As the lakes around the Park Rapids area cool off, a couple of things are happening. Many of the crappies and big ‘Gills are heading into deeper muddy bottomed flats. Look for the fish in the 20-30 ft. range. Use a jig/minnow combo to catch these fish. Bigger Northern pike are beginning to come out of cold deep summer haunts and cruise the shallows 6-15’ deep. Trolling larger muskie style baits will catch the bigger fish. Release these trophy fish. For dinner table sized pike, troll traditional baits like spinner baits, smaller crankbaits, or a good old fashioned often forgot about “spoon”. Walleyes are all over the board at this point. Look in the shallow weeds and use plastics and jigs to tempt these aggressive feeders. Other fish are starting to collect in the deep holes—sometimes down to 50 ft. These fish are easily caught on just about anything. They will stay deep until early ice. Bass are being caught in the weedy shallows on most rea lakes on plastic worms, 3” tube jigs, or a jig/pig type of combo. Stick to natural colors as the waters cool down to the low 60’s. Depending on the pike activity, do not ignore the deep weed line as Fall progresses.
Lotsa Fish! Lotsa Fun! Capt Josh Hagemeister, Minnesota Fishing Guide Service. 218-732-9919 www.minnesotaguideservice.com www.minnesotaicefishhouserental.com