A brutal cold front dominated the weather scene near Lake Winnebago this past week. The previous week featured nonstop action for walleyes, but quickly dissipated with the 10 plus degree drop in water temps. The water clarity is stained system wide, but the east shore of Lake Winnebago is particularly poor. On Sunday, water temperature spiked with temperatures now reaching into the high 40’s to almost 50 degrees. Some of the bays exceeded 50 degrees by day’s end on Sunday.
Talking to many anglers this past week, there are several theories as to what is occurring on the Winnebago system right now. One thing is for certain, nobody know for sure. Some theories suggest that many of the walleyes spawned in the main lake, never making the trip up the rivers. Others believe that there are a large number of fish still in the northern regions of the Wolf River, and have not started their journey home yet. Maybe both theories are correct!
On Lake Winnebago, the western reefs have been holding walleyes and sheephead on the shallow rocks. In many locations strong locator returns are showing large schools of fish, most which have lockjaw.
Murdock Street area in Oshkosh had a few male walleyes being taken, along with some jumbo sheephead. Berkley Smash Shads in UV colors were especially productive for the sheephead in this region. There also has been some action to the north of this area for larger walleyes.
The mouth of the Fox River in Oshkosh has a mix of catfish, white bass, walleye and an occasional crappie.
Stoney Beach (Oshkosh) continues to be a popular destination, especially with hand held trollers and slip bobber fishermen. Small walleyes were common, along with an occasional small mouth Bass.
Paukotuc Reef has a lot of fish near the reef, as of Sunday, but I was unable to get anything to bite. No other anglers were seen here.
Third Reef near Fond du Lac had several reports of walleyes showing up. On Sunday some of our contributors worked this area and found only sheephead on the reef.
Along the east shore, walleyes have been reported along the piers in the evening. This is about three weeks ahead of normal yearly trends.
Area feeder creeks are starting to get pan fish into them, and are crowded with shore fishermen.
I spent a lot of time in Lake Butte des Mortes this weekend. Outside of a few cigar sized walleyes, the only noticeable item I walked away with was a sunburn.
Lake Poygan has been solid for some bigger walleyes. Size 5 shad raps in natural colors were reported as the best option.
The Fox River in Oshkosh has a lot of small walleyes in the river right now, especially near Rainbow Park. Pumping flies, vertical jigging and three ways with minnows were all working fairly well. Most fish taken were in the 12-14 inch ranges. White bass are very common. The bite on night crawlers has definitely picked up.
The Wolf River in Winneconne has a lot of mid-sized white bass present, along with a solid number of small catfish. This has been mainly a fly bite, but three ways/Wolf River Rigs continue to produce walleyes near the bridge. The Winneconne Bridge has had some good reports of larger walleyes over the last several nights. Water temp in New London is at 55 degrees.
The AIM Winneconne event was held on Sunday. Approximately 21 pounds won the tournament, with many tournament participants struggling during this one day event. Nearly 70 teams (91 in tournament) came in with under 10 pounds. Next week the Bago Walleye Club will hold its first event of four, launching on Sunday out of Winneconne. Team My Fishing Partner will have two boats in the field.
A warming trend is in the forecast. This may fire the system back up again, especially near the rocky shorelines for walleyes, crappies and white bass. I would expect wholesale changes this week in the walleyes locations and attitudes. Many of the sheephead caught this year have been very anemic and underfeed. It really shows the impact of the current low shad populations and the effect on the system. [email protected] is my email. Please forward your reports to me if possible. Now go get ‘em!
