Favorite Bites around the midwest

Kinda in the dog days of summer right now so wanted to see what are some of people’s favorite patters / bites to fish for around the midwest. Here are a few of mine:
1. St Croix Walleye in June bayport to afton. Trolling cranks, harnesses, live bait, etc. Can catch these fish all summer but the action in June is by far the best for me.
2. Lake Superior Bayfield late October – Ice in. Species diversity is incredible (walleye, pike, browns, cohos, splake, steelhead) and all the fish taste amazing. Don’t need special gear as all the fish are in the top 15 ft of the water column.
3. Mid summer Pike cold water sources on the St Croix and Mississippi. They’re all big 30+ inches. Fish a spoon, spinnerbait, large sucker under a bobber. Good to release these bigger fish. Usually found close to the bottom really shallow (3-6 fow)

What are your favorite bites around the midwest?

1. Rainy River in April

Mille Lacs Bobbers in June
Red Lake first ice around Thanksgiving
Everything else

I would like to try the Rainy River for sturgeon one spring.

I’ve been fishing many places and nothing has come close to catching 20-30lb channel cats one after another until you have to tap out.
Selkirk, Manitoba

Prespawn crappies in April and early May – Many local lakes
Opening weekend walleyes in Mid May – Horseshoe Lake Chain
Big Pike, Lots of Walleyes, and shallow water Laketrout – Reed lake in Manitoba in Early to Mid June
Bass – All season from Mid May – ice up – Various local lakes
Big Pike and walleyes – Mid Sept. Tobin lake Sask.
Fall Walleyes – lake Sept – Ice up – Horseshoe lake Chain

Hot mini tacos with some hot salsa and a dab of sourcream. Oh wait not that favorite kinda bite.

Mine would be the fall walleye and sauger bite on the Wisconsin River system from Petenwell and south to Lake Wisconsin (although I have never heard of a sauger caught upriver of the dam in WI Dells)

Jig and Plastic bite on small ND prairie sloughs at 50 degrees

Spottail bite in Mn at 60 degrees

Cranking grind in OTC and Alex June thru August

Back to ND sloughs for walleye/perch as water decreases to 65.

Otter Tail chubbin’ in October with coffee

ND everywhere in between.

3Rivers wrote:

I’ve been fishing many places and nothing has come close to catching 20-30lb channel cats one after another until you have to tap out.
Selkirk, Manitoba

Have not done it in years but I would agree. Good time and I’m not a cat fisherman.

Definitely the one I dont mention on the internet.

I like chasing perch in the late summer fall but once hunting season opens I dont fish much.

1. Ice Fishing the North Shore for Lakers (wish it was possible more often)
2. St Croix Sturgeon
3. Early Ice Red Lake Walleye
4. Late Fall Deep Cranking for Bass

1. June walleyes and saugers on the river – It’s after the “opener”, and everyone’s anxious to go to the lakes. Fish are on the chow with rapidly rising water temps. Years ago I would’ve said prespawn/spawn on Pool 4, but now it’s just a rat race and not worth the chaos.

2. URL/LOTW early ice. I’m not talking the first week it freezes up and walking everywhere, but when there’s 8-10” steady and the wheelhouse brigades aren’t quite there yet and you can get most places with a wheeler. Red has gotten to be a bit crazy, so we alternate this trip with first ice LOTW where it’s a bit easier to get away from people.

3. Late ice/ice out perch on the river – legitimate shot at a trophy perch most places with minimal effort other than getting away from crowds. When the ice situation is right with a late spring, we can sight fish perch in 2’ of water. Crazy what regular 12-14” perch look like under your feet.

Detroit River early April. You have a shot at multiple double digit eyes in a single day.

Green Bay smallies late Oct. with a chance at a 7 pounder. Many 4.5 to 5.5 pound smallies in a day. Last time there BIL and I caught 58 on a Saturday. None under 3.5 lbs.

suzuki wrote:

Definitely the one I dont mention on the internet.

I like chasing perch in the late summer fall but once hunting season opens I dont fish much.

X2

For a general, harmless reply I’ll say “metro(MN)” river walleyes on stickbaits and jigs/plastics during the spring and fall. Or driftless region trout.

Shore fishing Mille Lacs on Opener and from when they show up in the Fall until ice up for walter.

Multi-species at the Grumpy Old Man Hole from ice out until the action quits, usually sometime in June.

Frog fishing Platte/Sullivan May to Oct.

Salmon and trout fishing in SE WI tributaries and Harbors for the Fall salmon run. I haven’t done it in years and may never do it again, but I enjoyed it.

Drawing Herman as a partner for a boater in my bass club. He makes gourmet sandwiches for his non-boaters.

Shallow stickbaits at night for cold Autumn walleyes.

Post spawn cats

Weedline trolling northerns

Lake Sakakawea in mid lake up into the Van Hook Arm all of the open water season, Lake of the Woods all year long, Devils Lake throughout the open water season and the Red River for cats from ice out until late fall.

gimruis wrote:

I would like to try the Rainy River for sturgeon one spring.

Spring is probably the best action but fall’s not bad either, not a lot of boats and the colors are awesome if you’re up there around peak. Will be heading up for sturgeon on 9.15!

One year I’d like to try and hit the shiner run a little later into October for walleye.

But my favorite bites are:
Spring Crappie the day before opener
Summer evening topwater for bass
Fall Sturgeon on Rainy and MN river bottom fishing for whatever bites

Mille Lacs fall night bite.

Probably controversial to some – but Spoonbill snagging is a redneck beer drinking good time in MO . Worth doing once in your life .

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Small 1000 acre lakes with a jig and fathead in October. Some of the best fishing and usually the only boat out there for days.

June nighttime shallow cranking with stick baits.

October nighttime shallow cranking with stick baits.

October jigging Raps.

Pool 3 in early May.

April/May – jerk bait bite for white bass
June – Dark Sleeper in the emerging weed line for walleyes in SoDak
July – GOAT TOADz topwater for largemouth
Late Summer – Carolina rigs scraping chunk rocks/gravel for bass
Fall – Paddletails, football jigs for smallmouth in the Grand Rapids, MN area

isu22andy wrote:

Probably controversial to some – but Spoonbill snagging is a redneck beer drinking good time in MO . Worth doing once in your life .

Cannot wait until next spring to go again, probably the trip I’m looking forward to most all of next year. Swung and missed last year but never know when those 10/0 trebs are gonna hookup!!

Deuces wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>isu22andy wrote:</div>
Probably controversial to some – but Spoonbill snagging is a redneck beer drinking good time in MO . Worth doing once in your life .

Cannot wait until next spring to go again, probably the trip I’m looking forward to most all of next year. Swung and missed last year but never know when those 10/0 trebs are gonna hookup!!

Start trolling . We caught 9 legal in 2 days . Good graph to mark charts and holes is a must !

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October on P4 vertical jigging live bait or glide baits.

Late October Rainy river walleye fishing in the snow is magical. So are the chonky walleyes.

Memorial on UPRL can be pretty epic.

I would love to try some of your guys other suggestions…..keep em comin