May 1 Fishing Report

Hi Folks.

Opener 09 is here. Saturday starts the new open water fishing season – always an exciting time in my house. Everything’s looking real good – lakes are open, weather report shows near-perfect conditions. Now all we need are some cooperative walleyes and we’ll be off to a good start.

Look for spawning activity to be finished on many of the smaller to mid-sized waters. On the deep, clear lakes, spawn should still be happening. Either way, look for fish to be in fairly shallow water. On lakes that have finished, watch submerged timber and any new weed growth to produce fish. On lakes were spawn is still going on, shallow, wind-swept rubble will be a good place to start. Water temps I’ve seen so far have been around 48 degrees, and this has been on smaller lakes. Another bonus to opener will be that the very small crappie lakes could produce some good action for area anglers as these waters are much warmer.

When it comes to bait, a variety of stuff can be used. My favorite is jig-and-minnow fishing and I’ll keep my minnows fairly small. Large fats and smaller redtails will be the bait of choice. Slip bobber rigs will also be effective because of the cold water temps and fish tend to not be overly aggressive. Rapalas or other minnow-type lures cranked over shallow areas will most definitely produce some interesting action.

Be aware that water levels are LOW. This is about as bad as I’ve seen it in awhile. The Willow Flowage was down 14 feet on Tuesday. Launching a boat and navigating this water could be hazardous if you’re not familiar with it. There’s several other landings that are virtually unlaunchable to larger boats – check with the DNR and local fish shops before heading out.

That’s it for now. Have a successful & save Opener. Jeff Winters