Page 63 - ODUNovAndDec2018

Last year at this time, I believe I

wrote about the prevalence of
clearing waters being
encountered in many lakes,
largely due to zebra mussels.

This trend certainly continues as
more and more waters are found
to be “infested” and the water

continues to get clearer and
clearer, meaning we as anglers
must adapt.

The biggest change that I am
seeing relating to zebra mussels and clear water involves the depths various fish species are now being

found at.

In the past, I’ve written about how much of my walleye fishing now occurs in deeper waters and that
continues to be true. This year, I also saw that trend continue with much of my bass fishing as well.

Deep weedlines – a common holding spot for largemouth bass – now grow out to 20-plus feet of water
in several lakes I fish, and that has resulted in at least some largemouth living in those deeper weeds.

Smallmouth bass that I used to find on tops of rocky humps in 8- to 12- feet are now more often found
deeper too, often on the deeper edges of these
humps, or on humps located in deeper water
altogether.

While these deeper fish are often still often
cooperative biters, keeping this “deeper trend”

in mind certainly is beneficial when searching
for fish.

If searching for and catching more fish in the
future is one of your goals, the lessons
provided by the fish this past year and shared
above may help you do just that!

As always, good luck on the water and ice and
remember to include a youngster in your next
outdoors adventure!

Mike Frisch is host of the popular Fishing the
Midwest TV series. Visit
www.fishingthemidwest.com or follow Fishing
the Midwest on Facebook for more "fishy"
stuff. As always, remember to include a
youngster in your next outdoors adventure!