A carbon copy weather pattern dominated the Lake Winnebago region this week, with beautiful 80 degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine. Water temperatures on Lake Winnebago had a slight decline this week with 70-72 degrees common on the main lake. Water clarity remains stained, but some regions to the north have slightly clearer water.
The southern third of the lake is hosting the majority of fishermen. The northwest corner has also been busy.
The extended period of high pressure and clear skies has made fishing a little more difficult this week, especially for perch. The “super moon” also added additional light to provide fish with extended feeding periods.
By Region:
Fond du Lac: The main group of boats (targeting perch) were located about a mile north of Luco Road last week, has shifted further north this week. In this area a school of medium size perch were present. Dead sticking crawler chunks was out producing slip bobbers. The majority of perch fishing is being done from Fond du Lac to Pipe on the East shore of Lake Winnebago. The pods of boats were moving most of the day, indicating a slow bite in the area, and transient fish schools.
Gladstone Beach area: This is a traditional hot bed for perch fishing; however, this area has not fired up just yet for perch. The transition zones have held fish first thing in the morning, but tends to shut down by 10am. There are some crappies in this area, along with small mouth bass.
South of Columbia Park (Pipe area): Perch continue to be on the edges of the transition zones. In the 6-9 foot ranges, walleyes have been feeding. Crappies, rock bass, white bass and sheephead are also present. Trolling Salmo hornets and Flicker Shads are the best methods to target these fish.
North of Columbia Park: Near Velvet Beach, the transition zones have also been holding solid numbers of perch. Sheephead are thick in the shallower areas.
North Fond du Lac: The area near Blanck’s Restaurant and the Highway 45 wayside is also holding medium sized perch and bluegills. Along the shallow weed lines, walleyes are common on the edges. Running non-weighted crawler harnesses over the weed tops is ideal to target these fish residing in the weeds.
Black Wolf area and Long Point: Status quo here. A mixed bag of perch, crappie, bluegill, walleye and sheephead are common. Slip bobbers were working best in this region.
Central Basin, a.k.a. The mud: The areas of the mud which we visited this week, had nearly no one fishing. Over the weekend, I saw a total of two boats fishing the mud. Let’s just say the bite is dead right now for walleyes.
Fox River: White bass are still very active in the river, but not to the degree as the previous week. Catfish remain near the bridges and deep holes.
Menominee Park Area (Oshkosh): Horseshoe Reef is holding small walleyes and moderate sized perch.
Garlic Island area and Mansur’s Reef: This area remains steady. Walleyes are common on Mansur’s Reef, and perch are scattered though out the Garlic Island area. Asylum Bay has largemouth and small mouth bass common in the weeds.
This coming week looks to duplicate the previous week with stable weather and high skies. Targeting early mornings and sunsets are the best tactics to achieve the greatest success under these conditions.
We partook in the Quinney Fishing Club Sheephead tournament this past weekend. What a great event! An amazing 280 pounds won the event with 114 boats in the field, and everyone came away with a smile. It is nice to see “gentleman tournaments” still exist… where everyone is respectful, everyone is honored at their word, and there is not a bunch of bickering. Well done Quinney Fishing Club.
The Berkley Flicker Minnows were released this past week. Look for these lures at a retailer near you later this week. We trolled some this weekend, and a full review can be found on the main page of Myfishingpartner.com.
Have a great week, and thanks for your support of the site! [email protected] is my email. Get on the water!
