishes across several lakes, making it a great peak period chasing deep, open water trophy smallmouth. We also target the big, deep, cooler lakes as they are able to cope with heat. Thinking of night fishing when conditions allow? We will do that too.

If seeking largemouth, bluegill patterns are hot, and so is fishing deep grass and weedlines. Big largemouth are very common on these deep offshore locations. Last, if you like slop fishing and surface frogs, this is the best time of season too!

I still have the following dates available for full or half day trips during my next block. I am willing to double book myself on dates with half day trips, assuming weather is awesome, and will notify when those times are open.

• June 29-30
  
• July 23-24-25-26-28-29-30-31
  
• August 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9