Hey gang,
I was "professoring" a good chunk of this past week, so I wasn't out as much as I have been...so grain of salt on this report which is assembled from my usual sources, but lacks some my usual contributions/observations. When assembling this information, I just like to be up front about what you're seeing.
It sounds like dishing has been hit or miss the last week as fish have been feeding during blocks of time each day. If you're on them when they feed, the fishing has been good, but this run of unstable weather has made them very hard to pattern. A glance through my fishing logs suggests that this (unstable weather fishing pattern) is actually pretty common for late June.
Right now most lakes are in the mid to high 70s, but the rains this week have made it a crapshoot. Areas where there's drainage into the lakes (springs, creeks, river channels) may be on the cooler side. Weed growth varies from lake to lake, but is about average for this point in the year. (It really caught up during that sunny/hot weather spree we had about 10-12 days ago.)
A few of the lakes with muddy/silted areas are starting to see a significant algae bloom. Check out this Blogpost from UW-Madison on the blue-green algae bloom on Mendota.
Bass: Fish are setting up on summer patterns, with lots of areas and techniques producing. On cloudy days when its not raining cats and dogs, topwater and crankbaits are catching lots of fish over open water areas, especially on isolated weed patches on the mid-depth flats in 6-12 feet of water. On sunny days, especially those with lots of wind, fish are tighter to cover or using shallow rock bars in 3-8 feet of water. When there's steady wind, drifting and casting grubs/jigworms on the flats can really produce. When the wind lies down, texas rigs or jig/chunk combos fished along the transitions of points will put fish in the boat. The action lakes are all rolling right now (Ashippun, Beaver, Silver, Moose, School Section) and the lakes with better fish (Okauchee, Pewaukee, Nag, North and Oconomowoc) have been steady. Don't be afraid to slow down and really fish an area through to find a little better success. Note: Everything I heard this week was largemouth...nothing on the smallies, at all.
Pike fishing has been steady, with a fair number of quality fish coming in during the unstable weather. (Again, something the log shows over the years) The number one way to catch bigger pike right now is a small sucker or medium to large shiner (biggest ones you can find, but keep them cool) on a slip sinker rig with a flourocarbon leader. Drift along the deeper edges of weeds and you'll find some fish. Lipless crankbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits and spinner baits are also producing, especially in the shallow water, with prop-baits producing before first light or after dark.
Musky fishing continues to be slower than average for this time of year. My guess is that the fish are starting to set up out deep and that people just haven't gotten on them. Gliders and bucktails seem to be producing the most follows, but converting fish has been difficult. Topwater produced a few fish when the moon was down during low light conditions, but the largest fish I heard a personal report on this week was 38".
Walleye fishing has much better on the windy days or after dark. Fish are still using shallow weeds and weed edges. If you can find fish on a weed edge in 15-18 FOW, work it, multiple ways. Jigging with live bait or drifting with lindy rigs/ spinner harnesses has been productive, but in low light conditions, minnow baits in the weed tops has produced. Casting with grubs and ringworms put some fish in the boat for a few folks this week, but mainly in areas with sand adjacent to current.
Bluegills are almost done spawning on most area lakes. If you're looking for action, a few areas of beds can still be found in the shallows, but if you want some bigger fish, move out to 9-15 feet of water and look for beds in gravel and sandy areas. Vertical fishing with a split shot and live bait rig works great, as does pulling a 1/8 ounce lindy rig with a short leader through likely areas. (Try panfish leaches or leafworms). A few fish are starting to school up in deeper water, and you can find them off mainlake points, suspended 12-18 feet down over much deeper (30-50 FOW)
Trout- I was surprised to get a report on stocked trout from one of my contacts, as the bulk of the fish are usually fished out by this point in the season. The information, which came in ahead of the storms on Thursday suggested there still lots of fish in a couple of the local lakes, and that with the recent bug hatches, those fish were really active along the depth transitions.
Good Luck,
CT
Friday, June 23, 2017
Monday, June 19, 2017
Fishing Report 6-19-17
Hey gang,
I'm on my way to the Twin Cities to do some professor-ing things this week, but I'll be back on the water by Friday. Around the area conditions are starting to stabilize into summer patterns. Water temps are in the mid 70's to low 80's on most area lakes. Water is still very high, and areas with current can have some fast moving water in them.
Panfish are close to done spawning on most of the lakes. You may find some stragglers here and there, but the bulk of the nesting activity is over and there's lots of freshy hatched fry swimming around. The next week will be transition time and you should start looking for (keeper) panfish suspending off the ends of points or along the deep weedlines. 12 feet down over 15-22 FOW is a good starting point. I like to fish vertically for these fish, although slip bobbers can really produce. If you're on fish, but they're running small, try getting you bait a foot-18 inches deeper...the bigger fish are traditionally at the bottom of the school.
Largemouth Bass fishing has been about average. The shallow fish are moving into traditional spots: slop, docks and shallow rockbars and the larger fish are recovered from the spawn. On bright sunny days, fish tight to cover...flipping into weed pockets, or texas rigs on deep weed edges can really produce. Isolated patches of weeds along depth transtions are still holding lots of fish. On the windy days, try crankbaits or spinner baits on edges or transition areas in 8-12 or 12-15 FOW. Downsizing is still a solid bet as are natural colors (browns, pumpkins and greens) for your plastics.
Smallmouth are biting, but the bite seems a little inconsistent by most reports. Some days you can knock them dead, some days they have been a little scarce. Stick to the plan...look for them on top of mainlake structure and points early and late, and look for them in deeper water during the main part of the day. Grubs, jigworms and tubes...but don't overlook dropshotting along the edges of sand/rock transitions in 8-12 FOW.
Northern Pike continue to bite. Shallow fish are actively chasing buzzbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits, especially on the shallow-flat areas with scattered weeds. Out deep, slip-sinker rigs with small suckers or the biggest shiners have been red hot for larger fish. If you want action, look for scattered weed clumps on flat areas in the shallows...out deep you'll need to find some baitfish near a weed edge or hump to have consistent success.
Walleye fishing has slowed down as the fish have starting moving out deeper. If you've been catching eyes at one depth, look for them in the same areas but at the next major depth contour. Deep weeds seem to be key, but a few people have been catching them off of deeper sand. On the cloudy, cooler days, rip-jigging, lindy/split shot rigs or slip bobbers can catch some out of weeds in 8-12 FOW.
Musky fishing has been pretty good. Bucktails are catching/raising some decent fish along mid-depth weed breaks while crankbaits/jerkbaits are raising some fish off the first deep break. Topwater is turning on, especially during low light periods and when the moon is down. Look for fish around shallow rocks that have an solid inside weed transition immediately adjacent to it.
Talk to you next weekend. Be safe and catch some fish this week!
Cheers,
CT
I'm on my way to the Twin Cities to do some professor-ing things this week, but I'll be back on the water by Friday. Around the area conditions are starting to stabilize into summer patterns. Water temps are in the mid 70's to low 80's on most area lakes. Water is still very high, and areas with current can have some fast moving water in them.
Panfish are close to done spawning on most of the lakes. You may find some stragglers here and there, but the bulk of the nesting activity is over and there's lots of freshy hatched fry swimming around. The next week will be transition time and you should start looking for (keeper) panfish suspending off the ends of points or along the deep weedlines. 12 feet down over 15-22 FOW is a good starting point. I like to fish vertically for these fish, although slip bobbers can really produce. If you're on fish, but they're running small, try getting you bait a foot-18 inches deeper...the bigger fish are traditionally at the bottom of the school.
Largemouth Bass fishing has been about average. The shallow fish are moving into traditional spots: slop, docks and shallow rockbars and the larger fish are recovered from the spawn. On bright sunny days, fish tight to cover...flipping into weed pockets, or texas rigs on deep weed edges can really produce. Isolated patches of weeds along depth transtions are still holding lots of fish. On the windy days, try crankbaits or spinner baits on edges or transition areas in 8-12 or 12-15 FOW. Downsizing is still a solid bet as are natural colors (browns, pumpkins and greens) for your plastics.
Smallmouth are biting, but the bite seems a little inconsistent by most reports. Some days you can knock them dead, some days they have been a little scarce. Stick to the plan...look for them on top of mainlake structure and points early and late, and look for them in deeper water during the main part of the day. Grubs, jigworms and tubes...but don't overlook dropshotting along the edges of sand/rock transitions in 8-12 FOW.
Northern Pike continue to bite. Shallow fish are actively chasing buzzbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits, especially on the shallow-flat areas with scattered weeds. Out deep, slip-sinker rigs with small suckers or the biggest shiners have been red hot for larger fish. If you want action, look for scattered weed clumps on flat areas in the shallows...out deep you'll need to find some baitfish near a weed edge or hump to have consistent success.
Walleye fishing has slowed down as the fish have starting moving out deeper. If you've been catching eyes at one depth, look for them in the same areas but at the next major depth contour. Deep weeds seem to be key, but a few people have been catching them off of deeper sand. On the cloudy, cooler days, rip-jigging, lindy/split shot rigs or slip bobbers can catch some out of weeds in 8-12 FOW.
Musky fishing has been pretty good. Bucktails are catching/raising some decent fish along mid-depth weed breaks while crankbaits/jerkbaits are raising some fish off the first deep break. Topwater is turning on, especially during low light periods and when the moon is down. Look for fish around shallow rocks that have an solid inside weed transition immediately adjacent to it.
Talk to you next weekend. Be safe and catch some fish this week!
Cheers,
CT
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