Best fishing of the year yet to come

[Spiel]

Best fishing of the year yet to come

 

 

Sept. 26, 2008

TERRY CURTIS / northumberlandtoday.com

 

 

Another summer has come and gone already! It seems like only yesterday we were digging out our spinning and bait-casting gear in anticipation of a few months of heavy bass and walleye action.

 

Now fall is upon us and it won't be long before our thoughts will be turning to ice fishing.

 

But don't go looking for your ice gear just yet. We've still got a few weeks of open water season before it closes (in our area Nov. 15), and the best walleye, bass, pike and muskie fishing of the year is yet to come.

 

That might be hard for Kawartha Lakes anglers to believe right now, but it's true.

 

Fishing in our neck of the woods, as well as the Kaladar region, has really dropped off in the past two weeks due to a later-than-usual "fall turnover" and catch results are slow, slow, slow!

 

On the contrary, bass in the Bay of Quinte are still eating with gusto, likely because The Bay, as it is known, is a much larger body of water than any of the Kawartha or Kaladar waters, and isn't affected by the turnover the way they are.

 

For my money, The Bay is the place to be right now, if you want steady action. But if you do choose to fish any of the other waters I've mentioned, there are some key things to keep in mind. None of the Kawartha Lakes (especially Rice Lake) has turned putrid green yet, as they normally do at this time of year, so instead of using the chartreuse-and-orange-tipped baits we normally would be throwing at this time of the season, do yourself a favour: stick to natural colours for now.

 

When it comes to bucktail jigs for walleye, the best colour right now is black. It's outfishing all others for the time being.

 

Keep your crankbaits to a craw or black/silver tone for both walleye and bass.

 

If plastics are your favourite for either species, go with natural colours, as well. Black, brown or smoke are the ticket until the water really gets messy.

 

Even though we usually go with brighter hues at this stage of the season, the most successful anglers I've spoken to in the last week or so are going with natural tones. It's hard to argue with success, isn't it?

 

For Bancroft/Kaladar fish chasers, here's a heads-up: The lakes are very clear and the fishing is really tough. Again, the trick to getting bites here is using natural colours. But here's the real deal for outsmarting the fish in these lakes right now: downsize your baits and fish as slowly as you can.

 

Think that will work on Rice Lake, too? Count on it! Those walleye seemed to like my tiny black bucktails last time out, and the good fishing is just starting!