When I joined the IDA staff, I talked to several of the guys who guided for bass. We agreed we should get together and fish each others’ water. Mike Finke and I were able to get our schedules arranged and made it work this week. Mike has had minimal time on the Mississippi in the summer, and I have an up-coming tournament on Lake Minnetonka.
We started on pool 4 on Friday. The conditions were ideal for an active bass bite. The water clarity and level is stable. The flow is a little higher that "normal" summer volumes. The day was cool and overcast with periods of showers. The temp didn’t reach the 80’s as predicted. It was carte blanch with virtually everything working. The exception was a top-water bite. We started on rock structure for smallies. It ended up one-here-one-there, but the quality was respectable. The photo is a fish Mike caught off our second stop.
From there we shifted to vegetation, wood, banks and current breaks as we passed through areas. It was one of those days where we caught fish almost everywhere we stopped. I think Mike said " I hate days like this when I pre-fish for a tournament because you don’t know what to focus on." The good news was it was for fun and I could give him some idea of what summer river fishing is like. What we did find was vegetation in current was the best pattern for schools of active fish and the better fish. We hit several schools, and once we got them excited it was almost every cast. The photo is of a double Mike and I caught. Mike hooked the largemouth and saw another fish with his fish. I threw right next to his largemouth, and the smallie just smoked my jig. That type of scenario played out several times during the day. I believe Mike was impressed with the pool 4 bass fishery!
Sunday started out with concerns if we would be able to fish Minnetonka or not. As I drove into the cities, I was treated to a spectacular lighting show. Fun to watch, but not a wise choice to fish in. Fortunately, the front passed quickly. We only missed a few minutes of fishing time. The plan was to flip millfoil, and mix in roller jigging rock and carolina-rig scattered coontail clumps in deeper water. We tried option two and three unsuccessfully so the focus shifted to the millfoil. The technique is to flip heavy jigs and plastics through the millfoil canopy. That requires heavy tackle and a toe-to-toe battle with the fish in close quarters. Man I love it! There is nothing like hooking a big largemouth and knowing you have to bring her right through the hole you flipped in or she will bury you up and pull off. We had several good spurts but spent a lot of time looking for the sweet spots. According to Mike, the movement of the fish to there summer locations is about three weeks behind schedule. When the sun finally came out so we could see the millfoil well, the armada showed up. The boat traffic doesn’t bother the fish but it can make boat control a problem. We ended the day with a flurry and one fish in the 5 lb. range. I saved the wrong photo so I’ll have to add it in tomorrow. All-in-all it was a great day with several quality fish, and a bag you would be proud of in a tournament. Thanks Mike! If you would like to experience flipping millfoil first hand get a hold of Mike at http://www.mikefinkeoutdoors.com/
John and I tried to get this hooked up earlier this year, but it didn’t work out. I’m glad things worked out the way they did. John hit the nail right on the head. The action on the river was fast and furious. John knew right where the fish should be and how to fish ’em. There’s so much water that a guy can cover, but having someone like John with makes it almost too easy. I was suprised by the numbers of largemouth we caught. These fish were fat like footballs. I was also suprised how many times we caught smallies and largies in the same areas. Like John said, multiple times while reeling in a fish you saw another following it to the boat. Being able to also hook it was amazing. We also boated pike, white bass, sheephead and a dogfish. Anyone looking to fish bass on the river should definately give John a call. He will be retired soon and will have even more time to be on the water.
The fishing on Minnetonka was good, not great. The fish are running 2-3 weeks behind it appears. The fish have just started showing up in numbers on some of our good milfoil spots. Last Wed we got into fish on 3 different spots and were able to go back during the tournament that night and catch more. The schools we were on were all about 3lbs. I had a nicer one on that just came unglued near the boat. That’s fishing. Wed the fish hammered Outkast Prostaff jigs as well as 6″ Piggs. On Sunday we caught 5 or 6 fish on the first spot we hit. These fish were 2-3.5lbs and holding in milfoil. A nice way to start the day. But from there on it got a little touger. With the rain and overcast skies we wanted to make sure we tried some rocky areas, but had no luck. We managed a couple fish on a few spots, but had to cover a lot of water. When the sun came out John started to put a whooping on me just using a worm. Seems like the fish went a little neutral or negative and the smaller bait got us fish. The last spot John and I got 5 fish, with John getting one that I’m sure was 5lbs. Hopefully she will be there for your tournament.
I just wanted to say another word of thanks John for 2 great days on the water.
hey guys, thanks for the great post. it sounds like a great day of fishing, sure wish i could have been in the boat to learn and also get a little bit keener with my plastics and the fliping techniques.
shane