July 4th, 2023
***Fishing Report***
Walleye - Walleye fishing is starting to show signs of improvement on many area lakes, as the mayfly hatch is starting to wrap up. Anglers have been having to work hard for each and every fish on these lakes. On lakes where the mayfly hatch hasn’t happened or has wrapped up, anglers have been catching good numbers of walleyes. Anglers on all lakes have been finding walleyes in 15-20 feet of water, on top of sunken islands. Orange, gold, pink and blue colored jigs, tipped with leeches or crawlers, has been the ticket. Spinner rigs have also accounted for its fair share of walleyes.
Pike - Pike fishing was excellent this last week for a lot of anglers. While there weren’t to many reports of fish over 34” being caught, good numbers were had by just about everyone targeting pike. Classic pike presentations like spoons, buzz baits, spinnerbaits and suckers fished under a bobber, keep pike anglers busy all of last week. Weed beds, mouths of shallow bays and areas where water enters the lake, are the areas to focus on pike.
Smallmouth - Topwater fishing for smallies continues to be hot and popular among anglers. Anglers continue to find big smallies along shorelines with boulder flats, rocky points and downed trees. Ned rigging, wacky worms and spinners, continue to be very effective on smallies also and in the same areas.
Stream trout - Stream trout fishing has started to slow up this last week for many trout anglers. As surface temps continue to climb, trout are forced deeper to find their preferred temperature. Anglers have been having the best luck fishing night crawlers 10-15 feet, under a bobber.
Panfish - Panfish fishing was a popular choice this last week as many anglers struggled catching walleyes. As weed beds are established, finding panfish hasn’t been too hard to do for most anglers. Small leeches are proving to be deadly on sunnies in these weed beds. Beetle spins, small spinners and angleworms or waxies fished under a bobber has also been effective. Crappies are also being caught on these same weed beds and same lures, but more often than not during the evening hours, just before dark.
