With fall comes hope for more walleye
By Terry “Ace” Sjoberg
HTF Columnist
Can Labor Day really be just a few days away? It seems like the 2010 fishing season just started a few weeks ago. As unbelievable as it seems, the month of August is winding down and fall is in the air. For the walleye fishermen on Lake Vermilion, that may be the best news they could get after a very tough summer walleye season.
What typically is one of the best times of the summer for walleye anglers, the month of August, has been a huge disappointment to many. The bite has been erratic and very inconsistent the last couple of weeks. Typical summer locations have been almost void of any activity, at least any consistent activity. Main lake humps and rock piles which are normally very active during the later part of the summer, have been very disappointing. The day time bite has been tough to say the least.
The only bright spot has been the late evening action just before sunset. This short window of activity has been fairly consistent the last few weeks. Small cranks or spinners tipped with live bait have been producing during the evening hours. The most consistent presentation has been trolling along the shoreline breaks in 6 to 12 ft. of water. There has been some improvement trolling the deeper structure with down riggers, however the schools of baitfish have been very difficult to locate at times.
The muskie action has been steady and at times, multiple fish days have been the norm. The early morning and evening action has been the most consistent, but I have had some very good midday action the last couple of weeks as well. Bucktails, glittertails and gliders, have all been moving fish. The topwater action had slowed a bit, however it has started to improve over the last few days. Main lake points, islands and reefs have been very active for me this week. We are still moving fish off the deep weed edges at times but it’s been a little spotty this last week.
I had the opportunity to do some smallmouth bass fishing over the weekend and found it to be very good. We did very well on horizontal presentations over rocks and main lake points. The dock bite required a slower presentation. Jigs and tubes were very effective in pulling some nice bass out from under the docks. We also had some very exciting topwater action early and late in the day. I would expect the bass action to be even better as we move into the fall period in the next few weeks.
Have a great week everybody and please remember to put some back.
“Ace” <*)))>< Terry “Ace” Sjoberg, Ace Guide Service, On
Beautiful Lake Vermilion, Muskies and More.
Member Lake Vermilion Guides League.
www.aceguideservice.com.
