Fishing Tales

FIshIng the mIdWest

Brian Buehler caught this 52-inch Muskie on June 22, 2016. Photo by Brice Wilke.

Bass tactics for walleyes and crappies

By Bob Jensen, Fishing the Midwest My friend Mike Frisch and I went fishing on Clear Lake. I get to fish Clear Lake several times every year, and Mike visited Clear Lake a lot in the early ’90s. Clear Lake was a good body of water then, but it’s an outstanding fishery now. In fact, Clear Lake is one of the premier multi-specie fisheries in the midwest. On our most recent trip to Clear Lake, we fished with Kevan Paul, a successful angler and a good guide. He not only takes his clients fishing, he explains what they’re doing. When Mike, Kevan and I hit the water on Clear Lake, we did some interesting things to catch the fish — and boy did we catch fish.

We had all the traditional walleye gear: jigs, rigs, spinners, crankbaits and slipbobbers. We started off with the slipbobbers and caught several nice walleyes in a short period of time. Then the action slowed and we changed techniques. The wind was from the south, so we headed to the north shoreline. On most bodies of water, walleyes like the wind. The technique we employed, however, was one that Mike and I were very familiar with for largemouth bass, but not for walleyes.

We tied one-sixteenth of an ounce round head Fire-Ball jigs and one-eighth of an ounce stand-up Fire-Balls onto our line and tipped them with either a minnow or leech. Both worked equally well. And then we started making short casts to the docks. If we had been pitching the jigs to rock piles or weed beds, that would have been normal walleye fishing, but we were throwing our jigs under docks and around boat lifts, much like we do when we’re bass fishing. And we were catching walleyes consistently. Doubles were frequent. This was fun, productive, and it’s a technique that Mike and I will remember when we encounter similar conditions on other bodies of water.

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Sleds get ready to launch at the Yellow Bass Bonanza. Photo by Kevan Paul.

VisiT The aquarium aT The Dnr oFFiCe

Get a good look at several species of fish found in North Iowa at the DNR Aquarium. Browse the tanks featuring walleye, perch, muskie, largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish, plus rough fish species and panfish including crappies, yellow and white bass. Open April to October, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Free admission.

Kevan then asked if we would like to catch some crappies, and we said “yes.” I noticed when we loaded the boat in the morning that Kevan had put some telescoping rods in the boat, but I hadn’t paid much attention. When Kevan said those were the rods we would be using for crappies, I paid attention. They were Cabela’s rods that telescoped out to 16 feet and they had about 24 inches of line tied to the tip. A small Fire-fly jig was tied to the end of the line.

We moved into an expansive bed of rushes and started dropping the jig into small openings in the vegetation. Again, Mike and I have employed this technique with other styles of rods for largemouth bass many, many times in the past few years. On this day though, we caught crappies and big bluegills. We simply swung our jig into an opening in the weeds and let it quiver just below the surface. We let it hang there for three or four seconds, then swung it into a new spot. We saw almost every crappie that hit. They weren’t all big, but they were all fun to catch on a short line in heavy cover.

Our day on Clear Lake was a big success. We caught a lot of fish, found out that old techniques will work for new species of fish and had a good time, which is why we go fishing.

BlueBill lake Just four miles southeast of Clear Lake, Bluebill is a 40-acre lake filled with great fishing. Species include channel catfish, largemouth bass, yellow perch, black crappie and bluegill. It has a hard surface boat ramp (electric motors only), fishing jetty and restrooms.

Bob Jensen was introduced to the sport of fishing as a toddler and has been an active angler since. He is the host and executive producer of the award-winning Fishing the Midwest television series. His feature magazine articles have appeared in the In-Fisherman, Fishing Facts, and numerous other magazines. Bob was recently selected for 2017 induction to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. Rob Baker caught this 31-inch walleye on Aug. 5, 2016.

2017 Fishing TournamenTs Yellow Bass Bonanza: Feb. 11-12 Muskies Inc.: April 29 Walleye Classic: May 20-21 Take a Kid Fishing: June 3 Fall Yellow Bass Bonanza: TBA Fall-eye Classic: Oct. 1 Visit our events calendar for details, www.clearlakeiowa.com.