Report

Well gang,

I've been out of action since last week tuesday due to a bad leg injury, but I made a few calls tonight so that I could get you a partial update.

Bass fishing has slowed down during the daytime hours on many area lakes. if I had to venture a guess, I'd say the heat, cobined with the bright sunshinhe and the full moon period is pushing the active shallow bite to the extreme ends of daylight. Some deep fish are being caught, especially on live bait. For the next week or so, fish way underneath piers or in the slop for some active fish. This is also prime time for early morning topwater bites. Popers, spooks, sammies and flukes will produce.

Panfishing is about what one would expect for this time of year. Last tuesday before my leg gave out, I guided on silver lake. We got into a good batch of quality gills along the 15 foot contour where there was some weeds. That pattern should be effective on just about any area lake. Look for the schools of panfish anywhere from 16-28 feet deep along deep weedlines or suspended just above the thermocline. If you are over some active gills out deep, but are still only catching small fish, get your line down a little deeper as the biggest gills in the school will be on the bottom.

Musky fishing was fairly hot the last couple weeks, but more fish are being seen than caught right now. I saw several active fish on Oconomowoc when on the water last week. The next month will see some big fish caught over deep water by trollers. Don't forget to give the topwater bite a try if you are going out. I like to work my topwaters over isolated patches of weeds along a breakline or on the end of a point, early in the morning. A tallywacker, a jackpot or topraider have been my favorites for awhile.

Noone I talked to was on walleye solidly in the past week, but I don't think many anglers have started working the thermocline based on how people were describing the areas/techniques they were using. Look for walleyes to suspend off of structure at the depth of the thermocline. (It looks like a bar across your graph.) I'd venture running cranks at 16 feet would be a solid bet, as would pullinglong leader live bait rigs. You may find a few fish on the bottom, but most will be suspended for now. If you are going to try the night fishing bite, slip bobbers are always a solid bet this time of year.

Sorry I can't offer you any more for right now. I'll post again when I hit the water. Eric can point you in the right direction in the meantime, just call or better yet stop in at the shop.


Good luck out there,
CT