Weekly Fishing Reports - August 27, 2014

Park Rapids Area Fishing Report – 8/27/2014
Submitted by Smokey Hills Outdoor Store

Some of the leaves in the Park Rapids area have already given up on summer and have begun to change colors in preparation for fall. Overnight temperatures have recently dipped into the lower 50’s and soon the water temperatures will follow suit. The fish will be on notice and their internal clocks will tell them to feed before the brutal Minnesota winter arrives. Some of the year’s best fishing arrives on the next page of the calendar and it’s almost time to turn the page!

Most of our local lakes store their stash of large walleyes in the deep abyss for the duration of August. As the water cools, they will be dispersed along the weed edges in 8 to 20 feet of water. The majority of the “eater-size” ‘eyes are already feeding on the weed bearing shelves; look for the trophy fish to migrate to the same territory very soon. Late August/early September submergent vegetation provides excellent habitat for some of the walleye’s favorite snacks. The best time to fish these areas is early morning as the sun first peeks over the trees or in the evening as the sun is sinking below the horizon. They will use their exceptional low light vision to relieve the lake of its bluegill and crappie population during these hours. Once again, Bemidji Minnesota made KenKatch Tackle’s™ long shank jig tipped with a minnow or crawler will put the most walleye fillets in your bucket.

Now is a great time to rig up your heavy equipment and go musky hunting. Some giants have been recently landed on Mantrap Lake, Elk Lake and Twin Lake. Musky Mania’s™ “Double Trouble” bucktail inline spinner is a good lure choice. Mid-day, topwater lures such as Suick’s™ “Nitewalker” will get their attention. Scan the lake for large expanses of cabbage weed beds, this is a good location to start your hunt. The area northern pike are also worth fishing for as they are fat from a long summer of feeding. The pike is a cold water loving fish and will be found on the deep edge of the submergent vegetation. A Live Target™ 8” perch crankbait will get down to the strike zone. Make sure that you have a heavy action rod, we have some monster pike in the area.

The largemouth bass are getting close to hitting their peak weights for the year. The water has cooled a few degrees and deep diving crankbaits have been bringing more success. Rapala DT-10 to DT-20 cranks will do the trick. As with nearly every other predatory fish right now, the key is to find deep growing cabbage weed and run your crank parallel with the deep weedline. The shallower running cranks will produce results by casting over the top of the weed beds. Use a slow retrieve with an intermittent pause to make them open their wide jaws.

Bring a 1/8oz FluFlu™ jig and tip it with a wax worm to prevent your livewell from being lonely. Crappies are active in and around the coon tail weed stands. Optimal depth range is 6 to 14 feet and the latter part of day will put more in the livewell. Crappies feed heaviest the 30 minutes before dark and will continue to feed through the night if prey is readily available.Stop by Smokey Hills Outdoor Store for lake specific hot tips and hot spots. Our shelves are stocked with the new products for the fall hunting season. Our staff is here to answer any questions that you may have about the outdoors in Minnesota. We are also one of the world’s largest Ice Castle dealers and we are taking orders for custom 2015 models. We thank you for your continued patronage and look forward to seeing you soon!

Park Rapids Area dinner pictured, all fish recently caught.
Photo courtesy of Smokey Hills Outdoor Store