August 1st, 2023

***Fishing Report***

Walleye - How skinny is too skinny for late July walleyes? 3, 4 feet? Best reports this last week were between 3-10 feet of water. Skinnier the water you find walleyes, the hotter the fishing. Leeches under a bobber, off your dock or campsite, during the evening hours, has been very effective. Spinner rigs tipped with crawlers and worked on weedlines, near timber or rocky flats has also been very effective for anglers. Gold, orange and perch colors have been popular. 

Smallmouth - Smallmouth fishing cooled off this last week as a major cool front moved into the area. Topwater remains a popular choice, but smallies eagerness to hit them has cooled off with the weather. Subsurface lures like in-line spinners, spinnerbaits and wacky worms were more effective this last week. Boulder flats, downed trees and current areas/rivers are good places to find active, aggressive smallies. Crayfish, white and bone were popular colors. 

Panfish - Sunnies and crappies have been active and popular with anglers this last week. Sunnies have been easy to find. Look for weedbeds and weedlines to find active sunnies. Angleworms and wax worm fished under a bobber has been very popular here. Crappies too have been active this last week. Anglers have been finding crappies in and around downed trees. Anglers have been throwing jig/twister, beetle spins and thumper jigs in that timber to catch those crappies. Weedlines in the evening has also been worth fishing for crappies. 

Pike - Several large pike were caught this last week. Large suckers fished under a bobber was the way to go for the largest pike. Anglers throwing spoons, spinnerbaits and large minnow baits reported catching good numbers of pike, but most were on the smaller side (under 30”). Weedlines, rivers and shallow bays have been the best areas to target pike.