Lake Winnebago experienced what might prove to be one of the final blast of summer this past week with warm temperatures and stable conditions. Water temps on the main lake had declined to the mid 60’s, before jumping back up with the warm spell. The lack of rain for the past several weeks has lowered water levels slightly. Algae is present over the majority of the lake in varying degrees. On calm days, bugs can be an annoyance.
White bass are the current story line, as the fish have schooled up and are feeding aggressively.
The schools of white bass are associated with the bait fish schools on Lake Winnebago. As the bait moves, so does the massive schools of bass. Because these pods of fish are moving constantly, they can initially be difficult to find in open water.
The key indicator for success are seagulls. Seek out seagull flocks and look for birds diving into the water. These birds are feeding on the shad which are stunned and pushed to the surface by feeding white bass. Move with the flocks of birds and anglers are able to follow the schools of white bass.
Along the south shore in Fond du Lac, there are white bass staged in front of Lakeside Park on Lake Winnebago. Trolling in front of the park can net numerous white bass in short order. In addition the southeast corner near the dog park also has large schools consistently present in the shallow ranges. My preference is to run Off Shore Boards with Salmo Hornets at a fast pace of 2.5-3.5 mph’s. Berkley Flicker Shads will also work, but the larger shad shaped profile seems to be less attractive to the white bass.
White bass schools have been reported lake wide, with large schools on the north shore, near Menomonie Park and at Calumet County Park.
While casting on the schools, stick baits like the Flicker Minnow have been extremely productive. A reflective foil pattern has been key. The next best option would be an inline spinner such as a Mepps.
These fish are aggressive and will smack the lures hard. In several hours of casting last week on Sunday, I netted approximately 75-100 white bass (all released). Jigs and plastics are another great bait choice, especially in yellow and white. Really, just about anything will work on the right school of fish.
One pleasant surprise this past week is active walleyes out of the Fond du Lac area, with some of the best fishing coming from shore. The warm water outflow from the waste water plant (Stinky Point) has been producing some large walleyes in solid numbers. Reports of 20-26 inch walleyes coming from the wall were common this past week. The area is crowded, so don’t expect to have a great experience, as the actual area where the fish are contained is small.
The walleye trolling bite here has also been good for smaller walleyes in the 10-15 inch ranges. Try faster speeds of 2.0 -2.5 to target these fish. In addition, some of the reefs (Abrahams, Long Point etc.) were also holding eater sized walleyes on the sides of the reefs. Target these fish with controlled drifts using light jigs and a quarter to half of crawler.
Perch fishing continues to be subpar on Lake Winnebago, but positive reports were given from the Fraction Island area. Regardless of location, a few perch are common from any transition zone on the lake. Hellgrammites are the golden ticket for these fish. Try River Haus in Fond du Lac for hellgrammites.
Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and the Lake will be busy over the predicted warm weekend. After this weekend, many of the recreational boater will disappear, along with the die-hard hunters. Anglers will have the lake to themselves very soon.
Have a great weekend and week on the water. Remember, you can’t catch ‘em from the couch, so get on the water. [email protected] is my email for your questions, comments and reports.
