Good morning, looks like hotter stable weather starting today and lasting for the foreseeable future. Hopefully that will get some musky moving as the bite for them has still been pretty slow. Overall I am hearing of good fishing for everything else, and that is the nature of the beast with musky fishing so it shouldn’t really surprise anyone!! Here is this weeks rundown….
Musky–Tough bite on the musky fishing so far this year, but warmer stable weather should get fishing moving in the right direction. All of the fish on the board here have been caught on bass/walleye sized baits both live and artificial. Fish should still be in and around shallower structure and small inline spinners are a great way to find active fish. If fish are following but not committing to faster baits, slow it down and size it down. Glide baits, dive and risers such as a suick can be great to tempt negative/neutral fish into eating.
Northern pike–The pike bite has been good, with lots of reports of catching pike while walleye/bass/crappie fishing. Look for fish in and around weed beds, points, bars and anywhere you are finding baitfish. Spinner baits, crankbaits, and inline spinners all work great for catching northern pike.
Walleye–The walleye bite has been good all spring and continues to be. Lots of fish being caught with leeches on plain hooks or small jig heads underneath slip bobbers. Walleye are relating to the deeper weed edges in the lakes in our area.
Largemouth bass–The largemouth bite has also been good thus far. People finding fish in and around weed beds, shorelines with weeds/structure close, and kind of all over in the water column. Most catches are still on live bait, mainly fatheads underneath bobbers while walleye fishing, with a fair amount getting caught on crawlers underneath bobbers as well.
Smallmouth bass–The smallie bite has been solid so far, with good size fish being caught and good numbers being caught also. Most bites are coming on live bait such as leeches/fatheads under slip bobbers in and around structure. Downed trees and wood has been holding fish is what I am told.
Crappie–Crappie are starting to scatter a bit and the bite has slowed down, but good fish are there if you can find them. Live bait (crappie minnows) is still the number one choice for targeting crappie, but you may have to search for them a bit to get on a good bite. Crappie are using the deeper weed edges as they are starting to transition to their deeper water basins for summer.
Bluegill/Perch–Not a whole lot to report on the bluegill/perch bite…..Pretty standard stuff as far as targeting them goes, a plain hook under a bobber with a good chunk of nightcrawler will always catch fish. Docks, sandy shores, and shallow weed edges will hold bluegill/perch all year long.
I hope everyone enjoys the nice weekend, fair temps and no rain should make for a good one!!
Greg