Steamboat Lake
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Steamboat Lake Fishing Reports
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Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Swim Jigs
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Topwater Prop
Structure
Lily Pads
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Frogs/Toads
Structure
Lily Pads
Steamboat is directly connected to Leech lake so they fish quite similar. Look for deviations in the shoreline vegetation. Targeting the bass that live here with frogs and Texas rigs will bring you success.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Buzzbaits
Structure
Lily Pads
Water Temperature
77°
Started out the day throwing a swim jig around the pencil reeds and ended up catching a few nice bass. The submerged vegetation in the pencil reeds made it tough to get good paths for the swim jig without fouling up the lure. I got to a stretch where it was a little more open and had some good Lilly pads. Broke out the top water buzzbait in black and they were crushing it up shallow! Tons of blow ups and several big fish! I would try to cast to the first row of Lilly pads and drag it right off and they hit within the first 5 feet of retrieval. Overall a really fun topwater day!
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Swim Jigs
Structure
Reeds
Forage
Crawfish
I started off the day up shallow casting a swim jig in and around the reeds. It produced a good number of fish and they were all good sized fish as well. 3/8oz dirty jigs swim jig paired with a missile baits d bomb seems to be a great producer on the lake year round. Good for at least a few bites up shallow. The bite slowed down as I progressed down the shoreline. I moved out deeper around 10 and threw a Texas rig culprit worm on with a 1/2oz bullet weight. I picked up a few more fish off a good stretch of weed line in about 10-12ft of water. Nothing big was biting so I decided to finish off hitting the lilly pads. Fished the pads for about an hour and got a lot of strikes but only landed a couple fish. I don’t love fishing hollow body frogs since I’ve had hit or miss experiences with hook up ratios on them. Also since they are so expensive and the small pike that dominate the lake have a bad habit of tearing apart your frog as soon as they can I now rig up a Zman frog on a single worm hook. This setup lasts much longer even when the pike hit your able to use the plastic much longer and it is a much more economical bait to throw in areas where pike like to destroy lures. I also feel like the hook up ratio is better with the single hook rigged Texas style just below the skin of the bait.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Swim Jigs
Structure
Reeds
Forage
Crawfish
great weekend out on the lake. I was able to connect with a couple nice sized largemouth. The weather really cooperated this weekend which was a nice change of pace from the usual heavy winds we get. I was throwing a swim jig with a paddle tail, and a creature style trailer up into the reeds and caught around 15 bass in the morning time. best way to catch them was to find alley ways and pockets in the reeds to cast the jig into then let it sink a bit before starting the retrieve. They seemed to be relating to the deeper reed areas with a dark harder bottom. The reed areas with thick heavy weeds protruding from the bottom did not produce many fish at all. There is getting to be a lot of floating weed debris up shallow which can get annoying and frustrating when making casts. I contemplated moving out deeper and throwing a Texas rig or a crankbait, but the bite turned on once I got started down the shoreline, so I kept with the swim jig presentation. I definitely love catching them up shallow but as the months carry on deeper into July it is probably worthwhile to check out the deeper areas that tend to hold more fish.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Swim Jigs
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Crawfish
I have a cabin on the north side of the lake. I will typically throw a swim jig with a creature trailer deep into bulrushes on the shore line to catch big largemouth. Even in the summer I have found this tactic to be effective. Even though you may be able to catch more bass on the weed lines in around 13 feet of water the big bass remain up shallow since there is an abundance of forage in the bulrushes all summer. crawfish and bluegill patterns seem to produce the most fish. I have found the dirty jigs swim jig to be the best option for hooking into big bass and they are built to outlast other jigs. It is essential to have strong line, a sharp hook, and a good weed guard for this style of fishing. I will also fish a fairly stout rod to ensure strong hook sets and the ability to get the fish out of heavy cover.
