In transition...

[Team Otter]

I left the house this morning with an open mind but also planning on spending a full day on the water. Two things I was looking to accomplish, 1) see if I could make any fish bite in these frontal conditions and 2) scout for upcoming guide trips. Well, both goals were met but let me tell you, it didn't come easy.

I ventured down to the Tetonka/Sakatah chain for the day and had a game plan put together to pitch cranks, pitch jigs and minnows, drag jigs, contour troll and rig. I was also planning on staying away from the deeper water because I figured those fish would be extra sluggish with this recent cold snap. I spent most of my time on Sakatah and then slid back into Tetonka for a few hours late this afternoon. I started out pitching #4HF Salmo Hornets in Hot Perch and Crawdad to a wind-blown section of structure that still had vegetation resting on it. I worked this particular area for an hour or so and got nothing. So, I moved to a nice point consisting of gravel and vegetation and I pitched #5HF Salmo Hornets and #5 shallow runnin' Shad Raps and jigs and minnows to this point only to find out it was loaded with white bass. Fun to catch, but not what I was looking for. Being that vegetation didn't seem to be the ticket today, I moved to wind-blown sections of small and large boulders that were out in the lake a ways. I switched to a larger profile crank, being a #7 Salmo Minnow in Metallic Dace and started casting. On the third cast, I put a nice 15" 'eye in the boat. On the fourth and fifth casts, I also put 15" 'eyes in the boat and with that quickly noted a pattern. For those of you at my last seminar, I referenced observations that need to be made when on the water. Well, today in this particular spot, it was making sure the presentation was ticking a rock from time to time and then right after the tick, that you paused the presentation before resuming your reel in. I caught 10 fish in this spot in less than hour repeating that routine over and over. Over the course of the next 4 - 5 hours, I continued to slide down the same shoreline and pick off a fish here and there but no concentrations like I first stumbled onto. ~2:00 pm I headed back into Tetonka and did some riggin' right on the edge of a few prominent sand breaks in 10 - 14' of water. I didn't catch any 'eyes doing this but boy, oh boy, were the crappies hungry! None of the crappies were over 10" but they sure were fun to catch. My final stop for the day was an area that I hit hard in July and I thought, just for kicks, I would see if there would be anything happening in mid-September. Well, after several casts with a #5 standard Shad Rap and nothing to show for my efforts, I told myself "one more cast and then I'm headed in". On that last cast, I connected with a plump 18" 'eye and with that, a smile on my face. Not so much because I had caught the fish but because I really did have to get going. I wish I was there right now for the evening flurry. All fish were caught and released today, lived to swim and be caught by someone else another day.

Long story, short version, it looks like the 'eyes in the area are starting to do "what they're supposed to". Look for them to become a little more pattern-able in the near future but for now, keep searching. Don't let those dang 'eyes be more patient than you and you should be successful. I'll continue to spend time in the area up until the October full moon and then it's off to Mille Lacs and then returning back to the area for more guide trips and a Get Together on Madison Lake. Busy, busy, busy but this is the time of year we've been waiting for. Get out and enjoy it!

Good luck and we'll see you on the water!

[james_walleye]

Hey Otter im going too be up there that weekend of the October full moon, you are too im assuming?

[Team Otter]

Yes, I'll be there for 4 nights starting Friday, October 6.

[Mike Walerak]

Now that I have my boat off the river for the year I made it out to Sakatah tonight. Not much action other than pike and wqhite bass until the sun went down. I little 15 minute flurry was all it took to put some nice 18-20" eyes in the boat. But the bite shut down as fast as it started. these hungry shallow water fish were completly pulling my board under!

The 58 degree water temp really has my hook setting arm itchin.

[Team Otter]

Buried boards is always good. Thanks for the evening update Mike.

By the way, sorry I missed your call. You must have been calling to see if I wanted to go along.