Fishing Report 6-20-19

Conditions around the area have been challenging lots of people. The mix of unstable weather, low water temps and some windy conditions really slowed down fishing activity the last week. Sadly, it really was great week to be on the water.

Around the area, right now most lakes are in the mid 60's, and frankly that's fairly cold for mid-June. Weed growth varies from lake to lake, but is about average for this point in the year. Importantly, the cooler water temps have kept some of the baitfish from spawning/hatching out, and finding bait cam be really important to having solid success.

Bluegills are in an odd place. The water got up into the low 70's before the last run of fronts, but with the drop back, it has slowed spawning activity some. If you're looking for action, areas of beds can still be found in the shallows, but they've been heavily picked over on many lakes, so if you want some bigger fish, move out to 8-12 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/or slip sinker rig with a short leader through likely areas. (Try panfish leaches if you can find them, or plastics tipped with waxworms or leafworms.) If you can find fish on a sand flat, drifting through them can be really effective.

Bass are in what I can best describe as a post-spawn, but actively feeding pattern, with lots of areas and techniques producing. On cloudy days  topwater and crankbaits are catching lots of fish over open water areas, especially weed patches (look for milfoil beds especially) 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 sand and rock bars in 3-8 feet of water. Plastics, flipped, skipped or pitched are great ways to target these fish. Live bait on slip sinker rigs are catching some fish for anglers making solid drifts over productive areas. Fish were in both deep and crazy shallow water this week. Ned rigs continue to put fish in the boat for many people, but grubs, pre-rigged worms, texas rigs, jig and chunks and even skirted grubs are all producing. I caught some serious numbers and sized fish this week, but had to work for them to do so. Finesse is helping, but for the love of Pete, just try slowing down. The fish are where they should be, but you have to get a presentation into their narrow strike zone to get bit consistently.

Good rule of thumb: if you thinking you're going slow enough, that's still twice as fast as you should fish.


Pike fishing was fairly steady this week, but there were lots of undersized fish coming in. So Action good, results: limited. The best way to find pike has been to locate concentrations of baitfish, and then fish through those areas with a purpose. Active fish can come shallow, so look for shallow flats or weedy areas with easy access to deep water. The usual casting techniques will catch pike--spinners, lipless cranks, buzzbaits, spoons...but don't overlook a Husky Jerk, Shadow Rap, Floating Rapala or a reaper.

Walleye fishing has been better on the windy days. Fish on Lac Labelle, Oconomowoc, North and Fox Lake are using shallow weed edges but with the brighter sun days ahead, if you can find a weed edge in 15-18 FOW, sit on it. Jigging with live bait or drifting with lindy rigs/ spinner harnesses has been productive Trolling with Shad Raps/Flicker Shads is picking up, as is typical for this time of year. Find some fish.....there will be a pile of them close by, but don't expect to have long periods of activity. Caught some decent ones in the last week by really downsizing my rigs and jigs, but going bigger on the leeches.

Musky fishing continues to perplex people. The conditions seem awesome, but I heard lots of reports of blanks from people putting in some time.  Gliders and bucktails seem to be producing the most follows, but converting fish has been difficult, and most people are reporting mid to high 30'd fish are the ones they are seeing. I heard nothing good about topwaters this week, and I was told lots of guys struck out throwing rubber. Tough bite, but on the positive side I had two different people tell me they had raised fish at the ends of points (on two different lakes as well), but only on points that were shallow with sand and where gills were spawning nearby.