Aug 19 Fishing Report

Hi folks.

Musky fishing in the area has been doing pretty well as of late. Some big fish are being boated and lots are being seen. Deep weed edges seem to be the key to finding these fish and I’ve been having my best luck with large jerk baits. My black perch Suick has been fairly deadly this season. Another lure that has been doing pretty good at riling up fish is the Mepps H210. We’ve seen some pretty good topwater action early in the morning and late in the evening – although it’s not what you would think it would be with the warm water temps. Lately it seems like the fish that follow, rarely hit; but the ones that decide they’re taking it come straight from below. You won’t see them coming until the last second – so be alert at all times.

Walleye fishing has been tough the past two weeks, in fact I’d have to say it’s been as tough as I’ve seen it all year. Jig-and-crawler is still the ticket and fish have been all over the map when it comes to structure – this has been the problem. It doesn’t seem like you can string two days together on the same type of structure, whether it be weeds rocks or timber. Fish seem to move to these places with every new front and time becomes your enemy when looking for them. Keep your presentations at either a slow crawl and change it up every now and then, to a light jigging action. Once a hit is detected, back off for at least 20 seconds and give them a chance to eat it. You’ll have to be patient as the bite is not fast and furious. The other thing to be aware of, it seems you’ll encounter your best action right away in the early, early hours till the sun gets up a little higher in the sky; and again right before dark. Mid-day hours are a long, tedious prospect. (Remember though – you can’t have a BAD day of fishing – just some are better than others. The alternative to fishing is bleak !).

Smallmouth should provide you with most of your daytime action. These fish will tend to hit most days – but again, they’re not chasing things. We’ve been doing our best by just drop fishing crawlers off the side and just floating them around the stumps in heavy timber. This seems to work quite well, especially on the calmer days.

I’m looking for things to start picking up though as we get closer and closer to our early fall bite. We should start seeing fish slowly go to minnows as temperatures drop and day light gets shorter with each passing day.

Good luck fishing.
Jeff Winters www.jeffsguideservice.com