Its been a odd fall for me. I don’t think “fall fishing sucks”, but this year I’d say its been challenging. In the fall I tend to move between the Croix and fishing largemouth on the Lindstrom chain. This year it just didn’t come together well. The bass fishing has been tougher then usual and just when I turn to fishing the river it rained and rained.
This past Sunday it just felt like the right time. I fished the Stillwater area without much success. But I did see other boats catching fish which didn’t sit well. I started mixing it up without much success. I worked blades, different jig color, minnows, cranks and snuggled. What do you do? I decided to reconnect and left the area I was fishing for new water. I settled down and moved to simple jig and minnow fishing. It was a retrieve and color issue and once I sized down and moved the bait lower it was game on. After hitting some nice bass I moved back on the point I started on and used the same pattern with good success. A fish here, a fish there renewed my confidence. The main issue was a spot on a spot. I have found this in the past, slowing down and fishing the same area carefully put fish in the boat.
On the way back I fished some current rip rap in the Stillwater area with exception fishing. I ended up catching multiple smallmouth as well as a couple of nice walleye. By the end I had a few minnows left and headed home. The lesson learned is relax, move and modify and just have fun. Not catching fish does not mean they are not biting which is always what I have enjoyed about the art of fishing. All bass were quickly netted, carefully released without pictures.
After a challenging fall having success on a pleasant day on a beautiful body of water was memory worthy.