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Fishing Report September 2022

September 22, 2022      First Day of Autumn

The water temperatures are slowly dropping, as they are hanging around 68 degrees now.  Cooler days in the forecast will continue that trend.  The traditional September hot walleye bite on Woman Lake has not begun yet, but we are catching walleyes most everyday.  The walleye bite will likely turn hot before the end of the month, as the water cools down.  I was fishing yesterday with redtail chubs, but caught all my walleyes on leeches, so the transition from leeches to minnows has not begun yet, either.  The smallmouth bass, on the other hand, seem to be on a feeding rampage, and they love the big redtails.

September 14, 2022

Woman Lake surface temperatures are just about 70 degrees (and cooling), and many walleyes have begun moving onto their traditional fall locations.  The fish seem to be more concentrated now, which means that when you find them, there are probably a good bunch of them.  They will be following their primary forage (young perch), so look for large clusters of baitfish on your depth sounder when you scout fishing spots.  The best walleye bait will transition, from leeches and crawlers, to larger minnows (preferably redtail chubs or shiners) this month, but they will still bite non-minnow baits in their strike window.  Weather becomes a bigger factor this time of year, so plan your fishing trips when the weather is conducive to a good bite.  The big smallmouth bass can still be found on most large rock structures, but remember Sept 11th was the last day for keeping smallys until next spring, so it is catch and release only now.  Crappies are still staged in mid-depth (8-12 ft) weed beds, but some fish can be found in deep water.

ObeWan Guide Service Notice Update:

I have mostly recovered from my mid-summer back surgery, and I am now back in my boat fishing and guiding.  I hope to see you on the water.

My last day of guiding in 2022 will likely be the weekend of October 8-9, as I need to get some repair on my boat before I put it away for the season.  I also have a lot of work to do getting ready for pheasant and grouse hunting season, as the season openers are earlier this year.  My brittany spaniel, Jersey, is quite happy about that, although she loves to go fishing as well.