We fish a 3400 acre lake in Canada in early August each year. Most of our fish are taken off of the reefs in the lake. Last year it was extremely hot weather and the fish we caught were in weed beds in 7' of water. I was just wondering if you guys could give me some ideas on different tatics to use at that time of year. we usually cast across the top of the reefs or vertical jig the dropoffs around the reefs. Most of our fish run in the 17" to 22" size and I know there are bigger ones in the lake and would like catch and release a few bigger fish. We seem to catch just a couple each year that are in the 25" range. The lodge owner tells us there are times when they have a hard time getting fish under the 18" slot for freezer fish.Do you think the time of year is the key to some of the nicer sized fish? Should we try fishing at night? crank baits? slipbobbers? Thanks for your help.

That time of year in most Canadian water, bouncers and spinner/crawler combos are great. But if the fish are on top of the reefs, slip-bobbering with a minnow/jig/or crawler/jig, (Bad Dog whiz kid),can be deadly. Reef fish will be tightly schooled at that time of year. CONCENTRATE on the KEY depth you find the first few. The pattern will most likely be the same all over the lake. If it is the brown water, red spinners or hammered are best. #3
Crawlers would be my first choice for livebait. Even try a floating crank behind the bouncer on a 6- 10 ft. leader.
Canadian fish are biters. Just find'em.

YUP!!! Steve hit the nail on the head.


A day spent fishing does not count against one's alloted life span