Summerlike weather arrived around the Lake Winnebago region, leaving fish in a feeding frenzy. Water temperatures have risen to the upper 60’s, and in many areas of the lake, water clarity has improved beyond 3 feet. The first signs of an algae bloom are being seen in the southern part of the lake. Lake flies continue to decline, but are still present in good numbers.
With the increased water temperatures and better water clarity on Lake Winnebago, the fish have responded with an aggressive bite.
Crappies are either in their post spawn locations or are currently spawning in shallow water. These fish have the feed bag on, and limits were common throughout the system this week. We found crappies trolling, slip bobbering and pitching. When targeting these fish in open water, find shallow water flats which have some gravel. We found our fish in a 5 foot range, and targeted these fish with a mini-mite tipped with a small minnow. Pink, orange and yellow worked extremely well. If you target these fish along the shore lines, look for downed wood or manmade structures (piers, boathouses etc.).
Walleyes fishing really picked up on Sunday, after a solid 24 hours of warm weather. Friday and Saturday were both spotty, but walleyes could be had with some work. Walleyes continue to be in shallow water under 10 feet. The first mud bite has developed in 12-14 feet.
Deadwood Point (South east): Fairly slow here, but there are some walleyes hanging in the 6-10 foot ranges. Sheephead and small white bass are also common.
Fisherman’s Road and Columbia Park: There is an excellent walleye bite working here. Salmo hornets, flicker shads, reef runners and Wally Divers are all working. There is no dominant color. Heavy boat pressure can affect the bite.
Quinney, WI: A similar walleye bite as Columbia Park is occurring.
Fond du Lac: To the east of the lighthouse, there is a fabulous crappie bite. The harbor and the channels in Lakeside Park are pumping out crappies also. This bite is nearing a conclusion, as the crappies move back out to the main lake. White bass are at the tail end of the spawn in the FDL River.
Fond du Lac to Wendt’s: Fairly slow, with some occasional walleyes in the mix. Crappies are heavy while trolling and along the shorelines.
Black Wolf area including Long Point: Lots of fisherman scoring walleyes, crappies and an occasional perch. The heavy boat traffic can cause the bite to subside, so I suggest working these areas during non-peak times.
Roe’ and Stoney Point: Walleyes continue to hold in this area, but are not being targeted heavily. The concentrations are not large. Natural colored Salmo’s trolled at 1.7 mph’s were the ticket in this region.
Mouth of The Fox River: The biggest walleyes on the system have been caught here. Many of the tournament anglers were packed into the mouth. Both tournaments were won this week here. Pulling flies was the best method to attract these fish. White bass, catfish, carp and sheephead were common catches.
Menomonie Park area: Fairly slow, except for sheephead.
Rockaway Beach: Some mid-sized walleyes were hanging on the break lines here. Flicker shads seemed to be the bait of choice here. These fish were feeding in waves, so it is hit n miss.
Garlic Island: I am hearing that there is a walleye bite starting to fire here, but I have nothing concrete to pass on.
Wolf River/Fremont WI: The runs of walleyes and white bass have concluded.
Lake Poygan: The Lake is heavy with sheephead. Walleyes are still being caught, along with returning white bass.
Lake Butte Des Mortes: Heavy holiday recreational boat traffic, made this lake difficult to fish. No reports.
Tournament Info: Team Myfishingpartner finished 14th (8.1 pounds) in the Beer Run tournament. We found plenty of 15-17” fish, but no big fish. Winner Sean Freund/Paul Schmitz, had the heaviest basket at 17.02 pound with a big fish going at 5 pound 11 ozs. Houge’s Bar in Oshkosh also held their annual tournament. I did not get a finally weight, but was told it was pushing 19 pounds on four fish.
Next weekend is the kickoff of the big tournaments on Lake Winnebago. Van Dyne’s Lions and the annual Stockbridge tournament will be occurring. Team Myfishingpartner is taking the weekend off in preparation of the Mercury National Walleye Tournament in two weeks.
[email protected] is my email. Please send your reports to help contribute to this report. Shout outs to Tony, Chase, Don, Jeff, Paul, Mike, Jeff, Pat, Doug, Ray and Chris for the reports this week. You guys Rock! Have a safe week on the water, and it looks like we can finally put away the ice armour.
