JustinHoffman Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Hello All, Headed out this morning to a small lake in Quebec that my buddy Andy has a cottage on. He had recently picked up a "new to him" Stratos bass boat, so we were excited to spend the day together chasing some bass. The new boat..and boy does she fly! On the water at 10am and began working our typical fall haunts - shallow to medium deep rock/weeds. First cast with a spinnerbait gets Andy a cigar walleye from about 6 feet of water - this got our hopes up for a banner day. Generally I am a "jig and pig" guy through and through - especially when fishing the fall period. Decided to switch things up this outing, and tossed a crankbait (one lure I don't use enough!) to see what would happen. It was a good decision...3lb 14oz. Picked up another the same size towards the end of the day, also. The morning period was a bit slow, and although we found some fish, they were fairly scattered. The two common denominators we tuned in to were - shallow and rock. Water temp. was a fairly constant 57 degrees throughout the day, and a few weather fronts definitely seemed to be passing through as the hours went by. Andy tossed a tube quite a bit and it paid off.. Notice the belly on this girl! Had 10 bass in the boat by 1pm, and headed in to the cottage for a BBQ and quick regroup. With the wind picking up, we decided to concentrate on a few of the rock points and shorelines that were getting some wave action. Again, all fish were in less than 6 feet of water, with many (including the smallies) in less than 3. Andy with another chunk.. Typical shoreline.. Around 3pm, we really began to light it up. Fish were more schooled up by now, and smacking baits good and hard. The crankbait I was tossing (a Bomber Balsa Model only runs a foot or so under the surface. Was definitely cool to watch your bait come in, then have a bass rise and engulf it. Fished one of our favourite points and got into a double header. Mine (the smaller fish) fell for the crank, and Andy's brute took a tube. Bit of chaos in the boat trying to get both on board, especially since we had no net. The big girl went 4lbs 4oz...(big fish of the day) Our next casts resulted in another double header - this time a largie for me. Nothing like the size of the first two, though. Shortly after that flurry, Andy put the big largie of the day in the boat. Came on a tube again and from 4 feet of water. 4lbs 3oz.. Those two big fish definitely made the day! Fun times were had again, and we finished off the outing with 29 bass (fairly even split between largies and smallies) and the four biggest going 3lb 14oz, 3lb 14oz, 4lb 3oz, and 4lb 4oz. Not bad for six hours of fishing. I am definitely sold on tossing cranks, and will be adding these to my bag of tricks for the remainder of this season. Put all of my fish (about half of the total) in the boat on that one crankbait, and for when fish are up shallow or tight to cover, these things really seemed to shine. Until the next fall adventure! Good Fishing, Justin
ADB Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) Why is it that every bass report out of Quebec seems to be loaded with hawgs? Edited October 6, 2009 by ADB
MCTFisher9120 Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Excellent report as always. That camera of yours always makes the report look amazing! Thanks for taking the time to share with us, MTBF
splashhopper Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 great pics..... gave me some food for thought about the crankbaits near shore.. .thanks
irishfield Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) Some great shots/fish there Justin !! This one's gonna stay up correct... Edited October 6, 2009 by irishfield
JustinHoffman Posted October 6, 2009 Author Report Posted October 6, 2009 This one will be staying up...
Whitespinnerbait Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Why is it that every bass report out of Quebec seems to be loaded with hawgs? Oh .. Thats because the Bass have a lot of '' Frogs '' to feed on .....
NAC Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) lol WSB Nice day on the water for sure. Edited October 6, 2009 by nomad
Mike the Pike Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Oh .. Thats because the Bass have a lot of '' Frogs '' to feed on ..... The SUN FIRE keeps the bass bite hot
ADB Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Oh .. Thats because the Bass have a lot of '' Frogs '' to feed on ..... Excellent.
Guest Johnny Bass Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Great Report. What a coincidence that you are using a crankbait. When Mike asked what bait to use, I was going to suggest a big fat crankbait like the Minus O that runs barely under the surface because I know there is alot of shallow water on Seymour. But decided on the jig and pig which I would imagine would have also produced on your trip. I also noticed that it does make a big difference when you hold the fish away from your body. The fish looked bigger and bigger as he held it out. Anyways, sounds like a great day of bass fishing. Thanks for sharing.
misfish Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Great report Justin. Like the colour choice on the tubes.
JustinHoffman Posted October 6, 2009 Author Report Posted October 6, 2009 Mike - yep, fairly certain a jig and pig would also of produced, but I do think the action (especially when the crank was deflecting off of wood and rock) turned on those fish to strike. One of those things - came close to switching to a jig, but after the first half dozen fish, decided to stick with what was producing. If the fish were holding deeper (say 8 feet or more) I would of been tossing a jig hands down.. Hope your fall hunts are good ones... Good Fishing, Justin
Whitespinnerbait Posted October 6, 2009 Report Posted October 6, 2009 Speaking of Crankbaits..... I'll be using them this weekend for some of the Smallies that are hiding in the deeper water....
Leecher Posted October 7, 2009 Report Posted October 7, 2009 Great report and pics Justin Crankbaits have always been a favorite lure of mine for smallies.... they seem to go crazy on them Good job you guys and thanks for sharing Leechman
jaydub Posted October 7, 2009 Report Posted October 7, 2009 Awesome day on the water guys!! Two double headers in a row...that's sweet! Back in August we would get lots of nice bass in Simcoe night fishing for a few hours but they seem to be a much tougher catch these days. Is that a fairly shallow lake or they just seem to be feeding in the shallow areas still?
JustinHoffman Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Posted October 7, 2009 Jaydub - fairly shallow lake, with 30 feet being about the maximum depth. Fish are up shallow and tight to structure - wood, rock, and scattered weeds. Bait fish must be in the skinny water, also - as is evident from the pronounced bellies on these girls.. Once the water cools a bit more, the bass will make the shift to somewhat deeper water - between 6 and 15 feet deep on this lake. Good Fishing, Justin
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