Thermocline Yet?

[eyedabassman]

I have been up in Wisconsin for the past 4 weeks. Where they have them birds that suck your blood!! The fishing on the Rock when I left was not good and there was no Thermocline yet.So did it ever set up? And is the bass fishing still as bad as it was before I left? What do you experts think that the fall bite will bring? I will try and get out soon.Thanks new to the Rock,we moved here in May!

[Cindyjo]

Fishing is very tough right now. You can see them on the graph, but they are in the summer doldrums. Best bet is to watch for surface feeding activity and swing away with a spoon. Another couple of weeks and the fall patterns will begin setting up.

[Bill Babler]

Fishing is very tough right now. You can see them on the graph, but they are in the summer doldrums. Best bet is to watch for surface feeding activity and swing away with a spoon. Another couple of weeks and the fall patterns will begin setting up.

If your thinking the Fall Pattern begins in late August, I want some of what your taking.

Thermocline is at 28 to 32 feet and is pretty hard. Fishing with live bait is really very good lake wide at this time. Most are vertical presentations with crawlers, although I have been doing well enough with a yamamoto 4" purple/brown laminent worm that I do not use it much with clients in the boat. If I drop something they eat it so I mainly just sit and watch, letting them know that a fish is steaming up to there deal.

Guided with Buster Loving out of Baxter yesterday and we had 40 bass with 20 keepers, 2 walleye and 2 cats to the guide boats in a early morning trip. Just about what we are doing most days.

Had 5 as Cindyjo said on redfins and the rest were down in that 32 to 40 ft. range. Most of the shad are staying right at the 32 ft. thermocline depth level and the fish were under them either on the bottom or suspended right above the deep trees. Same depth with the tree tops in the 30 to 35 foot range.

Saw one group of white bass for just about 20 seconds boil up. The treadfin shad have now grown enough that the fish will hit a fin. We never had multiple fish on a single chase. Usually just one fish pushing the shad. If we could get in range of the chaser, we caught or had him hit the bait. Had two really nice SM chasing in 150 plus feet of water that we captured on the topwater wake bait.

Good Luck

[Champ188]

For me, fall bite usually doesn't get going until mid-October. Need that water temp to dip down below 70 to really get them stirring. That's when I'll start consistently finding those thumper spots on the front corners of the boat docks. Burn a spinnerbait by them and hang on. A little later ... around the first of November, usually ... they'll push on back in the pockets and you can start way-laying them on breezy days on a blade or a mid-depth crank bait like Bandit 200 series. Love me some fall fishing ... you modern-gun deer hunters just please remember there are still a few boats on the lake and keep our safety in mind.

[Quillback]

Come on November....