Northwoods Bass Fishing Adventures

08/27/2026

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08/26/2026

SMALLMOUTH GRIND-OUTS -

In this August 2026 edition of Bass Class, we take a look at unique crankbait and chatterbait programs we have for triggering smallmouths on a tough summer bite.

Conditions will tell you when to grind smallmouths like this, and the fish will tell you also. So far, we’ve experienced great fishing on warm unseasonable days with strong winds, and on gloomy coldfront days with wind. Wind has been a common theme. Benefiting the crankbait and chatterbait programs are the vibration both lures generate, which gets smallmouths going. They’re easily detectable and trackable for fish in wind and under any light level, and that’s why they engage smallmouths so well.

The grinding game is to annoy, aggravate, and get smallmouths pi**ed off to strike. The crankbait and chatterbait are unparalleled tools for triggering structure-oriented smallmouths who are on a tough summer bite.

READ STORY HERE - https://www.northwoodsbass.com/smallmouth-grind-outs/

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08/25/2026

Here’s a sampling of how dry we are and how this year’s drought is affecting seepage lakes.

Backyard is about 4 to 5 feet down and I haven’t seen it this low since 2006.

During the high water years we had (2013-2024’ish) everything near shore - wood, plants, brush - here became submerged.

An influx of fertility and nutrients gave the lake life. The pets fed, grew, and spawned with proficiency.

During the high water years I kept dropping limbs and branches left behind from ice storms and spring cleanups. My brush piles for pets. During these years we also had an explosion in emergent vegetation - pads.

Bass, crappies, bluegills, pike each made this littoral zone habitat their home and became super important for spawning and the awesome year classes we had.

And now with the low water, everything will dry out and retreat out to the open. Spawning might suffer some. The lake might not produce like it recently did. Hopefully this doesn’t last too long but it probably will. Last drought cycle went for about 10 years.

Haven’t been around much this year to check out other lakes but know several other seepage lakes are starting to look like this too. Might be challenging getting a boat into some of them.

All that elite shoreline cover and habitat of these lakes will be gone.

www.northwoodsbass.com

08/24/2026

In my former life I wouldn’t have bothered to leisure fish with the north winds and strange weekend we had. But when I got the weekend off I gotta go when I can.

Not much to talk about. Not liking the low water and severe drought either. Seepage lakes were last low like this in 2006 and that prior drought cycle lasted to 2011.

Anyways, did catch both bass species. Strikes and bites very light and lethargic, unusual for an August weather change. Total grind.

Water temp still very warm. 73-74. I’m used to seeing a 67-70 range for end of August. Got a ways to go.

Caught fish on swim jig to lipless cranks, dead sticking tubes, and drop shotting with the FFS (the latter is for desperate times).

Some largemouths up shallow, others 10-15’, and every smallmouth this weekend between 15-20’

Thought fishing w**d choked and bloomy water would be the solution on largemouths. And that visiting an aquarium lake on smallmouths and largemouths would have saved the weekend. Neither was a winner.

More fishing is in the calendar these next coming weeks and few months.

Lots of new stories now posted on the website, by the way. Next newsletter rolls out this week. Maybe tomorrow.

www.northwoodsbass.com

08/18/2026

I find it extremely unfortunate that Facebook now restricts linking on pages, and censors pages from
directing readers to their own external websites.

After reaching a 2 per month quota, I can no longer share links on this page all because of this new bu****it.

No, not paying for a new service to have my website’s links be shared.

If you visit this page frequently and visit website frequently, just be sure to bookmark my site URL and access it weekly to check in on recent developments

This suppression and restricting is beyond infuriating for the small business owner and persons relying on web traffic to survive.

🖕you Meta and Mr. Zuckerberg.

08/18/2026

Baby bass is helping dad write new stories this week, now available to digital subscribers at Northwoods Bass website.

Baby bass is also 9 months old now 🤯

Dad needs to fish again also, but our office time together and childcare is way more important.

08/17/2026

SMALLMOUTHS IN DARK WATER LAKES -

Everything that we’ve been taught about smallmouth bass habitats and fishing likely hasn’t included a complete lesson plan on water clarity, taking advantage of those clarities, and the adaptability and tolerance smallmouths can have on underwater visibility.

Dark water lakes are the few remaining untapped Northwoods smallmouth fisheries. Big fish thrive and hide in concealment beneath the surface, and few anglers are fishing for them compared to everywhere else.

The dark water is such a turnoff to smallmouth snobs that they wouldn’t dare visit them. But we are.

These dark brown, tannin-stained lakes hold surprisingly robust populations of trophy smallmouth bass and other gamefish species. Though the dark water deters anglers, stained northern natural lakes and low-land flowages protect smallmouths from heavy sun pe*******on and excessive fishing pressure, concealing their exceptional trophy bass potential and other hidden lake secrets.

Elite genetics, dark water to hide the fish, concealment from prey, and high rusty crayfish densities are the ingredients to these fisheries.

In this August 2026 Bass Class we profile and discuss them, and how to fish them - commonly consisting of tannic colored flowages and drainage lakes.

A recent filming day with Midwest Outdoors sent us to a dark water lake where we got to do some new magic tricks.

Links to story and video below -

READ ENTIRE STORY - https://www.northwoodsbass.com/dark-water-smallmouths/

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08/17/2026

August 2026 Fishing Updates -

1) August Newsletter rolls out next week.
2) I'm going fishing later this week.
3) August Bass Class and articles are being published to website right now and throughout this week.
4) I have a couple other surprises incoming but I'll wait on those until we get a little closer to Labor Day.

Northwoods Bass Fishing Adventures, LLC is Wisconsin's top trophy producing bass fishing guide service and bass fishing online informational resource.

08/14/2026

I love Aquatic biologist 🍻

“It swam away just fine.”

That does not mean the fish survived.

Fisheries biologists have studied delayed mortality after bass tournaments for decades. A bass can swim away from the release site and still die hours or days later from the cumulative effects of capture, handling, livewell confinement, weigh-in stress, and temperature.

One review of 130 bass tournaments found delayed mortality averaged 20.9% in the 1980s and 23.3% in the 1990s—far higher than the mortality observed at weigh-in. The author concluded that initial mortality alone provides no indication of total tournament mortality.

A 2019 mark-recapture study found tournament-caught largemouth bass had reduced survival for several days after release, with mortality increasing as water temperature and the number of previous tournament captures increased.

So “I watched it swim away” only proves one thing:

It was alive when you released it.

It does not prove it survived.

Studies:

• Wilde, G.R. 1998. Tournament-associated Mortality in Black Bass. Fisheries 23(10):12–22.

• Sylvia, A. & Weber, M.J. 2019. Use of a mark-recapture model to evaluate largemouth bass delayed tournament mortality. Fisheries Research 219:105335.

• Edwards et al. 2004. Factors Related to Mortality of Black Bass Caught during Small Club Tournaments in Connecticut. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 24:801–810.

• Mortality of Largemouth Bass during Catch-and-Release Tournaments in a Puerto Rico Reservoir. 2001. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 21:834–842. Delayed mortality averaged 43%, or 36% after adjustment for control mortality.

08/14/2026

FISH CATCHERS -

In this summer edition of Bass Class, we examine several lure categories and specific baits that continue to catch smallmouths and withstand the test of fishing pressure and lure conditioning - baits that are boat favorites.

Smallmouth bass fishing has changed immensely over the past decade. With the drastic increase in angler interest, species popularity, and fishing pressure we have today, smallmouths across the continent have learned to adapt to the increase of lines in the water. But their feeding has changed and been impacted as a result.

Nearly every serious smallmouth angler’s boat is stocked with a tackle shop of hard baits and soft plastics. And no matter what gets thrown, the smallmouths they’ve got pinpointed within a cast’s range of the boat won’t budge. How else can you tell fish have been negatively conditioned by today’s fishing pressure and an infinity of lures when they’re not getting engaged by what’s being thrown?

The most interesting case of lure conditioning is exemplified with hard baits – pretty much everything with a treble hook. The more hooks a hard bait contains, the worsened the conditioning is in my observations of watching smallmouths react to them.

And now with other bass rigs sharing the water with us daily, they too are armed with an arsenal of suspending jerkbaits including designs and colorways that are even more realistic when giving smallmouths an underwater illusion. And guess what, those same smallmouths they’re contacting are ignoring these baits too. Evidence is mounting that smallmouths learn to avoid anglers and boats altogether, and even specific lures if they’ve seen too much of them.

Intense fishing pressure has changed smallmouth behavior, as these fish are no longer curious and social. Instead, they’re becoming anti-social.

Catch rates with suspending jerkbaits have drastically nosedived. There was a time when I could go to any trophy smallmouth fishery in Vilas County to catch a handful of 20’s on a variety of natural minnow patterned suspending jerkbaits. Those days are of the past. Smallmouths have now touched and seen far too many treble hooks over their lifetimes.

In midst of conditioning and smallmouths adjusting their feeding preferences and interests because of it, a selection of lures has seemingly withstood the test of time and smallmouths almost never grow conditioned to them.

[Disclaimer - This is a very long read]

CONTINUE READING STORY - https://www.northwoodsbass.com/fish-catchers/

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