Hermit Lake
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Hermit Lake Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Texas Rigs (Worming)
Structure
Laydowns
Forage
Minnows
Species
Panfish / BluegillSeason
Fall
Technique
Inline Spinners
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Minnows
Made a quick shore stop as the open water season was coming to an end. Fan cast the area with a Mepps/minnow inline spinner over submerged vegetation that blankets the bottom of many ponds around here. Caught one small perch and the pickerel shown in the photo. Nothing fantastic but this was the second to last shore outing for the season so it worked for me :)
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Crankbaits 0-6'
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Minnows
Connected with nine 16" to 19.5" largemouth bass either holding at the edge of isolated pad patches or in the tops of grass beds with 3' to 5' of open water above the grass. The majority of the bass attached the blue gill patterned square bill worked along the edge of the pads or over the tops of the grass beds. Two of the larger bass however fell prey to a wacky-rigged Senko worked with a lift/drop retrieve around the pad patches. Great way to spend part of a summer day!
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Wacky Rigs
Structure
Lily Pads
Forage
Minnows
Quick shore stop towards end of the spawn. Worked weighted wacky-rigged senko along edges of pad patches and flooded shoreline brush. After catching a few 11" to 14" bass, cast senko to corner where pad patch intersected with flooded shoreline brush. After a tense struggle to clear the big gal in the picture from cover, finally landed, weighed and released the bass watching her head back toward the same spot. Pretty nice 45 minute fishing trip!
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Stumps
Forage
Minnows
Early fall kayak trip where I found bass relating to submerged stumps & vegetation or flooded shoreline brush. Pitched finesse jig n pig to target most fish hit on initial fall or first hop away from cover. Biggest bass of day (picture) took jig just as it hit the water for a topwater-like hit. Great fall day on the water in a waning open water season.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Wacky Rigs
Structure
Stumps
Forage
Minnows
Hit several spots from shore targeting stumps, lay-downs and over-hanging brush with wacky rigged 5" red shad senko. Cast senko as close to cover as possible and let the bait "dead-stick" for 5-10 seconds. Work bait back using a slow pulse/drag retrieve, dead-sticking again when contacting subsurface wood or weeds. Made several casts to each visible piece of cover before moving to next one. Caught several decent bass (biggest was 3.25 lbs) and two pickerel on a cool, overcast morning.
Species
CrappieSeason
Summer
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Brush Piles
Forage
Minnows
Great morning with lots of hot action catching crappie and other panfish on ultralight gear. Crappie were holding on small brush piles in 6 to 8 feet of water. Once brush pile was located, made cast beyond the pile and retrieved jigs over and through outer branches. As long as cast line allowed jig to come across brush, it was easy to catch 10 or more crappie from each pile. Other panfish and perch were caught by working jigs along and around weedbeds. It was a great day to be out with our grandson; enjoying the day and catching fish...
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Lily Pads
Forage
Minnows
After striking out working shoreline cover, started working isolated offshore lily pad and submerged weed patches in 4' to 8' of water. Made short casts to points and cuts around patch with 5" single tail grub rigged on 1/16 to 1/8 oz weedless jig head (lighter when calm, heavier in wind) feeding line as grub fell keeping presentation as vertical as possible. Most bass would take bait within first few feet of fall. Caught a number of bass in a couple hours fishing, the best five ranging from 2.75 to 5.3 lbs. One of my best outings on Hermit using a non-typical, finesse presentation on a lake loaded with a variety of cover.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Texas Rigs (Worming)
Structure
Laydowns
Forage
Minnows
First trip in the kayak this year. Connected with this nice 4 lber after skipping a soft stick bait under an overhanging branch. Luckily managed to keep her from wrapping around a nearby stump. Unfortunately I went for a swim a few casts later when a 12” bass hit; lost that fish & saved all but a pack of hooks, whew ... also lesson learned re: PFD
