Water temperatures dropping on area lakes

[Lee Borgersen]

Water temperatures dropping on area lakes
Fall is coming. You can feel it in the air.

 
By: Paul Nelson, Bemidji Pioneer



Hunting season starts Wednesday with the opening of bear, mourning dove, snipe and rail hunting.

The forecast for the last weekend in August calls for warm temperatures. Surface water temperatures in most lakes have been jumping back and forth across the 70-degree mark, depending on the daily weather changes.

Summer fishing patterns are holding in most lakes, but some of the walleyes and crappies are beginning to move into deeper water.

Algae in the lakes is beginning to die and can be seen floating on the surface on calm mornings.

It takes some time for fish to switch modes as the water begins to cool in the fall. Each 10-degree drop in water temperature brings changes in fish location and fishing patterns.

Most large lakes have fall migrations into parts of the lake where fish begin to stage for winter.

Walleyes in Leech Lake have been in the main basin of the lake much of the summer but they will begin to filter back into the shallow weedy bays as the water cools into the 60s.

Walleyes in Lake of the Woods and Upper Red Lake spent much of the summer roaming the basin of the lake but they, too, will begin to move back into the shoreline structure to feed as the water cools.

Winnibigoshish is another shallow lake with a good shoreline walleye bite in the fall. Many of the walleyes have been scattered across dozens and dozens of mid-lake humps and bars most of the summer, but now they are moving back into shoreline structure to feed.

Walleyes in deep lakes and deep bays of larger lakes usually head in the opposite direction in the fall. They move into deeper water as the thermocline starts to break down when the lake water cools.

Most small, medium and large lakes have enough deep water to set up a thermocline during the summer. The thermocline can act like a barrier to the fish during the hottest part of the year.

Walleyes in some lakes may bury in the weeds during the day when water temperatures are hot. Those walleyes often resort to feeding at night or during twilight to avoid the heat.

Walleyes in deep lakes are free to leave the weeds when the water starts to cool. Many weed beds are starting to die and are losing their appeal to the fish.

Many walleyes in deep lakes will move to the outside edge of the weeds or drop down the edges of mid-lake structure as the water cools.

Walleyes will continue to work deeper in the fall, following the warmest water in the lakes all the way down to the bottom of the dropoff.

When the deep lakes finally turn over late in the fall, the cold-water period begins.

Anglers have been catching walleyes in most of the larger lakes in the Bemidji area but fishing for walleyes on most of the smaller lakes has been slow.

Most anglers are catching walleyes on either live-bait rigs or jigs and minnows. Many walleyes in Bemidji and Cass Lake have been in 18 to 26 feet of water on both mid-lake and shoreline structure.

Winnibigoshish has been one of the hottest lakes for walleyes recently, with anglers catching walleyes on shoreline points, rocks and edges of cabbage weed beds in 6 to 10 feet of water.

There are still walleyes on many of the mid-lake humps in Winnie but those are more of the larger slot fish. Many of the “keeper size” walleyes have moved back into the shallows.

Leech Lake has been slow for walleyes in the shallow bays, with most of the walleyes in the main basin or in Walker Bay feeding on the rocks.

Muskie anglers have had slow fishing recently but cooler water temperatures and stable weather should bring more muskies into the shallows to feed. Most of the fishing pressure for muskies is in shallow water so muskies seem to disappear when they move deep.