August 11, 2020
Walleye - Walleye fishing continues to be challenging for some, but good to excellent for others. Key has been the time of day these anglers are fishing. The first two hours of the day and last two hours of the day have been the best time to be fishing for walleyes. Jigs tipped with half a crawler and dragged on the bottom, has been very effective. Dragging lindy rigs, tipped with crawlers or minnows and trolling shad raps during the evening hours has also been very effective for many anglers. Key areas to look for walleyes continues to be sunken islands and tradition areas in 12-18 feet of water.
Bass - Smallmouth Bass continue to be caught on topwater lures, early and late in the day. Whopper ploppers have been hard to beat, but pop-r’s and hulla poppers account for their fair share of bass. Anglers are also finding smallies out around sunken islands. Out here anglers have been catching them with jig and twisters or jig and half a crawler. Largemouth Bass continue to be found in shallow lily pads and wild rice beds early and late in the day. Topwater frogs dragged on the surface, has been very effective on largemouth bass. When the sun gets up and the topwater bite cools off, anglers transition to weedlines and continue to catch bass with spinnerbaits and soft plastics.
Stream Trout - Anglers have been catching rainbow trout high in the water column in 3-5ft of water, late in the day on area stream trout lakes. Clam evenings have been the key to this shallow water bite. As the sun goes down, water temps drop and rainbows rise to feed on the surface. Anglers have been catching rainbows by trolling small crankbaits, flatfish and small spoons, high in the water column.
Pike - Pike anglers continue to find active pike throughout the day. Spoons, spinnerbaits and large minnow baits, fished in and around weedbeds, has been very effective. Pike are also being found out around sunken islands, but in lower numbers.
Panfish - Crappies continue to be found scattered out over deep lake basins. Anglers locate them using their electronics, before fishing for them. Jig and minnow has been very effective, but jig and twister or hair jigs have also been effective for catching crappies. During the evening hours crappies are being found in weedbeds and weedlines.
