Good morning, a little bit of rain last week and a few pockets of showers by the bait shop yesterday have helped a little bit to bring the water level back up. I am hearing we have gained a couple of inches, but most lakes are down about 18″ from where they should be. It appears the only chance of rain this week is today at 50%, and then clear hot conditions until next weekend. The hot stable weather should really help fishing pick up and bring water temps back up a bit which are sitting right around the 70 degree mark right now.
Musky–A few more musky added to the board this week, and a healthy 48″ caught on a………beetle spin. Extra small baits seem to really be producing this year, so mix it up musky fishing if things aren’t working with standard sized musky stuff. Anglers can find fish in and around weed beds and any kind of structure that has shallow water and weeds close by.
Northern pike–A few pike reports this week as well, mostly while musky fishing and mostly on small bucktails. Look for pike in the 6-10 FOW range and use bucktails, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits to find fish.
Walleye–I was able to get some insight on a walleye bite this week and without giving up too much, these anglers were finding fish on deep weed edges with subtle approaches such as lindy rigs, crawler harnesses, and bottom bouncers to keep baits in the strike zone. Deep is relative from lake to lake but this should get anglers a good starting point.
Largemouth bass–LMB are still hammering top water baits such as buzzbaits and frogs. Bass are hanging around both emergent and submergent weeds so look for fish there and up on shallow sandy shorelines. If fishing deeper water for bass, small cranks and spinnerbaits seem to be working well.
Smallmouth bass–Anglers are still catching some nice smallies on leeches while walleye fishing so look for fish in those same areas. As I posted last week, ned rigs, drop shots and finesse baits are working as well.
Crappie–Anglers are finding crappie on deep weed edges and on offshore structures such as cribs. It sounds like minnows are the best choice for bait, with small jig/plastic combos also working.
Bluegill/Perch–It sounds like anglers are finding some bigger gills as of late and with this hotter stable weather coming in the panfish bite should continue to be good. Most fish are being caught off of the docks with chunks of nightcrawlers on small jigs/hooks.
Fishing is still not great, but getting better and the weather should help. If the fishing sucks, you can always go into town and check out the Lumberjack World Championships which are going on this weekend! Whatever you do, have a great weekend and we will talk soon.
Greg