Lake Zumbro Fall Panfish

Bill and I had the chance to go fish one of our favorite waters today, Lake Zumbro. The recent warm weather had moved the water a few degrees from where it had already been into the lower 60’s, now back to the mid 60’s. The fish have been on a consistent bite with mostly bluegills showing up and ready for action, but a few crappies were in the mix as well.

Our technique is pretty basic. We use a mini-mite jig tipped with a waxie. We adjust our depth until finding the active fish by using a straight line over the side of the boat and moving around with the trolling motor. We will also use a bobber to get a set depth when that helps and at times today that was a key presentation at about 5-6 ft.

The fish bit much more aggressively in the morning today and slowed up by afternoon. We tried some new areas today in search of more crappies than what we have been seeing. We did get some crappies, but the bluegills were once again the star of the show. Those 8-9 inch gills are sure a lot of fun on light tackle!

The hills are starting to take on a lot of good color with lots of oranges, yellows and reds against the green backdrop – simply beautiful! The weather was great and the company even better. Certainly another great day to be on the water! Hope you all have a chance to get out fishing soon.

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Been fishing Rochester and the surrounding area for 40+ years. I love all the lakes, rivers, and impoundments around Rochester, as well as pool 4 of the Mississippi.

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