The Lake Winnebago region experienced milder temperatures, pushing water temperature in the main lake to the upper 40 degree range. Fishing conditions have been decent, and the seasonal trends seem to be on a normal timeline, after the late start to the spring. Water levels have improved, but are slightly lower than normal.
The main story line this week is that the white bass run has begun on the southern end of the system.
The Fox River in Oshkosh was a popular destination this week for anglers, as there is a good mix of fish in the river currently. Walleyes, white bass, crappie, catfish and perch were common catches this week. The white bass loved the flies being pulled by the anglers, and large baskets were reported over the weekend. An alternative presentation was a Wolf River rig tipped with a minnow. This bite will only improve, as temperatures are expected to top into the 70’s for the first time this year. The walleyes were present, and fighting the gorging white bass for bait.
Lake Winnebago has seen the return of many male walleyes along the western shore. Many of the humps, reefs and shallow water areas are holding walleyes. In the shallows, channels and feeder creeks; large crappies are moving in along with some pre-spawn bluegills. White bass can be found staged at the mouth of the Fox River.
Lake Butte des Mortes is holding some larger walleyes, especially at Sunset Point where resting walleyes have been feeding. Slip bobbers with leeches or crawlers have been doing well, along with pitched jigs.
Lake Poygan has a moderate trolling bite for walleyes. The Winneconne Bridge has seen the best activity of the year, with mid-sized walleyes common. Lake Poygan has some large numbers of white bass in the lake currently. This is making walleye trolling difficult.
Team Myfishingpartner focused its efforts on the Bay of Green Bay. We had an excellent weekend, netting many fish over 24 inches. We finished in the top 20 of the SWC event, never getting our big fish upgrade we so desperately needed to move into the top 10. Winning weight was 30.55 pounds won along the east shore of the bay on flicker shads in shallow water.
If you want good numbers of walleyes, there are plenty to be caught on the Fox River in De Pere. The flats are holding male walleyes which are on their way back to the bay. We made two short runs this week and netted over 20 walleyes. These fish loved the Salmo hornets trolled upstream slowly.
On the Bay, University Bay was holding good numbers of above average sized walleyes. Flicker shads did very well, especially in the purple hues. Long Tail was also productive for average size walleyes. The new rattlin’ Salmo 4.5 did especially well, and looks like this will be a monster lure moving forward. Some bigger fish were reported near Gaeno’s and at Oconto.
The key to fishing the bay was water temperatures. We saw temperatures vary from 39 degrees to 54 degrees. Many of the fish are focused on the warm water, and often these fish are very shallow. 3-6 feet of water was the most productive areas over the weekend. This bite does not fire up until early afternoon, especially when the sun is shining.
Warm temperatures lie ahead this week according to the forecast. This should be an excellent week of fishing on both the Bay of Green Bay and Lake Winnebago. If you haven’t been on the water this year, it’s time to dust the boat off and get out there.
On the Winnebago System, Critters is holding their annual walleye tournament out of Winneconne on Saturday. This past weekend saw the Bago Walleye Club event out of Winneconne. Unofficially, the top two weights went over 19 pounds. The big fish came in at just over 5.5 pounds. The Aim series is on Green Bay this weekend also.
Reports were very scarce on the ‘bago system this week. Please help us out with your reports. [email protected] is my email. Don’t forget about our Master Angler program and details are listed on the front page. Thanks for visiting our site!
