Good morning, weather will be great this weekend and now it looks like there are no chances of rain until the 4th. Time will tell if it hampers fireworks shows or not….While that rain early in the week helped get everything green again, it didn’t significantly help the lakes. I have heard the water came up a few inches or so. I have not been told of any issues at the boat ramps so I think everything is good there. Water temps are still holding in the mid to upper 70s right now. Fishing has been tough this past week as most anglers are struggling to find some species of fish. The panfish bite continues to be hot and it sounds like all species of bass have still been very active.
Musky–The musky bite has been ok with anglers seeing a good amount of fish but not connecting on a lot of them. I am also hearing that fish have been up shallow as of late. Small fast moving baits seem to be getting the most looks and catches right now. If you “raise” a fish early in the day on a fast moving bait but they don’ts commit, keep a mental note and come back to that area during a peak time (moon rise, set, overhead, underfoot, dusk) and fish that same bait or slow it down and hang a bait like a glider or jerkbait in its face! Topwaters are an excellent choice in that dusk/twilight time as you can hear where your bait is to know how close you are to the boat and is a good reference for hook sets if you get a strike.
Northern pike–The pike still seem to be eating everything as I have had walleye anglers telling me they are catching them on jig/leech or crawler or minnow set ups. Bass anglers are also catching fish on everything from top water frogs to spinner baits. Look for fish in shallow bays with weeds.
Walleye–The walleye bite has slowed considerably (at least by us) with anglers struggling to find fish. On some lakes I am hearing to continue to fish the deep weed edges while on others anglers are finding fish in 20-25 FOW. It sounds like finesse presentations are doing better than aggressive ones.
Largemouth bass–The largemouth bite continues to be strong with anglers catching bass on everything from frogs to spinners to panfish set ups with just a hook and a nightcrawler. Fish are up shallow and in thick cover such as lily pads, pockets of milfoil, and cabbage.
Smallmouth bass–The smallmouth bite has been good too, and anglers seem to still be finding fish shallow on sandy bottom. Ned rigs and plastic worms are producing right now.
Crappie–The crappie have kind of scattered and some anglers are finding fish relating to the basin while others are finding the occasional slab while working through weed beds. Crappie minnows, gulp and small plastic grubs seem to be doing well catching crappie right now.
Bluegill/perch–Both of these panfish are in shallow water and the bite has been good. A friend and myself caught a couple of dinks trolling for walleye last weekend and I have had many anglers in the bait shop telling me perch are stealing their small leeches while fishing for other species. Bluegill are being caught mostly on leaf worms, waxies and crawlers on bare hooks or jigs under a bobber.
Have a safe and fun 4th of July and we will talk soon!
Greg