Larry:
First of all, thanks for maintaining the forums despite the nuisances that you encoutered. I appreciate it.
Here's my question: I can't figure out how to find northern pike in the perch/bluegill forage lakes near my home in south central Minnesota. Although I've fished a lot, I have never fished much in October or November because I've preferred hunting. Now I want to figure out how to fish at this time. Can you help me find places worth looking for Northerns?
The typical lake I am fishing is like this:
1) 45 degrees north latitude
2) Amoeba-shaped glacier-formed bowl lakes with little structure except weeds. Some have bays and marshes. Sand/muck bottoms prevail. Rocks are rare.
3) Typical maximum depth about 25 feet
4) No sharp dropoffs or breaks
5) Lots of bluegills and perch under 7"
Ordinarily good fishing for Northerns among the weeds during spring and summer
9) Weeds are dead and rotting by mid-October, except a few, which are mixed in with rotting weeds. No sign of living weed colonies. Typical weeds are coontail, milfoil, and various cabbage.
10) Extensive shallows, with enough deep water to prevent winterkill.
11) Rushes in shallow water of 3 feet or less
12) Water surface temp seems uniformly in low 40's everywhere in lakes.
I have no trouble finding fish until the weeds start dying off, and then I lose them. The weeds die off at about the same time there's a dramatic drop in water temperature.
Thank you for your time.