Big Bluegills are in the Bays. This one from last year.
The Winnebago system has seen a major uptick in activity from area fisherman. The Wolf River is jammed packed with boats. As a matter of fact we could not make our way from Lake Poygan to Fremont due to boat congestion on Saturday. Any remaining ice has disappeared and water temps have jumped quickly. Many of the rivers have water temps in the 50’s currently, and we observed a 60 degree reading in Lake Buttes des Morts on Sunday.
There are a lot of story lines on the system currently. They are changing daily with the quick warm up.
Walleyes: The Wolf River was the place to be during the weekend. Many of the post spawn fish have migrated down from Shiocton and New London and were concentrated in the Fremont area. Many of the walleyes are males in the 15-18” ranges. Occasional larger females are mixed in the bags. Minnows or Gulp have been the best producers on a jig. Earlier in the week, the New London area had an excellent bite on jigs and minnows near Marksman Marsh.
The expectation is that these fish will continue to migrate down the Wolf River and into the Upper Lakes. Some of the fish will hold up in Lake Poygan/Winneconne, while others will pass through Winneconne and will arrive in Oshkosh fairly soon. The Oshkosh area has seen a slight uptick with male walleyes already on Saturday.
By next weekend, with continued warm temperatures, the first trolling bite of the year should develop. We worked Lake Poygan, Lake Winneconne and Lake Buttes des Morts trolling cranks on Saturday/Sunday and could only get two fish to bite, which we lost on the way to the boat.
White Bass: The annual spawning run is in it’s infancy. Some fish have made their way into the Fox River (Oshkosh) and are being caught on flies. As water temps rise, look for the white bass to head up stream. In Winneconne, there is an abundance of bait stealing first year white bass in the river.
Panfish: If you don’t own a boat, this is your time from shore. Many of the shallow water bays, feeder creeks, harbors and channels have tons of large pan fish. Bluegills and crappies are everywhere, and the size has been excellent. Perch are also common. In many cases, easy access areas are elbow to elbow with fishermen.
Pike: a few pike have been observed cruising the shallow creeks. Many of them are chasing the pan fish. In addition, Lake Winneconne is playing host to active pike also.
Lake Winnebago: Very little walleye activity is currently happening on the main lake. Water temperatures remain below normal averages. Maybe by next weekend there will be an uptick on the main lake, especially near the mouth of the Fox River.
Tournament season is under way. MWS held their tournament out of Winneconne on Sunday. Most boats headed north toward Fremont. The anglers we observed in Winneconne were struggling. A few of the boats headed to Oshkosh and beyond, and they came back with average bags. Next week the first segment of the Boat Doc series will occur out of Oshkosh. We are in the field.
The fish are on the move currently. Watch our twitter feed on our Facebook page for mid week updates. Please be sure to send us a note as to how you are doing. There are hundreds of miles of rivers and shorelines to cover on the system, and we welcome the extra eyes and ears. [email protected] is where you can leave the reports.
Remember, it is all fun and games until someone loses a walleye!
