As I went for my early morning walk the other day I gazed out over the lake to see the early morning fog slowly lifting in the distance. This particular morning reminded me of the many times I would arise early when staying at Spider Lake in mid-August and early September. The days were usually warm and it would cool off at night. This made for great sleeping and it somehow gave a little extra energy to this fisherman.

There was many a morning when I’d arise early and head down to the dock in hopes of being the first boat on the lake. The lake would be covered in a thick fog when the cool morning air touched the warmer water. This experience would add an element of excitement to the morning’s fishing adventure. For many years I had a relatively small boat for our family of four to fish out of. Usually these early morning adventures were a solo event and this made for a peaceful time for me to spend on the lake. There would be an occasional fish jumping in the not so far distance, which the morning fog made it impossible to see but the sound gave one an eerie feeling of anticipation of things to come.

I always enjoyed the time I spent on the lake in the early morning. Just myself alone in the boat waiting for the morning sun to cut through the fog which I knew would eventually bring an end to this tranquil part of the day. I don’t know if it was because I knew that I’d soon be joined by the rest of the family that made this time special or the fact that I took comfort in knowing that I’d not be spending the whole day alone. Whatever it was it sure made those early hours seem special. Fishing alone is sometimes good because you are free to try different things and you are not inclined to feel like you need to be catching fish. Instead you are free to experiment with different techniques that you may not otherwise use. I never had the urge to use dynamite but there have been days that I‘ve felt it might have been the only way that I was going to see a fish.

When I fished with the boys and their mother in the boat I felt a little more pressed to put them on some fish. I have to say that over the years I did a pretty good job of that. If you want kids to just catch fish then finding some panfish is the way to go because once they catch a few fish from a boat they will be more than likely to want to head out again.

If you really want to get kids hooked try fishing for northern on a lake that you know has some in good numbers. Trolling for northern is a great way to get any youngster’s adrenaline flowing. I can still remember fishing with my Uncle Ben and after I’d caught my first northern of the day I’d be “white knuckling” my fishing rod in anticipation of that next strike. What a great feeling! Trolling the shoreline in anticipation of that lunker striking your lure at any time or maybe it’s lurking just around the next point. I can still remember that feeling I used to get as a youth — hey wait a minute! I think I had that same feeling a couple of weeks ago when I was trolling.

This is what fishing does to a person; it tends to bring out the kid in all of us. Fishing can take you back to your days as a kid, even if it’s only for a few fleeting moments. Relaxing, that’s what it’s really all about, enjoying the outdoors and maybe even getting a few fish as a bonus.

I guess another reason I like fishing late summer and fall is that you can almost have the lake to yourself, especially during the week. There are a lot of lakes in our immediate area that can provide some excellent fishing and as we head into fall the fishing can tend to get even better. I’ve had some excellent fishing on Labor Day weekend right here in the area. For years I fished Tetonka Lake in Waterville and this lake always seemed ready to offer up some fish on that weekend. In fact I’m going to take my grandson, Dylan, up there for a weekend just to reminisce and see if we can catch a few. He used to spend a lot of time at the lake with me when I had my camper set up at Best Point. I am almost certain that we’ll be able to catch a fish or two but the main thing is that we’ll be enjoying some quality time together in the outdoors.

A few fishing reports from around the state:

FARIBAULT — Crappies and sunfish are being found in 20 to 25 feet on Lake Mazaska. Kelly Dudley Lake and Cedar Lake are kicking out small sunfish in shallower water. Crankbaits are triggering some muskie action on French Lake and Roberds Lake. Work Shields Lake and Roberds with sucker minnows for northern pike.

GRAND RAPIDS — Crawlers and spinners are producing walleyes on the 14 to 20-foot weedlines of Lake Pokegama, Lake Wabana, and Trout Lake. Minnows continue to trigger northern pike in 16 to 30 feet at Pokegama, Trout, and Spider lakes. Smallmouth are very active on Trout and Pokegama, while bucktails continue to hook muskies on North Star Lake, Deer Lake, and Moose Lake. Look for sunfish in six to eight feet on Bass Lake and Splithand Lake and an evening crappie bite in 12 to 14 feet on Pokegama and Wabana.

BLACKDUCK — Fishing picked up a bit with anglers reporting a decent walleye bite on Blackduck with limits being caught (14-16 inchers) along the weed edge in 10-14 feet of water. Leeches and crawlers working best. Also decent walleye reports from Gull Lake and Island Lake. Panfish are active on many area lakes. Gull and Pimushe best for bluegills and try North and South Twin for crappies. Bass and pike are also active on most area lakes.

ELY — The walleye bite has remained somewhat consistent, not always good, but not bad either. Some anglers on White Iron and Shagawa have figured out this somewhat confusing pattern. A good number are using crawler enhanced Lindy-style spinners, while others are taking their toll with trolled Shad-Raps. Work the edges of points and island drop offs in 12 to 25 feet of water. When you locate the fish, then work the area with either a leech/crawler tipped jig. White Iron has also been the spot for big northern pike. Trolled spoons and large crank baits are the ticket there. Crappies and sunnies are filling the ticket for many on Wolf Lake, Armstrong and Twin Lakes, as well as Johnson and Garden. Lake trout continue to be elusive with just a few reported in from Burntside and Snowbank. Downriggers or Dipsy divers are what you need to target them in 70-90 feet of water. Spoons and ciscoes are top choices for bait.

LEECH LAKE — Leech is going strong. Muskies have been seen on almost every rock pile, yellow and black bucktails are working the best. Walleyes have been very active as well, yes, walleyes! The lake temp is at 65 — way cool for this time of the year. Try nine feet up on Hardwoods and Big Hard Woods. Lighted slip bobber on sand working well too. We just had a group come in and they did super fishing the weeds in Uran Bay casting for northern pike. They ended up limiting out on eating size walleyes late morning. Bass and panfish are going strong overall. Leech is having one of its best years. There is still time to jump on the band wagon and enjoy this resource!

MILLE LACS LAKE — Slot-fish bite — The bite on Mille Lacs continues for the anglers willing to roll with the changes. As of late there is a consistent evening bite out on or near the gravel flats. Slip-bobber fishing in 28 feet of water is difficult for some to comprehend, but it is working. Drift if there is little to no wind and anchor up if the breeze is too much. The shallow evening bite is OK but the wind needs to be up a bit for success. Slot-fish are coming over the side of the boat more often than the big ones; a change in forage base will effect the size of the fish being caught.

CROSBY – Sunfish are being caught on the 10 to 15-foot weedlines of Rabbit Lake and Serpent Lake. There’s an evening walleye bite with crawlers or crankbaits on Rabbit in 20 to 25 feet. Rainbow trout continue to be caught on crawlers or Power Bait on the Manuel Pit and Pennington Pit. Look for some good-sized pike off Pennington as well. Bass are hitting buzzbaits and spinnerbaits on the weedlines of most lakes during low-light periods.

Until next time keep fish’n and, as always, take a little time to enjoy our great Minnesota outdoors.

Remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers throughout the year.