May 15 Fishing Report

Lots of good action on area lakes for crappies the last few days. Simple slip bobber rigs with either a small to medium fathead minnow or small plastics like Mini Mites or jigs with twister tails are getting the job done. Walleye still doing pretty well too. As the weed growth slowly increases it seems like the waldos are moving out to the deeper edges of the weeds. They will come in shallower during low light and get into thicker weeds to chase minnows. You still can't beat a 1/8 or 1/16 oz jig with a a decent sized fathead minnow but I'm also getting reports from other fishermen who are doing ok with nightcrawlers or leeches too.

I'm still on my smallmouth binge and having a blast. Today my son Peter and I caught 9 bass that most folks would consider trophies in less than two hours. There are a few things I've learned about this pattern over the last few years and have gotten dialed in pretty quickly this season. Some of the key considerations are: casting accuracy, boat control (especially with the wind we've had), and developing the right feel on pickups. In addition I've been doing some modifications on my tube jigs that seem to help and even with barbs pinched down have lost only one fish in the last two outings. Yes, there is a technique to playing these fish to get them to the net. If you're interested in getting in on this action, the time is now. This pattern is not going to last long and as time passes these fish get increasingly "spooky".

Your bass reports are killing me! I can't get up there soon enough!
Thanks for the updates and congrats on all the nice fish!
Jason

Thanks for the nice comment. Check in when you're heading up and we'll try to point you in the right direction.