Haliburton Bass

[fishboy]

I was out on the weekend; bite was a bit tough with the shift in weather. Are folks finding that the fish aren't settling in to their usual mid-summer haunts yet? I'm still finding them scattered all over the place. For example, this 20" largemouth came on a dropshot in 19' of water near a submerged island. I also found buckets up in 4-5' and smallies in the same depths.

 

 

 

[Jigger]

I'll be the first to admit it. I'm having the worst year I can remember on those lakes. Finding the fish is only half the problem, ive had fish look and turn away at senkos, dropshot rigs, jerks, jigs, spinnerbaits. You name it, ive watched 'em swim away. Most of the spots that would hold 18-19in fish are holding juvenile fish. Does that mean they're just off the spot during those times and move in when they're more active? I'm just about ready to start night fishing again...

 

Edit: Nice fish BTW!

Edited July 26, 2011 by Jigger

[skdds]

I'll be the first to admit it. I'm having the worst year I can remember on those lakes. Finding the fish is only half the problem, ive had fish look and turn away at senkos, dropshot rigs, jerks, jigs, spinnerbaits. You name it, ive watched 'em swim away. Most of the spots that would hold 18-19in fish are holding juvenile fish. Does that mean they're just off the spot during those times and move in when they're more active? I'm just about ready to start night fishing again...

 

Edit: Nice fish BTW!

 

me too..just back from lake of bays..very tough bite. I was marking fish at 35-60 feet...and often would hit at nothing.-skdds

[workwear]

i was out on kawagama for a week...boated over 30 but all dinks....monsters of last year were not round!!!

[landry]

I was at kashagawigamog for 2 weeks - big bass are very tough!!!!

Muskie were easier to catch - seriously!

[singingdog]

The bite is definitely different this year. I have heard that it's a banner year for cisco, and they are pulling bass off of shallow structure and into a more open-water mode. I'm still catching smallies in the 18-20" range, but you can't get fixated on one presentation. Lipless cranks seem to be my most consistent bite these days. Big LM are tougher to find. Several of my best LM have been in 15-18' of water, near no real structure. Typical jig-pitching fishing isn't producing well for me so far.

[fishboy]

thanks, guys...glad to hear misery loves company! I'll be giving it a go again later in the week; if anything changes, I'll certainly pass it along.

[jimmer]

I'm just starting to see numbers showing up in the shallows and them acting like it's summer. Tough to get them to bite mid-day (also seeing some turn away), but the evening bite has been great.

The rice has started to stand up on the lake I live on and that seems to have brought them into the shallows. Those Haliburton Lakes might be a little behind because of the deeper water. I had a friend who said he saw some bass on beds about 2 weeks ago.

Just some of my observations.

[fishnsled]

Haven't had a lot of fishing time this year for bass but the trips I've made have been tough. Been getting numbers but not any size except for the trip with Cliff when numbers and size eluded us. I blame Cliff.