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The water temps are rising slowly, but you will still find the walleye relatively shallow. Concentrate on shoreline breaks in 10-15 feet of water, off points or rock pile structure. The most effective presentation reported so far has been natural-colored jigs tipped with larger minnows, pike suckers have been very effective; Rapala Jigging Raps tipped with a minnow head are also producing great results as are Rapala Crush City plastics. For crank baits, Berkly Flicker Shads or shallow running Rapala’s.
Northern pike are found almost anywhere shallow. As always, a sure bet is river mouths; but large, shallow, weedy bays are most likely to produce big pike. Throw large, flashy spoons and crank baits, or a large sucker minnow under a float.
Large mouth bass are getting ready to spawn as the water temps rise. The bass are shallow, 3-8 feet of water. Look for them on sandy flats. Minnows suspended under a slip bobber, shallow running crank baits, and whacky rigged plastics are your best options right now. For the most part, they are not hitting topwater presentations yet.
Small mouth bass are also shallow, but rather than sandy flats, look for them on rock piles and rocky flats. In addition to using the same presentations used for large mouth bass, the small mouth are also hitting on walleye presentations and are often found in the same areas as the walleye.
The crappie bite is not hot yet, but you can entice them to bite with some persistence. They are transitioning from deeper water to the shallow, weedy beds to prepare for spawn. Look for them in 6 – 8 feet of water with Thumper Jigs and Beetle Spins.
Reports on stream trout are mixed. Some report they are regularly hitting dry flies, while others report the trout are hitting a night crawler under a slip bobber set to about 8 feet. Early morning, dusk and the first half hour after dark are the most productive hours.
Lake trout are still running about 20-30 feet. Troll big Salmo’s or deep dive crank baits or spoons. Jigging presentations of tube jigs tipped with a frozen smelt and large Dr. Spoons in flashy colors will also produce great results.
