Report for 8-30-10

Hi everyone,

Guided a half day yesterday. Still no Walleyes but a couple dozen largemouth bass and a couple more dozen smallmouth bass. Add to that about a dozen Northerns, a pot full of blugills, some perch, and a crappie. All on crankbaits. Blugills have really big ideas when they start hitting crankbaits. Also had a musky follow my crankbait to the boat. A small one about 30"es. That was still exciting.

My self and client Gary had fish on that we lost that just seemed to be Walleyes. We never saw them and they were big fish, but after you've caught a zillion Walleyes, you just know when you have one on. Both fish were big enough that we couldn't control them as they went out to deeper water after we hooked them. At least I know where they are so I can chase after them later.

The water temps were right in the 73-74 degree range all weekend. Still way to warm. I hope we get a major cool down soon. Along witht he warm temps was an up surge in the bugs. They were hatching each night by the gazillion. The lights on my suv were obliterated by them when I backed down to pull the boat out. A couple of nights of frost would be good. Not for the tomatoes, but for better Walleye fishing. When the bugs start to deminish and the minnows and young of the year fish get cropped way down, then we should be in for some fabulous Walleye fishing for big fat Walleyes. Call me. We can set up a date to catch them.

Walleyemaxx

With the cool front coming thru today and tomorrow, what would be the best bait to fish with this coming weekend for walleye? Leeches, crawlers, minnows? Thanks for any input and I'll post a report next week or maybe during the weekend, if time allows.

Smiley

Hi Smiley,

From what I heard, the leeches are hard to get right now. I still have leeches because I bought the last two pounds that my bait dealer had. If you can find some leeches, they are still the #1 live bait choice. if you can't find any, don't despair. The minnows will work well. Just harder to keep them alive. But with the cool down coming, it will be easier to do. Always have crawlers on hand. Thier only draw back is the smaller panfish will eat them all.

Another thing you might want to try is using crank baits. Jointed Shad Raps were hot last week. With the cranks you can fish faster and cover more water.

Hope this helps. Post a report to let us know how you do.

Walleyemaxx

Here's a tip I learned from a friend of mine last year. He freezes water in those little water bottles you can buy. Keeps them in his "refreshment" cooler, and as needed, drops them into the minnow bucket to keep the water cool. Seemed to work for us. Jus a thought!

Hi Nick,

The only draw back to puttting ice in with minnows is if the water gets to warm before you do. The reason is that minnows don't take big temperature changes well.
If you add the ice often enough before the water warms, I can see where that would work. What I've always done when I use minnows in the summer is just buy small quantities of minnows at a time. A dozen at a time and make a few trips to a resort for more. That way we use them while they are still fresh.

I'm still hoping to hook up with you in a few weeks Nick. I have a lot on my plate, but I'm still trying to figure out a way.

Walleyemaxx