Unsettled weather, wind, and rain, but not enough to lift the fire ban.
The region experienced rain, showers, and thunderstorms almost every day this past week. We didn’t keep track of how much rain fell, but it was significant. Many of those systems blew through with sustained and high winds. As expected, the changing weather stirred up the fish and made the daily puzzle of finding them just a little more challenging.
We typically spend a great deal of time fishing main lake sand this time of year. There were a few sand structures that held fish, but most were surprisingly spotty. Main lake rock near deep water was much more consistent for production this past week. Key depths changed by the day, but 20 – 30 ft. produced the best.
Even less predictable were the best tactics for the day. Several of the senior guides talked at round table about having at least 3 full sets of different rods rigged up for their guests to switch back and forth with. Most had a set of 4 Gulp rods, another hand full of jigging sticks rigged up to long line 1/4s with minnows, and another bunch of rods rigged up with drop shots for extra finicky fish. You could fish 2 different spots in the same region that were just 500 yds apart and one would require speed and big Gulp and the other needed a finesse, vertical presentation with drop shots and minnows. If you were not mentally prepared to change up your presentations several times a day, then you were not going to get the win. (SWWL guide boats are all set up with multiple sets of borrow rods for guests to use at no cost.)
For the week, we caught and released 46 walleyes over 27 in., including 7 – 28s, 5 – 29s, and 1 – 30. There was a much greater variation in production between boats and days this week, but the average was 35 – 40 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day.
There was some time spent chasing pike this week. Again, results were hit and miss depending on the day. For the week, we caught and released 13 over 37 in., including 5- 38s, 1 – 39, and 1 – 40. Spoons were the key.
I don’t think you could get the woods around SWWL to burn if you had a can of gas. The much-needed rain not only decreased our immediate risk of forest fires, but it also cleared most of the smoke out of the air. The fire ban is region wide and I expect that it will stay in effect until most of the big fires in our zone are deemed under control.
