The Night Bite And Beyond.....

[JBMasterAngler]

Heading up to cass for the holiday weekend. Won't get to my campsite 'til 8ish, hoping to maybe get in some night fishing so the day isn't a complete waste...has there been any night time action on cass? What's the bait/presentation of choice?

Also, I'll probably be doing an equal mix of trolling and jigging the rest of the trip. However, I think I'll be targeting mostly pike while trolling. Any advice on tackle, color, baits, etc would be helpful being that this will be my first time on cass. And if the wind is blowing, which is a better backup, andrusia or kitchi?

[MuskyMark]

Backup lake for trolling for pike? I'd fish Kitchi. I know it can't always be that easy, because even the pike aren't always biting... but I can always find some pike action on Kitchi. Just get any decent map of the lake and troll the contours with perch-flavored rapalas/husky jerks or bright colored spinnerbait. I like to find emergent cabbage, then back off to the deep edge and troll/drift the edge with a jig and minnow too. (I like using a light fluorocarbon leader to prevent bite-offs)

If you can follow the erratic break-lines around the string of mid-lake humps (Main basin of Kitchi), any time you contact good weeds there will be Pike there too. Snakers are always fun. Especially when you're not getting your line stretched fishing for 'eyes!

[genegodawa]

Here is my best Kitchi-tip for small pike:

No. 3 plain (hairless) Silver Mepps spinner way back in the reeds in the far East part of the lake.

We usually get lots of action on snakers doing this.

My 2nd bait of choice would be a white spinnerbait which we get fewer fish but they are usually bigger ones.

And to get out of the wind, we fish the shoreline of the Turtle River with bobbers and livebait for perch and sometimes gills too.

[JBMasterAngler]

Well I'm shooting for at least medium sized pike, so maybe I'll bump it up to #4 silver spinners. What's the minnow of choice for eyes? I'll already have crappie minnows, but thinking of getting a scoop of shiners as well. Will also have crawlers and leeches. Would be nice to get out of the wind and find some nice jumbo perch and maybe even tie into the world class trophy rock bass fishing I've been hearing about.

[genegodawa]

Can't help you with Rockies on Kitchi - we have never got many there...we get all ours either in Pike Bay or in Allen's Bay on Cass. On the rest of Cass it is just a straggler here or there that we find.

The crawlers should help you nail the perch.

If you are pitching a jig for the walleye, I'd guess shiners are your best bet - of course it all depends on water temp, wind, time of day..........

Good luck.