It was another week of volatile weather on Lac Seul. There were high winds, heat, and Thunderstorms along with almost another 1.5 inches of rain. The water levels continue to rise on a daily basis. Early in the week we had some incredible volume days for walleyes, but the bite became a little more difficult after the storms. There were some big fish caught, but the most notable observation for the week was the extremely high number of 21-23 in. walleyes caught. There were days where it wasn’t uncommon to catch 5 times as many fish in that size range as the number of under slots caught.
We have experimented with bouncers and spinners, but it is definitely a jig bite. There were a few days during the hot spell before the storms when there was a bit of a pitch bite, but not one strong enough to bring in the big fish. Volume has been strongest in 5-15ft. and the bigger fish have mostly been pulled from 12-20 ft. The relative strength of the bite has varied with the weather. On days when the bite is tough, we have slowed down, down sized jigs to 1/8 and just used “straight meat.” With more active fish, we typically used ¼ oz jigs and a combination of twister tails or plastic bodies and minnows.
Overall volume for the week was strong with the average daily guide sheet reporting 45 walleyes over 18 in. The highest daily total was 75. For big fish, we had 21 walleyes over 27 in., including 5 – 28s, 1 – 29, and a 30.5 inch trophy caught by Craig Marty
The smallmouth bass were ignored early in the week, but came on strong at the end when the walleye fishing got a bit more difficult. For the week there were 40 bass over 17 in. caught and released, including 9 – 18s. Surface temps in key areas reached the 65+ degree mark and when the water was calm, the top water bite was excellent.
We had several groups spend some time casting for pike, but transition is always tough for big fish production. There was an incidental 41 in. pike caught while walleye fishing and the biggest targeted pike was a fat 39, caught by Nick Sigurdson.
