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Heavy rains have made fishing this past week very interesting; from flood stage water levels everywhere you go, to debris mucking up the waters, many fishermen are reporting it tougher to find reliable, consistent bites. But that does not mean getting skunked is guaranteed.
Of all the fishing reports we received this is, walleyes have been the hardest to find. The walleyes that are being caught are in stained waters at a depth of 10-18 feet. The leech bite seems to have cooled over the last week and the minnow bite picked up again. For those using live bait, most are reporting the walleye are preferring larger minnow presentations, think sucker minnow. Larger, paddle tail soft plastics, Keitech and Crush City are also producing. Berkley Flicker Shads produced quite well on White Iron this last week also while Rapala X-Raps got the job done on Fall Lake and the through the number chain lakes. Work points with dramatic depth transitions, or sunken islands coming up from deep.
Bass are very shallow. With most of our waterways flooded, you will find bass, both large and small mouth feeding up where there was dry land just a week ago. A topwater crankbait approach will be your best bet for strikes. Look to weedy flats, some flooded lakeshore timber and brush or shallow rocky flats to be holding some big, eager to strike bass.
Crappie are in 10-12 feet of water over thick weed beds. A nightcrawler or crappie minnow under a slip bobber or tipped on a small jig is a simple yet effective approach. Also use Beetle Spins and Thumper Jigs.
Northern pike are cruising in 0-10 feet of water, weedy bays and river mouths. Use a large sucker minnow under a large bobber; throw large crank baits, (even top waters), or flashy spoons. Many of our bass fishermen have been catching pike while casting top waters like Whopper Ploppers and frogs.
You will find the lake trout have gone deep. If you are going to try trolling for them, use lead-core line and tie on a deep-diving Salmo or Rapala and head out to 60-80 feet of water and get that lure down to about 40-50 feet. If jigging is more your speed, jig large flashy spoons like a copper or silver Doctor Spoon or large red and white tube jigs tipped with a frozen smelt.
