Made it out to the canal a couple days last week and was able to get some fish in the boat. Not really the fish we were after, but it was a good time. The trolling pattern has died off for me in recent weeks, so I’m really trying to figure out where those fish go. We’re still catching whites and catfish trolling, but we’re still searching for the saugers and walleyes.
In the meantime, the crappie fishing has been a blast. I got 36 in the boat while dad got just a few less than that, and of course there were a few whites and sunfish in the mix as well.
I went out the next day by myself and again struggled trolling. I trolled a new area as well, but it just didn’t produce at all. I really think the time of day has been a key over there. If you’re trolling at the wrong time, I’ve seen a real lack of fish.
I fished a few new places and really caught a lot of crappies in a short amount of time. I ended up with 47 crappies, 2 cats and a white on this day. A lot of these crappies were a little better quality fish, with some real nice ones included.
I’ve got a new favorite bait as well, I do believe. It’s a swimming shad body that has just been dynamite for us. We’re not really casting, but pitching jigs and just letting them fall back towards us. Even though we’re not working the bait very hard, it really has great action that these fish haven’t been able to resist. As you can see in the photo, they just can’t get enough of it.
It’s been a great summer thus far, so we’ll see what the cooler temps bring.
