Fishermen,

My group always goes in early June targeting bass and pike. This year's trip might have to be in mid to late June. Are we going to see a decline in the bass/northern fishing or will it feel the same?

Andy

I’m a firm believer that the first week of June is the best time of year for fishing in the Northland, but mid to late June should still be good!

Depends on how the spring weather goes. Mid-June can be perfect in a cold-spring year. I've spent the middle two weeks of June at Fall Lake the past several years. And last year was great. Last week of June, you will notice things slowing down.

I pretty much agree with walllee, but will add that even though your chances of bigger fish and some truly epic days are greater in early June, the weather and fishing is much more stable in mid/late June through mid/ late July, and the daytime bugs are usually a bit more tolerable. We often catch more fish on late June and July trips than we do in late May/early June trips. The weather cooperates more, and you can often get a pattern going that allows you to go out and slay them on a consistent daily basis. The catch is that you will catch fewer trophy smallmouth, lakers, and pike, and you will have to understand fishing offshore structure and deeper water. Fishing for large walleye as well as numbers of walleye can actually be better that time of year as they fatten up after spawning and get in to aggressive summer patterns. Smallmouth are usually much heavier prespawn, but you usually get little if any prespawn fishing for the others, it's just that large pike (over 36") and lakers scatter and can be difficult to find beyond early June. What makes up for the smallmouth being a bit lighter is how the warmer water wakes them up and makes for some awesome topwater action, especially morning and evenings, as well as giving them even more fighting ability (as if they needed any help). Go and enjoy learning to fish a different time of year, it can be amazing. Just don't expect to be able to just pound the bank unless little peanuts are all you want.

Each year is different enough that a week might matter, but it might not.
Probably not a huge difference between the mid, mid-late, mid-to-mid-late time frames.
I was reminded of
this

lundojam: "Each year is different enough that a week might matter, but it might not.
Probably not a huge difference between the mid, mid-late, mid-to-mid-late time frames.
I was reminded of
this "

This is what I was thinking. I have had crappy fishing on June 1 and great fishing on June 20, even though that’s not the “norm.”

Remember fish don’t have a calendar. They react to their environment. Water temps are the most important factor at this time of year in my opinion, and that’s not something you can predict based on the date alone.

I think the topwater smallie bite is better late June. The weather is also generally more stable and trustworthy.