Bass fishing on the Chippewa Flowage
By Drake R. Williams
The mighty Chippewa Flowage holds more than just muskies and walleyes. Ever since the world record musky was caught, bass fishing became less important to many anglers. I find, as a guide, that bass fishing is your best bet after a weather front moves through.
Just imagine, in the middle of the night you are awakened by thunder and lightning. The rain is hitting the cabin roof. You roll over and think major league case of lock-jaw on all fish after the storm. Next morning, you now have clear skies and low humidity. The barometric pressure rises and the wind shifts south to north and the air temperature drops. Now what do you do? Choose bass that day for your hunt. Bass are tough predators and resilient to changing weather. Bass can read these weather changes as a sign that feeding probably won’t be good for a while.
What can you do on the Chippewa Flowage or any other lake is look for the thickest vegetation available. Bass may be shallower than before or on deeper channels or bars. Next, downsize your lures during frontal conditions. I like using my (1/4 oz.) Willtail spinner bait. Using a 4-inch power bait worm works just as well. One visitor to the area caught a 50 1/2-inch musky while he was fishing for bass in 8 feet of water with a plastic worm. He was fishing in between fronts in the late afternoon casting in thick grass.
Another method would be casting into grass along the shoreline mid-day with the wind blowing into that particular bay. Baitfish will hold tight in areas like this. A 1/4-oz. spinner can produce some nice walleyes in this kind of bass area.
Fishing the Chippewa Flowage provides a great opportunity to appreciate the wildlife beauty. Do not overlook bass fishing. It’s fun and waiting for you to enjoy!
