Fishing report 6-2-08

Well, while it may be premature to say this, I can say with some confidence, that for the most part, it's on.

Fishing picked up substantially with the stable weather this weekend. Water temps have made it up to the mid 60's in mainlake areas. On warmer days, you can find bays in the low 70's.

Bass are moving into a post spawn pattern. This is prime time to look for them around rocks and sand. Males will be protecting fry near spawning areas, while larger bass begin to forage heavily. The larger fish will be keying in on areas with crayfish, before moving to feed on bluegills that are moving up to spawn.

Northern are moving on the shallow flats, feeding heavily. Lots of fish are being caught on minnow imitators and r-bend spinners with a gold blade.

Musky are moving to the transition areas between shallow flats and the frst drop into deeper water. Weedlines near dropoffs in 10-15 feet of water have lots of active fish. A fish are still cruising the shallow weedflats.

Walleyes are using weedlines in 8-15 feet of water. Some days, leeches and nightcrawlers are outperforming minnows. Backtrolling with lindy rigs has been especially effective lately. Keep your leaders fairly short (24-36") and work very slowly around the ends of structure or right along the outside of weedlines. Slipbobber rigs are catching fish during the evening hours by suspending bait just over shallow weeds.

Panfish made some big moves this past weekend. Lots of bluegills are starting to appear near shallow sandy areas.These are primarily smaller fish, but larger gills can be taken off the end of sandy points in 10-18 feet of water. If the weather remains warm this week, gills will begin to nest in mass later this week.

Good Luck This Week,
CT