Summer
The walleyes moved out to the main lake this week. Both sand and rock held fish, but the bite was better on sand. We experimented with speed, depths, and presentations like we always do. Plastics were more productive than live bait this week, though each had their place and time. When the wind died, we had better results with live bait. When there was some wind, plastics were key but not pulled as fast as we normally do. We often backtroll big plastics at 1 – 1.5 mph in the summer, but this past week .5 – 1.0 mph was significantly more effective.
For the week, we caught and released 61 walleyes over 27 in., including 11 – 28s, 5 – 29s, and 1 -30. Walleye volume was quieter on calm days and better when the wind blew. Guide sheets averaged 40 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day. The most common key depth range talked about at roundtable was 20 – 25 ft.
There was a limited amount of time spent chasing pike this past week. The results were mixed. For the week, we caught and released 9 pike over 37 in., including 1 – 38, 2 – 39s, and 1 – 40. Big spoons in the weeds were the ticket.
