Hot days, fires in the region but not near us, and Hazy smoke:
We began the week with some raging hot weather. High temperatures were over 100 degrees for several days and the nights did not cool down. The hot weather had more of an effect on the fishermen than it did on the fish.
The extreme heat and windy conditions fed and spread many of the forest fires to the East of us. We have had some showers in the region over the last few days that have slowed the spread of the fires. Many fires are so big they cannot be contained by human effort. We have been fortunate so far and we do not see any threat to our location at this time.
We did have a walleye weed bite this week, but it was mostly eaters and slots that moved shallow. We also had a few shallow rock bites, but again, most of those fish were on the smaller size. Most of the walleyes caught in the 24 in. plus range were found in 16 – 25 ft. We used Gulp on big jigs to find them when they were spread out on the flats. Minnows and light jigs were more effective for neutral to negative fish grouped tight to rock sand transitions. Most days were a 50/50 split between the two tactics.
For the week, we caught and released 39 walleyes over 27 in., including 2 – 28s, 4 – 29s, and 1 – 31. Volume was much higher on days with a wind and lower on hot, flat calm days. The average for the week was 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat, per day.
The pike fishing also had some ups and downs. On some of the Hot days, lake surface temps were well into the 80s. It is our best guess, that many of the bigger pike spent more time in cooler, deeper water. The weed beds are unusually strong this year. Many are larger and thicker than in years past. For the week, we caught and released 15 pike over 37 in., including 3 – 38s, 1 – 39, 3 – 40s, and 1 – 41. Big spoons were the only game in town.
The forecast does show several days with showers possible. The only thing that is going to end the fires is prolonged heavy rain. We hope it arrives sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we may have some hazy, smokey days, but there is no imminent threat to our guests planning their annual fishing trip to the Wheel.
