Lake Wisconsin Fall Saugers still biting

Some interesting developments pertaining to catching saugers on Lake Wisconsin have taken place aboard my boat this fall.
Number 1 on that list is the difference 1″ can make. As in the difference between a 4″ Moxi & a 3″ Moxi. Both will put fish in the boat but one has been consistently better than the other. Much better! So much so, that we quit using the 4″ Moxi this past weekend. That could change as we move into November but for right now, the new, smaller Moxi has been the bait of choice for putting eaten size saugers in the boat.

Have you ever been out trolling and found that one crank bait or stick bait is far out producing others, even though there basically the same lure? That’s kind of what we’ve been experiencing out on Lake Wisconsin with the new 3″ Moxi.
In side by side comparisons, the difference doesn’t seem to be enough to matter much. But 18-22′ down below the surface, the saugers apparently think there is a difference and so far, they have shown a strong preference for the shorter, less bulky version.
I have not done a lot of experimenting with reducing the length of a 4″ Moxi but the one time I did shorten one, it still did not catch as many fish as the 3″ version. Which leads me to believe, overall bulk is also a factor.

The 2nd most consistent bait producing fish for my boat is the blade bait. Again though, it’s not the bigger, half ounce size blades but rather the smaller 3/8 & 1/4oz blades that are putting fish in the boat.
Best colors for productive blades has been all over the place.
Basically, if your not getting bit on one color, definitely don’t wait to long before changing to another color.
This past Sunday, we caught fish on blue/silver, blue/chartreuse/orange, black/silver, plain silver & fire tiger. It’s definitely not color alone that they’re keying on when it comes to blades.
If you like to fish with a rod in each hand, I would make it a 3/8oz blade in one hand and a 3″ Moxi in the other.

One thing I hope does change soon is the fickle nature of these fish. You can go most of the morning, or the afternoon, without getting much more than a bump here and there. Then a feeding window will open up and they just start smacking the baits.

This is a typical scenario of a feeding window opening up on Lake Wisconsin:

1) Got a light hit but missed the fish. (no stingers so far this year)
2) Got a little harder hit, maybe caught the fish and maybe missed it.
3) Got smacked and caught the fish. (and it was a keeper)
4) Repeat step #3. (repeatedly)
5) Got a hit but missed the fish.
6) Barely felt a hit. Maybe caught it but probably missed it.
7) No more hits. Feeding window closed

The feeding window scenario above has been playing out on just about every trip I’ve taken this October.
That same scenario actual plays out quite often at other times of the year as well. For some reason, it just seems to be more pronounced this time of the year.