A mid-summer's day on the lake - hot, humid, jet skis and
lots of boat traffic. For some, it sounds like fun. For others, it's
a time to stay cool indoors and prepare their tackle for the evening's
fishing
trip. Some of the best fishing an angler can experience occurs at
night when the moon is full, the stars are out and the gentle lake
ripples
lap the shoreline. This is the time the 'big boys' come out to hunt.
Whether
you're a bass, walleye or muskie angler, you're chances to catch
that trophy fish increase a few times over the season. One is in the
fall
when the
fish put on the feed bag to help them get through the coming winter.
Another prime time is after spawn when stomachs are empty after strenuous
courtship.
But the favourite time, at least for me, is at night, when the large
predators scour the shallows for food.
It doesn't matter whether
you fish for walleye
in Lake Erie, the Detroit River or Lake St. Clair, this fish is at
it's most vulnerable cruising the rip rap or shallow shorelines for
minnows
or perch. No boat is needed at night. If you can reach the shoreline,
your chances of hooking a prime walleye specimen is increased substantially.
My favoured presentation is the crankbait, similar to the Husky Jerk
by
Rapala, cast just off a rip-rap breakwall in about four feet of water.
The crankbait is allowed to sit until the ripples created at entry
are dispersed. Then, with a few quick tugs of the bait to get the surface
disturbed, I start my retrieve. My first few retrieves are slow and
consistent
all
the way back to shore. If no action is encountered, the next few
retrieves will be stop and go, with pauses in between. At this point,
if there
have been no follows or hits, I start to retrieve a little faster,
but in the
fashion of the first two presentations. This added speed should take
your bait down to about three feet. By this time, you should have
had some kind
of action. If not, you slowly start entering deeper water but still
with the same kinds of retrieves you have already used.
One of my favourite
haunts is the Leamington marina compound, specifically the pier and
rip-rap
outside of it. This structure has provided me with such great action
over the years that I have passed 'the secret' along to many of my
friends who
eventually experienced the same thrills. It is not uncommon to take
a few 6 to 10 pounders from this area over a period of two hours. The
climate
conditions must be right. These conditions for the Leamington pier
are; wind from the south 5kms. or less (calm), water temperature 54
F - 56
F
and air temperature about 60 F to 65 F.
You can apply and adjust
these same situations to wherever you live. Good luck and hang on!
Tom Morrison
Sportfishing Education & Promotion
home
office phone: 1-519-776-4261
home office fax: 1-519-776-9715
E-mail: mtm2002ca@yahoo.com mt.morrison@sympatico.ca
Essex County Outdoors website: Tom
Morrison Back
