Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, looks to be a beautiful Mothers Day (shout out to all the mom’s out there!) weekend with temps in the upper 60s today and 75ish tomorrow! We did have some storms roll through this past week that brought some good rain. Lake levels are pretty good everywhere and water temps I am hearing are anywhere from the upper 50s to low 60s. Fishing has been a mixed bag with some anglers doing well and finding fish and others finding the bite a bit tougher.
Walleye–I am getting some very mixed reports on the walleye bite. Some anglers are finding them on spots that are typical of the deep weed edge 8-12 FOW, while others have said they are finding some in 20+ FOW. I have also had an angler that caught a 25″+ fish off the dock right at dusk on a Rapala. Aside from baits like Rapalas or other small crank baits, fathead minnows on jigs seem to be producing right now. As the water temps continue to warm up the leech bite should start to heat up.
Northern PIke–The pike bite has been good, lots of anglers that are using crank/twitch baits for walleye are finding hammer handle pike as well. Look for fish in and around established weed beds. Spinnerbaits and walleye suckers on jigs or under slip bobbers will produce pike as well.
LMB–Anglers have been doing well for bass, mostly on live bait using fathead minnows under bobbers or on jigs. Look for fish near shorelines or weed beds and work baits in 6-10 FOW.
SMB–I am not hearing much on a smallmouth bite, and honestly haven’t had many walleye anglers catching them mixed in with ‘eyes. My guess would be they are staging up on rocky points and may be in slightly deeper water since we have warmer than normal water temps for this time of year.
Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–I’m going to lump all of the panfish together as anglers seem to be finding all of the panfish up in shallow bays where the water is the warmest. Look for them in 4-8 FOW and use live bait right now. Crappie minnows will catch both crappie and nice perch, while crawlers and leaf worms should get some ‘gills to the boat.
Enjoy this weather before it gets too hot and we will talk soon!
Greg