Date(s): 10/10, 10/12, 10/15 (Updated for 12/8/20)
Location: Fish Lake, Maple Grove, MN
Intro:
First of all, I’d like to thank WARMMUGS.COM for giving me the platform to share my reports. I never go a day without checking warmmugs.com, where the mugs are warm and the takes are HOT.
The days of heat and predictable fishing are behind us, and we’re now challenged as anglers to adapt to the unpredictable nature of Minnesota fall fishing. I don’t have the electronics to back it up, but according to my toes dangling in the water, the water temps have dropped dramatically since my last fishing report. Cooling water temps can send fish into a feeding frenzy or cause them to settle down into hibernation mode. Luckily, Marmmugs.com Pro Angler Zach has put in his time on the water to keep you updated with the hottest fishing takes.
10/10/2020:
On Saturday, I was working with mid-60s temperatures and bluebird skies around midday. Not exactly ideal conditions for a hot bass bite. I started at the southeast corner of the Lake and worked the weedline and edge of the dying lily pads with a lipless crank, frog, and T-rigged creature bait. It didn’t take me long to hook into a solid 1.65lb LMB (pictured below) on a 1/4oz Rapala Rattlin Rap, the signature bait of my brother, Sam, who has affectionately named the bait “El Luré.” My luck struck quickly and ended abruptly. I put in another 3 hours of fishing without any bites.
“El Luré” (1/4oz Rattlin’ Rap)
10/12/2020:
Unfortunately, the slow bite continued on Monday; again, I faced blue skies around midday. I covered a ton of water along the West bank with several different baits including a lipless crank, creature bait, Shad Rap, finesse worm on a shaky head, Rebel Pop-R, frog, and spinner. Eventually, I enticed a beautiful 3.0lb-er (looks smaller in the photo) with a spinnerbait, specifically the Northland Reed Runner. Shoutout to my dad, “Big Mike,” spinnerbait fisherman extraordinaire. This was a particularly fun catch as I was watching the bright green bait near the boat when the bass came from it’s weedy lair and slammed my lure. Encouraged by this catch, I continued to present the spinnerbait through thick grass in 2-10ft of water to no avail. The fish pictured below was my only trophy of the day.
Northland Tackle Reed Runner
10/15/2020:
Frustrated by the lack of action of my previous two outings, I figured it was time to brave the 40 degree temps and increase my chances with partly cloudy conditions around sunset. Plus, I was excited to put my new Whopper Plopper to the test. I started with a spinner and Rat-L-Trap along weedlines without any success. There were no bass bites until closer to sunset, but I did manage to hook up with a sizable (~30in) Northern Pike on the Whopper Plopper at around 1700. She pulled out line multiple times but ultimately freed herself at the boat before I could get a photo, which was probably a blessing considering my lack of a net and her abundance of sharp teeth. Shortly thereafter, the Plopper started to draw bass bites. I missed two before finally getting a solid 2-pounder in the boat (pictured below). I also threw a Rebel Super Pop-R and SPRO Bronzeye frog. I pulled a dink LMB (pictured below) out of thicc cover with the frog. She may have been small, but it’s hard to beat the thrill of a frog strike. Following that, I have to admit that I missed another two fish on the Plopper before calling it a day. Overall, I had a blast fall bass fishing with topwaters including an unexpected run-in with an angry Pike.
River2Sea Whopper Plopper: Color: Bone, Size: 110
SPRO Bronzeye Frog
Conclusions:
As the weather man continues to report dropping temperatures and the lilypads continue to wither, I am sad to report that I think the bass bite of 2020 is fading. I put in some serious time with various reaction baits over the past 5 days with mostly fruitless casts. I still drew a solid topwater bite at sunset, but that only leaves us with a few productive hours of fishing per day. That being said, I am still optimistic about some fall finesse fishing. So far, I have lacked the patience to fish senkos, dropshots, deep shaky heads, neds, or small swimbaits. Hopefully, these techniques may offer a way for us to draw a dependable fall bite. On a more positive note, I was very impressed with the ability of the Whopper Plopper to get bit. My hookup ratio was sub-par, but I probably need a bit more experience with the bait before this carpenter begins to blame his tools. So far the fad bait has impressed me with its castability, ease of fishing, and ability to draw blow-ups. Regardless of the bite, this week’s weather and fall colors were simply breathtaking, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the water even when they weren’t biting.
If you made it this far into my report, thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for further reports and the hottest of hot fishing takes from Warmmugs.com Pro Angler Zach at warmmugs.com.
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