As the water temps finally dip into the mid 70’s, the bucktails and top water baits are ready to go! Kinkaid Lake saw some low temps settle into Southern Illinois, but then came another round of 90 degree days.

Well, with the colder nights it’s now game on! Fish are spread out over the main basin and north end, but we have seen a decent gizzard Shad migration into the creek mouths and timbered coves. This is the time of year to target extremely shallow fish at first light. The weed growth is still strong and fish are set up to ambush the Shad schools swirling though the water column.

As mid day approaches, deeper cranks will be the ticket. If the coves go dormant, open water trolling can still be productive as there are some suspended piggies that have not seen baits in a couple months. Hope to see you on the water this fall!