Spent the past two weekends up in the beautiful north woods of Voyagaire’s National Park (specifically Crane Lake). The first weekend we ran into post frontal conditions that seemed to put fish in a negative feeding mood with the blue bird skies and flat calm water. We struggled to find fish the first day we hit the water, but regrouped and came up with a new plan of attack for the next day. Instead of seeking out the warmest water possible, we ventured north into the Canadian waters of Namakan and ran into water temps of 43-45 degrees. The key reason we headed towards the cooler water was for the main feature of moving water that was feeding the back bays of the eastern shoreline. We setup on a main lake point that offered a slack water area from the high speed of the main river channel. The point topped out at 8 ft up on top with very steep breaks that bottomed out at 30 ft on each side. Needless to say, we intercepted a nice pod of fish that were migrating from the staging areas into the river to spawn. All of our fish that were over 20 inches came out of water that was 8 ft or shallower.
A couple of aggressive prespawn fish
The next morning out we tried a different spot that had similar features to the day before, but the key here was the added benefit of warmer water temps. We setup on a main lake flat that sits just outside of a neck down area where the current pushes baitfish and warmer water. The flat tops out at 8 ft and offers very good protection for spawning fish that is adjacent to back bays and also quick access to deep water. Pitching light jigs out away from the boat seemed to do the trick especially when dealing with finicky fish.
Nice slot fish that thumped a jig while pitching
This past weekend brought a drastic change in water temps. In only the matter of a week, we saw water temps clime from the low to mid 50s all the way into the 70s in some areas. Talk about a metabolism increase… The warmer temps only contributed to the bite as the fish seemed to really turn on, especially the females. A lot of the same techniques seemed to work this past weekend from the week before, but it seemed as though you could work your presentation a tad more aggressively. Both jigs and minnows and jig and plastics combinations caught fish, with the biggest of the trip coming on a 1/4oz jig paired with a 3 inch Impulse Twister Tail.
Big fish honors of the trip
The warmer water temps really allowed us to fish different areas and fish fast until we found active pods of fish which I believe really helped in the success of our fishing trip this past weekend. The bite is getting better and better as we ran into pre-spawn, spawning, and also post spawn fish during the weekend. Do yourself a favor and get out on the water because this is the time to find yourself a ‘pot of gold.’
My dad and I with some fish for the frying pan
Good luck and be safe out there, enjoy your time on the water, and don’t be afraid to take a kid fishing. The more fishing enthusiasts we have enjoying our wonderful resources, the better off the future of this wonderful sport will be.
The shirt is a perfect pair with this nice eye
P.S. All fish that were over 20″ were CPRd for the next person to catch
