The Feast Continues
It still felt like summer this week. The only thing missing was the wind. The tree pollen on the lake was incredible. I have never seen clouds of pollen blow off the trees. It looked like smoke from a fire.
Surface temps are in the mid-60s across the lake and numerous areas have already reached the low 70s. Many walleyes have skipped the traditional early spring spots and moved directly on to the main lake. It feels like we are fishing mid to late June conditions.
The walleye volume picked up this week with guides sheets averaging 30 over 18 in. per day. For the week, we caught and released 76 walleyes over 27 in., including 23 – 28s, 5 – 29s, 1 – 30, and 1 – 31. It was an even split between dragging jigs in 8 – 12 ft. vs. pitching jigs shallow. Most walleyes were caught with minnows, but plastics are beginning to produce as well. The guides tend to select the smaller profile plastics in 3 – 4 in. size this time of year.
There are still a few pike way back in the shallow water spawning bays, but the really big girls have hit the road. Most big pike were targeted, but there were quite a few caught as incidentals while walleye fishing. Big spoons were always the number one choice. For the week, we caught and released 47 pike over 37 in., including 8 – 38s, 8 – 39s, 7 – 40s, 5 – 41s, 1 – 42, 1 – 43, and 1 – 44.
The unseasonably warm conditions sent some of the smallmouth bass shallow. Only about 20% of the traditional spring bass spots are holding fish. Most bass were caught between 2 – 8 ft. Many were caught while walleye fishing, but there were several groups that targeted them this week. Tubes were by far the most productive. For the week, we caught and released 27 bass over 19 in., with 5 over 20.
The lack of wind did make the search for fish a challenge. There were very few spots that produced consistent volume for an extended period. The guides worked hard and continued to experiment with different locations, depths, speeds, and presentations. To put together a successful day, you generally had to find at least 4 or 5 different bites.
