xplorer wrote:

Got back yesterday afternoon.
Found almost all our fish in 28-34′ of water on island points and offshore humps.
Crawlers and leeches on lindy’s and spinners both got hit good. Had good numbers of 15″ eaters and some nice 19-22″ fish also. Buddy had a really big fish on, never got a look at it as it got off half way up but if it was a <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye it was a hog. Also may have been a small sturgeon tho.
Caught lots of small <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>bass in the same 30′ range on leeches, kinda weird.
Had a couple of big thunderstorms go thru, but mainlake surface temps stayed right at 70 the whole time, did have some heavy winds at times that made some spots unfishable at times for me. Just fished Western Namakan.

Probably done for the year at VNP, time to start heading up to Silver Bay and north looking for Lake Superior fishes!!

Did it seem to matter between the crawlers and leeches? Where did you get the leeches? I’m struggling trying to find them. Glad to you here you caught fish.

Bass-n-Eyes wrote:

I’ll probably be up there next weekend too, if you see a grey Ranger with red & black stripes, Yamahas and a red talon stop by and we can compare notes.

Joe
[/quote

I’ll look for you. You do the same. I’ll be in a blue and gray Smoker Craft. We are taking a houseboat so I’ll be pulling the fishing boat some of the time.

Dave

Bass-n-Eyes wrote:

I have a place on Crane and usually spend a lot of time chasing smallies. I typically fish the Canadian side mostly which is loaded with big bass but since that’s not an option this year I’ve fished the US side of Namakan and Sand Point a few times (not recently)and had no trouble finding big numbers of smaller fish but anything over 3 lbs was hard to come by. Not sure if its me or if there just are more big ones in Canada. Late August and September are the best times to chase smallies, I don’t use live bait but cover water with swimbaits, cranks etc then switch to finesse techniques like neds and drop shots when I locate a bunch. Wind blown rocks will usually have fish on them and this time of the year the midlake humps where you find walleyes will usually have smallies too. Typically they will be shallower on the structure than the walleyes. Top water baits on calm mornings and evenings will produce well too. Side imaging is your friend if you have it, look for boulders or chunk rock in 5-20 feet of water. If you don’t have side imaging look for the same thing on shore and you can usually assume that it extends into the water.

Thanks for the info! I do have SI so that’s a plus. From all the helpful info I’ve been getting it should be a great trip.

Thanks

Dutchboy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dave Schudda wrote:</div>
Thanks guys! I’ll try Norman’s, if they don’t have them I’ll try and find them further South. Does anyone know weather or not it’s even worth trying to get them this time of year.

Can’t hurt but minnows will likely do as well, or crawlers. I’m heading up again tomorrow so i’ll see what the Bass guys have to say.

Thanks Dutch boy. Much appreciated.

Thanks guys! I’ll try Norman’s, if they don’t have them I’ll try and find them further South. Does anyone know weather or not it’s even worth trying to get them this time of year.

I can order some small leeches. How do think they will work?

Dutchboy wrote:

There are guys who have been coming up here twice or three times a year from Tennessee. They tow their <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Bass boats up and fish hard for a week or two at a time.

They set a slip bobber at around 4′ and hang a leech on. They will throw to the shoreline count to 10 and if they don’t have a bite crank in and repeat. All day long.

Is there anywhere up there to get leeches? I’ll be put in on Crane Lake in one week.

Thanks for the help.

Mike W wrote:

If you like top water fishing smallies try a Berkley Wakebull. Nice crank that runs the surface and the beads in it are more of a knocker than rattle. Even at the slowest speeds it still knocks back and forth. One down side to the lure is the bill could be stronger. Doesn’t hold up to well to being bounced off rocks. Still a solid top water lure. [/quote

Mike, do you have a favorite color and size? They do look pretty cool.

Thanks for all the great info. I have a few skitter pops that I’m going to try along with leeches and slip bobbers. Has anyone used Skitter pops up there and will I be able to get leeches up there or should I bring some with me?

Dutchboy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dave Schudda wrote:</div>
Thanks for the info grubson! I’m just going to be up there enjoying the nature and wildlife. If I find a handful of fish that will be a bonus.

You said you are house boating. Are you bringing a boat or are you limited to the houseboat sites?

I have a fishing that we will towing behind.

Good luck to you as well. I’ll post a report when I get back. Hopefully we have nice weather.

Thanks for the info grubson! I’m just going to be up there enjoying the nature and wildlife. If I find a handful of fish that will be a bonus.

That’s some good info tgruenke! I’m going up in 14 days and can hardly wait. Good luck and have fun.

I’m pretty much a jig and slip bobber fisherman. I’m not really set up for trolling. I do want to try top water for small mouth though. I can’t wait to get up there. I will post after the trip.

Thanks xlplorer! Have fun and good luck.

Sorry I’m an idiot. The third week in August.

??? Thanks for the Dusty!

I’m coming up the third week in July with my wife. We have never been there before and are hoping to catch smallies and maybe a few walleyes for a meal. We will be on Kab and Nam. Any suggestions on baits and or locations.

Thanks