WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
September 13, 2007

I hope everyone has had another great open water season as I know for many, now is the time to put the rods away and get out the hunting gear for another fun-filled season of hunting. But for those of you still in chase of those fish, like me, this is the time of the year that makes me ever more crazy.

I must start by saying that over the last week, I have finally broke down and took sometime to fish spinners and have found it to be a great way to put some serious numbers in the boat. Over the course of the summer you have read about fishing bottom bouncers with spinner, but those spinners are much different from the actual blade spinners. I am one that visualizes what my bait is doing at all times while in the water, and I will say, I couldn't get over the thought of those spinners spinning around and around and hitting those fish in the mouth as they grab the spinner combination. Like the crankbaits, the spinners are truly a fun way to fish and extremely simple. If you haven't tried them, think about it before hitting the water next year, you, like me, will find it to be another advantage over those you're fishing with or against.

I have had a few people asking about how the tournaments went for me this summer and I will say that I felt it was a summer of missed opportunity on one note, but very exciting on another. We fished a number of tournaments and I finished 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 14th, 18th, and 21st. We had the case of losing fish this year, which as I find amazing, but in most of the tournaments it seemed that we lost a fish or two at the boatside that would have put us much higher than where we fisnished.

Overall, another fun year and I must take my hat off to Dave Hernesman, who is my partner and the owner of Ray's Sport and Marine, as Dave and his son Colton won the Regional Angler-young-Angler Tournament and then went on to win the international tournament. If you get a chance, stop in to Ray's Sport and Marine and Dave will tell you all about his winnings. Good job Dave! Thanks for all that you do for me!

The first frost of the year and those ever-so strong Northwest winds have put some hop in Fall activities including the fishing. Many of the fish have made the big push to the shallow shoreline structure on Winnie, along with the structured-filled water of Cutfoot Sioux. That Fall feeding frenzy is getting started!

With water temperatures now getting close to the upper 50 degree mark, the Fall bite is starting to get better each day. Throughout the last week we have seen a number of the fish move into those shallow Fall water areas on Winnie and most other area lakes and a number of presentations seem to be working very well. We have been running the Salmo hornets with good success throughout each day. It seems that the cool nights as of late have the Walleyes staying clear of the crankbaits until mid-morning. Once the day warms ups, the hot perch and blue daze hornets are making for some fast action.

We have had success pulling spinners with a two-hook harness tipped with a half of a crawler. When pulling spinners, we have found a few details to help in the success.

The color: The spinners in either a perch color combination with either a gold or silver back or just a straight silver spinner with five white or orange beads seems to be the preferred combinations.

Spinner Size: As for the size of the spinners, most days we have run the largest size Colorado's style blades. These are about the size of a quarter.

The Speed: While running the spinners, early in the day the speed starts out at 1.1 to 1.2 MPH and as the day warms up, we are finding that 1.4 to 1.8 MPH produces the best action.

Water Depth: We have been working the 8-10 feet of water and finding that one can run an 1/8th oz. sinker with about a 4-6 foee snell with the above spinner combinations. When using the crawlers, we have hooked the crawler so both hooks are in the bait and then cut the crawler where there is about a one-inch tail behind the bottom hook. One can use a spinning rod with this simple presentation and make sure to put out enough line to get you near the bottom. When a fish grabs the spinner, keep the line tight while counting to about three and then give them a hard hook set. It is that simple.

Then the third combination which most of us like has been the jig and minnow. This has been getting better each day out and it seems that most days one can't jig it hard enough. Look for a large fathead or golden shiner to do the trick. As that water temps continues to drop, look for all three presentations to hold on, but the jig and minnow bite should take over before to long.

Look for the Fall bite to be better and better and now, with even more outdoor hunting opportunities starting, the lakes get less and less busy, making for some of the finest fishing of the year. Don't put that boat away, as we will get more of those warm Fall days and those Fall frenzy Walleyes are calling your name. Remember, the next full moon is September 26th, so get those crankbaits ready.

See you on the water,

Sean Colter
member of NMGL
seancolter@seancolter.com