| Hi Jason,
I was faced with this exact dilemma this past year in the Angle in early August. Temps were in the 90's! We still managed 10 fish in four days. Here's how.
First of all, we searched for the cleanest water we could find. It's not that you never can catch a musky out of a heavy bloom, but I have always had the best success in "clean" water up there when I can find it. So be prepared to cover some serious real estate to find the clearest water possible. Another dilemma of a heavy bloom is that these "clean" areas can change quickly and on a daily basis depending on wind and/or current direction. You can't always count on yesterday's hot spots, so again it pays to run and gun on a daily basis.
Especially important is to develop some spots you can consistently move fish on and be sure to hit these both early and late in the day, or at periods of a major storm front or moonrise or set, etc. During periods of extended warm hot weather such as this, the small windows of oportunity like I stated above can make or break your trip. You can expect fast and furious action during these windows and multiple fish encounters are common. I like to use "search" lures such as noisy propeller style topwaters like the Topraider or bucktails to hit these high percantage spots quickly and effectively. I usuall don't use cranks or jerks since I am trying to hit as many of these hot spots as possible before the window of opportunity closes.
During mid-day hours, I'll continue to look for clear water and learn new spots that look promising on the map. I will also throw crankbaits here along with hair or jerkbaits while learning some of these new spots since I am usually fishing slower around mid-day. We have occasionally popped fish on topwaters in the middle of the day, even in hot, sunny and flat conditions.
If you have no choice but to fish in a heavy bloom, use brightly colored lures to trigger strikes. I prefer firetiger or chartreuse patterns here. In clean water I use more natural colors. Perch, sucker and walleye colored cranks and jerks work great. However, my best bucktail by far has been a 700 series Buchertail with red hair and a copper blade, although brown with copper has been very deadly at times. Two years ago under very similar conditions my good friend Tom Hammerbeck and I caught 14 fish in one week, of which eleven of these came on the red/copper 700.
Lastly, DO NOT overlook slop patterns. Lake of the Woods fish like to crawl into heavy weed cover during these conditions. Pinpoint casts with bucktails and large bouyant jerkbaits can be very effective, and topwaters will score. I have done best in the slop right in the middle of the day. I think the muskies may be seeking the shade of the weed cover or else it may be forage related. Doug Johnson or Dick Pearson could probably shed a better explanation of why these fish go into heavy slop in the heat of the day, but those are my theories.
Well, I hope this information helps. My last two years up at the angle had these exact conditions present. I did not let the bloom ruin my trips at all. We just worked hard and capitalized on the best windows of opportunity. We also covered a ton of water to maximize our chances.
Tom Dietz |
