Variable weather dominated the Lake Winnebago region, with a beautiful weekend to end the cycle. With air temperatures in the mid 60’s, water temperatures have remained stable around 50 degrees. A cooling trend is in the near future.  With minimal rain, water clarity is improving, but is still stained.  Water levels are high for this time of year especially in the local rivers.

Even with the near perfect weather this weekend, lake activity was low. River activity has picked up with traffic, especially in the Wolf River and Lower Fox River.  Sportsmen are focused on hunting, and the waterways remain unattended.

Fishing has been slow in most areas. Even the white bass have slowed down, partly due to plenty of food and the warm temperatures.

Perch fishing along the south shore seems to be the best option on Lake Winnebago. The fish have moved shallow for the time being and are often found in gravel bottoms in 5-9 feet of water.  Minnows have been working well, along with crawler pieces.

Bluegills have moved into some of the area channels. Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac has been giving up medium sized bluegills in the channels.  Plastic crickets or spiders (Black) have been working, along with worms.  Occasional crappies have also been seen.

White bass are found near area rivers. Key locations have been Stinky Point (FDL River Mouth) in Fond du Lac and the mouth of the Fox River in Oshkosh.  The Highway 41 Bridge in the Fox River is holding both walleyes and white bass.  These fish have been mainly taken on flies.

The east shore of Lake Winnebago has been extremely slow. The Wolf River is also slow, but occasional smaller walleyes have been common, along with larger crappies along the wood covered shorelines.

The Bay of Green Bay is pumping out musky. The Upper Fox River at the mouth of the River (Green Bay Metro) is holding some larger walleyes, but they are not there in solid numbers yet.  The Fox River (DePere) is stained with 6 inches of visibility, and multiple gates are open at the dam.

I hate to say it, but the systems need some cooler weather to kick the fish into the fall feeding frenzy. The best fishing of the year is almost here.

River Haus in Fond du Lac has a lot of the Easy Prey Ice Jigs in stock. This company went out of business, and this is one of the few places with inventory.  Although this is old news, Tew’s is out of business in Oshkosh.

The South Shore Fishing club will have a meeting on Nov 1st, at Schmitty’s Bar and Grill.  This is a new club to the area.  Check them out at 1 pm.

[email protected] is my email.  Have a great week on the water or in the woods!