There are numerous was to find the fish, unfortunately, most of these take a lot of time and we all know that there’s never enough time to go fishing.

One method to help you to locate the fish and to catch the more aggressive fish would be to use crankbaits.

What exactly is a crankbait, well, it’s a bait that needs to be trolled behind a boat or cast and retrieved, as this is how the vibrating side rocking action is put into the lure.

The action of the bait depends on the bill or lip of the bait, the large the bill, the deeper the bait will dive.

There are numerous versions of when it comes to crankbaits, there’s the floating, sinking as well as the suspending baits.

Crankbaits come in several sizes with the size 5 and 7 being the most popular.

The come in every color imaginable, natural to almost bizarre colors, some are jointed while others aren’t.

A few of those that I carry in my bait box include0 Shadling, Shad Rap, Thunderstick and the Flicker Shad.

I prefer a floating or suspending crankbait in a size 5 as the bodies of water that I fish, aren’t all that deep and a size 5 gets down to the depth that I want to fish.

The depth a crankbait will dive is directly related to the diameter of the line you’re using. Heavier lines will have more resistance when being pulled through the water, so a crankbait snapped to tied to 10 pound test monofilament won’t dive as deep as one tied to 6 or 8 pound test.

The diameter of the line you’re using when fishing crankbaits is important, that’s why I pull crankbaits using 14-pound Fireline as it has the strength of 14-pound line with the diameter of 6 pound, allowing my bait to dive deeper than it would if I were using standard 14-pound monofilament line.

The depth your baits runs is one of the most important things, as a bait that’s up too high or too low won’t be seen by the fish.

It’s best to put your bait above the fish, since their eyes are on the upper part of their head and their best vision is above.

Crankbaits run at different depths, with the size of the bill, line diameter and speed the bait is trolled or retrieved the things that influence the depth your bait will run.

To know exactly how deep each crankbait will run on different line weights, you can learn by taking them out on the water and test them while fishing, which generally costs you a few crankbaits or you can pickup Mark Romanack’s book Precision Trolling.

Mark’s book takes all the guesswork out of trolling crankbaits as it lists all the popular crankbaits along with the most popular line weights that you might us, including both monofilament and super lines.

It will tell you just how much line you’ll need to put out while trolling a certain bait in order to get it down to the depth you want to fish the bait.

As the weather warms up and fish patterns change, you can use them behind Off Shore planer boards or push them deeper by adding Off Shore Snap Weights or use them with lead-core line and downriggers.

They can be fished in numerous, catch most species of fish and will work year round, so crankbaits are a win, win situation and once you start using them, you may not want to try any other methods.

I don’t think you want to become a one-method angler, relying on only crankbaits to catch fish, as there are times when fish location makes it impossible to put a crankbait in front of the fish.

Crankbaits aren’t super bait, but once you’ve become familiar with them, they’ll help you to up your fish catching percentage.

When we headed north for Devils Lake in mid-central North Dakota, we had no idea as to what we were in for.

It could be three days of good weather, poor fishing or poor weather and good fishing.

As anyone who does an outdoor television series can tell you, it’s not very often that you expect it to be excellent weather and great fishing.

Well, that’s the way it happened last week when Team member Scott Ulrich and I along with cameraman Kyle Nickolite made the trip north to the big lake.

When I say big lake, I mean big lake, as Devils Lake is 177,100 surface acres, covering about 208 square miles and growing.

Not good for the landowners in the area, but great for anglers as it creates miles of new water for us to fish and structure beyond belief as there are flooded roads, railroad tracks and acre upon acre of flooded vegetation.

We met up with our guides the folks from Perch-Eyes Guide Service www.percheyes.com around 2:30 that afternoon and were on the water by 3:30 looking for areas where the wind was pounding into the flooded vegetation.

Since the lake is so clear, the fish were attracted to the mudlines and the warmer water temperatures in those areas.

The plan was to pitch Lindy Shadling crankbaits and X-change jigs up into the shallows of these areas, hoping to entice the fish to bite and bite they did!

Our guide on day one was Jason Feldner who knew the lake well and had us on fish shortly after we reached the north shore.

Because of all the flooded vegetation in the lake, the northern pike population has done well, so any bait that we tied on had to be accompanied by a light leader.

While Scott and I cast Shadlings, Jason probed the shallow water along the cattails, connecting with a pike on his third cast.

Not a giant, one around 10 pounds, but one that thought it was larger than it really was, as it went around the front of the boat as well as under it before it was landed and released.

Shortly there after, Scott’s collected the dollar for the first walleye when his Shadling was inhaled by a nice 2-pound walleye, one of the many taken during the first day of our trip.

After five hours of pitching Shadlings and X-Change jigs, our arms were sore as we’d landed northerns up to 10 pounds, white bass over 2 pounds and walleyes over 4 pounds, not a bad day in anybody’s book.

On day 2, our guide would be Kyle Clifton who would take us to a new area where we’d start out using slip bobbers and leeches.

We started fishing the ultra clear water in the flooded timber, unfortunately, it was early in the day and the water temps in the timber hadn’t reached that magic 59-60 degrees needed to turn the fish on.

After several moves with no luck slip bobber fishing, we started looking for the warmer water while pitching our Shadlings and X-Change jigs up shallow.

Once again it was our guide, using an X-change jig connected with our first fish of the day, another nice pike.

It was my turn to collect the dollar of the day for the second walleye, by the way, which I never received, when a nice 18” fish tried to tear up my Shadling while ripping my rod out of my hand, taking the bait right at the boat.

The warmer dirtier water was the key as we hammered walleyes, white bass and pike almost continually.

Before long, all three of us in the boat were pitching crankbaits up shallow with our best bait on this trip being the number 5 Lindy Shadling Redtail and Golden Shiner.

Two to three fish on at a time was a common occurrence and after a while all you heard was “Fish On.”

By the end of our second day my cameraman was earning his pay, jumping back and forth trying to catch all the action of the fish being caught,

With the sun was setting in the west; we were pitching cranks up into a windblown cattail bed when I had a jarring strike, one that I couldn’t gain ground on.

I managed to move the fish away from the shoreline, but then thought that it had ran into a snag, as I couldn’t budge the fish.

Our guide backed off on the trolling motor, allowing me to work the fish towards the boat.

By the head shaking that was going on, I didn’t think it was another northern and slowly moved it towards the net.

When the fish came up, it was pure bedlam as it was a monster and seeing the boat made a desperate dive to shake loose the Shadling in it’s mouth.

Finally I managed to get the fish’s head out of the water while our guide Kyle worked it into the net.

The walleye had engulfed the entire Shadling, weighed in over 9 pounds and was the biggest fish of the trip.

But it didn’t end there as shortly after we took photos of the fish, Kyle connected with another big fish, this one over 8 pounds, another picture fish.

What a trip, as in less than 15 hours of fishing, we’d boated over 200 fish, an extraordinary trip, and one that won’t be forgotten.

If you’re looking for a great place to fish, a lake that offers a smorgasbord of fish species, you’ll want to give Devils Lake a try; it’s well worth the trip.

If you’d like more information on the Devil’s Lake area you can go to www.devilslakend.com

Here we go again, we’re heading into the fall, where has our summer gone?

It’s that time of the year, the time our kids are heading back to school. As the temperatures decrease, water temperatures will start to cool and fishing will pick up.

With all of these things happening: you can bet it won’t be long before the good fall fishing season is here.

With the water temperatures declining, all species of fish will really start to feed heavily.

When fishing in the fall, it’s a good idea to use larger live bait.

During the fall, fish are on a mission, trying to fatten up before the freeze up.  Chubs and larger minnows seem to attract the larger fish, out producing the smaller baits.

In the rivers, you’ll find the walleye, sauger and smallmouth moving shallow to clean up any remaining baitfish or the crawfish that have survived the summer.

In our lakes, bluegills, crappies, largemouth bass and pike will move into and along the edge of the weeds, picking off insects and of course each other.

Lake walleyes will now be found spread out over the mud flats or cruising the weeds looking for a late season snacks.

This is the time of the year that you should look for the greenest vegetation you can find.

There are several reasons that fish will move into these green weed beds.  One is because their food source, baitfish will have moved there, another is because this is where they’ll find the coolest temperatures because of the shade and the oxygen being given off by the vegetation.

As anyone who has fished thee weedy areas can tell you, theses areas can be a nightmare as weeds can eat tackle as fast as you tie it on.

If you’re after bass you’ll probably be probing these weedy areas with some sort of weedless rig such as a Texas rig or some sort of jig and pig combination.

Fall bass can also be taken by slow rolling spinner bait into pockets in the weed beds or by running buzz baits over the top of the weeds.

With the drop in water temperatures, fish, which are cold blooded, will slow down, so you’ll need to do the same, slowing down the way you’re fishing and going with smaller baits.

Those anglers fishing for panfish should work the pockets and along the edge of the weeds with small tube jigs or a light livebait jigs.

To draw panfish out of the thicker cover they’re using this time of the year, try a Slip bobbers, split shot and small hooks tipped with minnows or pieces of night crawlers cast along the weed edge will draw the fish out of the cover.

This is the time off the year that walleye anglers will be changing from night crawlers back to minnows.  You’ll want to experiment a little bit with your baits, as all walleyes don’t change from worms to minnows at the same time or on a certain date.

Walleye anglers will have good luck using jigs to work along the edge of the weeds and on the breaks along mud flats.

If you’re going to be pike fishing you’ll be working the weeds and there are a couple of baits that are excellent pike producers this time of the year.

Spinnerbaits ran over the top or along the edge of the weeds is a great fall bait for Pike.

You’ll want to hold your rod high and speed crank the bait over the top of the weeds.  When you come across a hole or pocket in the weeds, let your spinnerbait drop or helicopter down into the pocket and then hold your rod tip high, while cranking it back onto the top of the weeds.

The pause and slow drop of the spinnerbait will often tempt bass that are buried in or along the edge of these pockets.

The bottom loving catfish will be moving from their summer haunts, deeper holes and head into areas where there’s less current.  Cat fishermen will need to look for the fish in these holes, working their prepared (stink bait) and live bait rigs in the pockets with less current or in the slack water found behind the dead falls and snags.

No matter what species of fish you’ll be looking for, don’t over look the slack water pockets just off the current by the dam, as these areas will be visited through out the day by fish cruising the area searching for a meal.

Don’t make the mistake that many anglers do during the fall and put the rod and reel away and think only hunting.

Fall fishing produces some of the largest fish of the year with all species trying to fatten up prior to the cold hard winter.

As spring makes the turns towards summer, water temps will start to warm up with all species of fish becoming more active.

The shallower dark bottomed bays will warm up first, allowing shallow weed growth to blossom.

In many of the smaller lakes and ponds, this heavy vegetation can make it almost impossible to fish.

If you’re planning on doing much fishing during the heat of the summer, you best learn to fish the weeds or you’ll be spending a lot of your time on the deeper lakes or reservoirs or one the dingier bodies of water where weed growth Is minimal.

In this article we’ll talk about several ways that the summer angler can productively fish in the weeds.

There are all types of aquatic weed grow found in the upper Midwest and depending on the body of water that you’re fishing, they’ll appear and die back at different times.

In the ponds, lakes and streams that are shallower or clearer, weed growth occurs much earlier and will be heavier than those found in areas with the dirtier more turbid water.

Most bodies of water have several types of weeds including; cattails, bull rushes, lily pads, cabbage beds, hydrilla, and wild rice.

All of which produce oxygen and during the heat of the summer is the place where fish are able to find comfortable oxygen levels.

When fishing the weeds, you’ll want to use heavier line than normal because weeds are abrasive and can quickly weaken or cut line.

Once hooked, fish will bury deep into the weeds and you’ll need to pull not only the fish and a bunch of weeds, so you’ll need heavier line to get the fish up and out of the weeds.

Bullrushes and cattails are also found in most ponds, lakes and backwaters that are found in the river. Bass, walleye, bluegill, perch and pike will be using these areas looking for an easy meal.

Walleye/Sauger/Panfish

For walleyes, sauger and panfish, a livebait rigs tipped with worms, nighcrawlers, minnow or leeches that’s worked along the edge of the weeds fished or under small bobbers are an excellent choices.

The Lindy or slip sinker rig is a pretty basic rig, consisting of some type of sinker that allows the line to slip through (Lindy sinkers, Bullet Weights, or egg sinkers). A snap swivel is tied to the line below the slip sinker and attached to it you add a 10′ to 12′ snell with a # 2 hook tied to the end of the snell.

Tipped with one of the above-mentioned baits, this rig is deadly early in the season and when fished during cold fronts.

With this rig, once the fish picks up the bait, the angler either drops back his rod or feeds the fish line, since the sinker is not tied directly to the line, the fish can move off with the bait as It feels little resistance and is more apt to hold onto the bait.

These rigs can be fished in the pockets between the reeds and rushes or along the weedline.

Slip bobber rigs fished long the edge of the weed lines are also very effective.

This rig is made up of a moveable or slip bobber, a bobber stop to set the depth, a small split shot (weight) with a small hook tipped with a minnow or leech.

These rigs are easy to cast and by using the wind to drift the bait over a productive area, allows the angle to naturally present his bait in the areas the fish are using.

Bass/Pike

Other baits that work well in the weeds for bass and pike include; spinnerbaits, weedless spoons and buzz baits.

Cabbage beds and lily pads are another common weed found in our waters. They grow from the bottom, spreading out along the surface.

These weeds provide fish with a place to hide underneath, avoiding the sun. Since most of the weeds are on the surface, fish can easily cruise through them while waiting for something to drop in for lunch.

In these types of weeds, a weedless surface spoon, floating weedless frog, jig & pig, Texas rigs, buzzbaits or spinnerbaits will often bring the fish up out from under the weeds to get at your bait.

Try casting a buzzbait, spinnerbait or weedless spoon into the open pockets and then by cranking hard on your reel, you’ll be able to keep the bait running along the surface just above and through the weeds.

With the weedless top water frog, you’ll want to cast it right into the weeds, let it set a second or two and the slowly work it back across the top of the pads and floating vegetation. Pause from time to time, as this will give the bas the opportunity to zero in on the bait.

Bass will know when the bait touches down and will follow it across the weeds and come up right through the weeds to get at it.

Once the water boils around your bait, set the hook hard as you’ll need to force the bass up out of the weeds.

When using a jig & pig or a Texas rigged plastic worm, cast into the open pockets and the work the bait right through the middle of the heaviest cover.

Jig & pigs are weedless, so you won’t need to worry about snagging up and the plastic worms can be rigged either Texas or Carolina, making it weedless.

Texas rigs are a bullet weight, a large offset hook with a plastic worm. The bullet weight is threaded over the line and then the hook is tied on below it. Allowing the weight to slide up and down your line, allows you to work over and through the weeds.

Thread your worm on up over the eye and then run the hook back through the worm, making sure that you keep it straight with the hook point just under the surface which makes the bait weedless, but still allows good hook penetration with a good hook set.

The Carolina rig is very similar; except instead of tying the hook directly to the line below the weight, you attach a snap swivel and the tie an 18″ to 2-foot leader with the hook and plastic worm attached. This allows the plastic worm to float up making this rig deadly for bass cruising just off the bottom.

All of the baits mentioned above will work well in hydrilla and wild rice.

With spinnerbaits or buzz baits, the key is to getting your bait running in an open patch and then skip over and across the weeds, with spinnerbaits, It’s a good Idea to let your bait drop into the open pockets.

By holding your rod tip high, allowing your bait to drop slowly into the open pockets and the crank hard on the reel once the bait settles into pocket getting your bait spinning or moving fast enough to slide up over and hop across the next clump of weeds.

Summer fishing can be hot in more ways than one, once you’ve figured out how to fish the weeds, hot summer days on the water will be a lot more enjoyable.