My routine for a season.

[John Bales]

Early ice out: All casting, mostly smaller blades and light jigs and deeper than normal, depending on the lake. Nothing is set in stone, must still check out shallows, deep and in between depths. Always keep in mind that fish do not move constantly or consistently so may have to repeat checking depths and speeds several times a day when waiting for fish to become active, Most movements this time of year will be between ten and two but not always. Bass move shallow and deep back and forth till the temps get near 50 and then when weather and water allows, they start to move up on top (shallower). Activity changes , other tools with faster speeds are added and again, the movements are still controlled by weather and water. Unstable weather and water, scattered movements, Three days of stability and some sunlight with some good winds, good movements of adult fish may move shallow. Big numbers of adults can be had and we must be ready to put them in the boat because these movements usually do not last long but it also could last longer than normal.Expect less time than more. Bad fronts will slow or stop this shallow movement but this is one of the times I really look forward to. We are in this time period right now. The next stable weather will begin the spawn. Speed control is back to the slower speeds again and light jigs are used a lot at the inside weedline. The fish are not spawning yet but weather will dictate that. Big numbers this time of year and on the right days, some larger fish can be caught. All casting. Inside edge is a big deal during this time. You need to know the shape of the inside edge and all the major turns on structure. Once this is over, the bass start back out but not a fast transition when a weedline exists. It may take 6 weeks for them to make it back to the outside weedline. Pike still not at the outside weedline in numbers. Trolling spoonplugs with a trailer(thin spoon) will get them. They will take the spoon almost 100% of the time and when they start eating the spoonplug, you can take the spoon off unless the walleye's are present. I still concentrate on the bass and the weedline is stil my target, more towards the inside edge after the spawn and as they move towards the outside, I follow. Drop shotting becomes a good tool at this time.
If my lakes were ones with good water color, and a very shallow weedline or none at all, trolling would be a big part of my presentation or casting known areas previously mapped with the same lures used here on the natural clear weedy lakes. Summer is a mix of trolling and casting for all of the species till the thermocline changes and this change starts after the first frost. The northerns dissapear from the outside weedline and lots of spoonpluggers put their boats away for the year. All summer long, the deepest we fish is somewhere from the base of the weedline to the depth of the thermocline. That's it!!!!! We keep an eye on the thermocline and watch it go deeper as the nights get colder. Once it gets deeper than 20 feet we target a few lakes with a little color and start trolling these lakes for the bass at the edge of the thermocline. You can see the stacks of baitfish right there on that edge of where it ends or the next breakline shallower. This is a ball and it will last till the surface temperatures get to around 45 and we start casting again till ice up. This has been my routine for many years. I enjoy the bass because they are the hardest specie to catch and they certainly react to weather and water more than all the other species.
The key is spending lots of time on the water. Knowing what the fish do in all of the seasons and having an idea of what we need to do to catch them and then going about your day checking out depths and speeds and waiting for the fish to move. Repeating it over and over till it happens both trolling and casting. Our winds are blowing pretty good today and this was a good time to share some thoughts. My lake types are different from yours and our situations are different but still somewhat the same in our guidelines of how we must think and what we must do to catch a fish, daily and seasonally. Every single day is different and the best part of spoonplugging is that you never stop learning. We can always get better. My most enjoyable part of being out there now is watching the conditions change (cloud cover or the lack of it and wind). A change in the light is what triggers the movements. Buck said he could predict when it will happen. I am not that good to predict it to when it will happen but it can be seen and related to when it does happen. To be out there before it happens and get to see the fish not active and then on fire and then its over back to where you cannot catch a fish!!!! To get to view this most every day on the water is my main motivation for staying at this.
Don't forget that in order to put this in perspective, mapping and interpretation plays a big part in knowing where to spend your time controlling your depths and speeds. If the fish are not caught, you and I cannot relate the conditions to the catch. Stay safe. John

[charliesm48]

Thanks for sharing great details on how you approach fishing situations in each season. You're like the E.F. Hutton of the fishing world: when John speaks, you better be listening!

[Garry B]

Ditto to what Charles said in his post.

Garry Boggs
Iowa

[brett]

Thanks John this is excellent