11 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said:

Still 74 down there @gim? Didnt get above 68 the last time I was out and we’ve had some major grass dieback’s because of the chilly temps. 

The lakes nearest me probably get some urban heat island effects of the Twin Cities area. More rural areas drop to lower overnight temps by you.

 

Last year the water temps stayed at 70+ until the first week of October here.

Sheesh, feels more like late October than early September these days!

 

I am going to bass fish tomorrow but I think I'll wait until the afternoon to start, rather than the morning.  Supposed to be 43 degrees at sunrise tomorrow.  I find these cooler nights in the fall to be poor fishing right away in the morning and its more productive to target middle of the day instead.

2 hours ago, gim said:

Sheesh, feels more like late October than early September these days!

 

I am going to bass fish tomorrow but I think I'll wait until the afternoon to start, rather than the morning.  Supposed to be 43 degrees at sunrise tomorrow.  I find these cooler nights in the fall to be poor fishing right away in the morning and its more productive to target middle of the day instead.

 

I'm loving it.

 

Not sure about you, but a couple of the local lakes I fish are normally packed with campers.

 

I want these campers GONE sooner than later.

 

Yes, they have the same equal rights as me, they just make fishing a little harder. They all seem to bring multiple kayaks so they are out there making a ton of noise, etc.

 

Once that cold weather hits they all leave and fishing becomes peaceful.

41 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I want these campers GONE sooner than later.

 

I went for about 3.5 hours this afternoon with my Father. Fishing was not very good. Weather was constantly changing too. It would be sunny and calm for an hour and then a cell would come through, whipping up the wind along with rain. Then the sun would come back. Then another cell. I finally got sick of it. Biggest bass was a plump 17.5 incher. Somehow my Father caught a 3 inch sunfish on a spinnerbait. I think he musta snagged it. Water temp was 66 degrees.

 

 

Yesterday was dodge the rain storms about 5 minutes then sunny then rain and the strong NW wind didnt help. Due to the wind on a lake that has bass but not huge numbers out 5 hours wife and I got 15 bass 4 pike. All in less than 3 FOW lake has little vegetation  65 Water temp. Texas rig and Jig and and a craw. They wouldn't touch a spinner bait. Was really surprised the water temp was that low already. Going to try today very calm this morning.

Got an email yesterday from the MN DNR on the year-round C&R for bass.  Looks like they're trying to expedite the changes to get them in before the 2026 opener.

 

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/input/rules/fisheries/continuous-bass-season.html

^ Sent....

As @gim mentioned it was a hot/steamy weekend - I caught mostly 12 to 14 inchers - yet on Sunday I had a solid catch with this one who was hiding in the shade - This is a new Smallie PB for me !

 

Edited September 15, 2025Sep 15 by WaskaCrank12
adding in that it is a PB for me

Blazing hot here in Iowa as well.

 

7 day forecast doesn't look amazing either.

 

I was hoping for a great September of fishing, might have to wait for October.

Hey @WaskaCrank12 the measuring board works much better when you place the nose against the fence.  Just a FYI

 

Could use some fall weather again, no doubt about it.

I made the same mistake when I first bought my bump boards, Waskacrank.

4 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

I made the same mistake when I first bought my bump boards, Waskacrank.

@Swamp Girl and @gim - Thank you for the FYI - I have just been randomly allowing the fish to dictate how they are on the measuring board, if they flop and the head is near the bump board end then I take the picture/measurement that way - if the head is toward the open end I snap the picture that way - but now I will take a moment and make sure I have the head at the bump board as it makes sense to do that for the most accurate measure - I just have to do it enough times to make it stick/make it a habit ! Thank you !!

I got out on the local lake for a bit on Sunday - a beautiful day to be on the water (and rare calm wind day) - it was a bit slow from a fish catching perspective - yet did catch a 17" SMB and a 16" LMB

What you been catching them on @WaskaCrank12?  I can't find any specific pattern to be better or worse than another recently.  It's just one fish here, one fish there, on nearly any presentation.

5 hours ago, gim said:

I can't find any specific pattern to be better or worse than another recently.  It's just one fish here, one fish there, on nearly any presentation.

That sounds an awful lot like my fishing for the last 3 weeks. I haven’t been on a solid pattern since August. Fish from inches of water out to over 20ft and no pattern on baits either. Kind of a weird/frustrating time of year for me. 

I haven’t been finding any fish out deeper. Most of the largies I’ve been catching are in 2-7 feet of water. Some are decent sized, but I have to cover a lot of water to generate bites. There’s nothing schooled up anymore. I’d like to find a more consistent pattern. Especially given that I only have 4 hours to fish in the derby.

5 hours ago, gim said:

What you been catching them on @WaskaCrank12?  I can't find any specific pattern to be better or worse than another recently.  It's just one fish here, one fish there, on nearly any presentation.

I have had some success with an Egu Chunk Craw (Raid Japan, Green Pumpkin, 3 inch size) on just an EWG hook (so it falls pretty slowly).....a Dera Break (it is a small chatter bait, about the size of a SK Bitsy Bug jig, using a Egu Bug as a trailer).....a  DriftFry (Jackall, Silver/Ayu, 4inch, it looks like a lot of the bait fish in the lake).

I would say the fish I am catching are 20 yards or closer to the shoreline, but in areas that have shade and also have a drop off (it might be 1 to 2 feet at the shoreline yet it will drop off to 6/8 feet as you head away from the shoreline - my best guess is most of the fish are in the 3 to 6 foot depth). SMB have been in rocky/sandy areas - LMB in the weedier areas.

I too would say it has been 1 or 2 decent sized fish in an area with maybe a few 10 to 12 inchers hanging around - but I have not come across any schooling LMB/SMB (I have seen some pods of Carp, with 10 plus of them, some super sized ones) - I have had to keep moving and cover water to catch fish. 

Not sure if that helps you at all.

@WaskaCrank12 are you seeing any forage near the surface in the areas that you are targeting? 

@10,000 lakes Bassin

I would say that the forage (looking like they are 2 to 4 inches in length) are around submerged grass/weeds/vegetation (quite a bit of it is dying off, my guess is they are in and around the grass/weeds to try and hide) - they are schooled near the top of the water and can clearly be seen - this is one of the reasons I chose to use the DriftFry lure, as it is 4 inches and flashes a bit when retrieved - the forage are in probably 4 to 6 feet of water - interestingly the forage are further out from the shoreline than most of the fish I have caught - when I read/watch videos they often talk about SMB/LMB "pushing the forage against the shoreline/shallows and trapping them there" - which does not seem to be the case right now - in some of my catches there is forage around but they are actually out further from the shoreline than the fish I have caught (ie, let's say I have caught a fish 10 yards out from the shoreline, the forage may be 15 to 20 yards out from the shoreline) 

Right now it does not seem that a school of forage will mean a school of SMB/LMB is right near by - as my catches have been one or two fish in an area and that is it, I have to keep moving and covering water to find another fish

Decided to head up to Fergus Falls for the weekend and get some fishing done.  Bass are fired up, very aggressive strikes.  Upper 60's for water temp where I was.  Even managed my first carp on the fly!

 

I went pre fishing for a derby this morning for about 4 hours.  Same as the last few weeks.  A fish here, a fish there.  Nothing real big.  No particular pattern.

 

The only common theme between all my catches (which were not a lot) was that every fish was in 5 feet or less of water.  Could not get a bite in deeper water.

 

By 11am, the jet skis and wake boats were coming out.  Water temp is still 71 degrees.

Had a great day on Thursday. Just went out to test drive the boat after doing some maintenance to it and maybe run some old fuel out of it. Ran great right away so decided to fish for a couple hours instead. 

70F water temps. Fish were in the green weeds in 10 fow.  Caught almost 18# in two hours!

I fished the same spot on Saturday, and it started out slow.  Found the random smallie with a shallow crankbait.  Had one gigantic blowup with a topwater.  Early afternoon I threw on a ned rigged crayfish and oh man.. I pulled 4-5 out of one rock pile and plenty more scattered around.  They only got more aggressive as the day went on.  I threw on a little topwater crankbait and they were just crushing it, usually within a few feet of the shore.  I had 4 17"+ fish in 6 casts.  One of the best days of fishing I've had for a while.

 

Checked out a different spot on Sunday, this one deeper on average.  The wind made it a PITA.  The shoreline dropped off pretty quick, and being in a kayak with no spotlock made it tough to focus on a spot.  Most of the spots were too deep for the power pole just a few feet off shore.  Lots of hammer handle pike.  Only a few smallies, but if I found one it was usually a pretty good size.  bladed jig was the winner of the day.

At least someone is catching fish with consistency. It sure isn’t me. Nice job @Standard