What the Heck is going on out there?
Where are the Walleye on Winnebago?
5-29-08
Many fishermen have been asking: where are the walleyes on Lake Winnebago? Maybe this article can give you some insight to answer that question.
First, I will preface this article by saying that I am not a fisheries biologist or a scientist–I am using observation along with some statistics to draw the following conclusions:
Water temperatures have played a significant role in movement of walleyes in 2008. History shows us that water temperatures in the Fox River in Oshkosh have been down this year, especially as the month of May ended.
Date 2007 temp 2008 temp difference
May 3 55 51 -3
May 10 54 59 +5
May 17 59 61 +2
May 24 64 61 -3
May 30 68 62 -6
Water temps have only risen 3 degrees over the last 4 weeks, essentially stalling the post spawn cycle of fish. In 2007, the temperatures rose 14 degrees in that same period. The May 10th temperature spike in 2008, initiated an early white bass run, which has been continued now for almost 4 weeks. By the aggressive nature of white bass, those lure presentations are consumed before ever getting into the walleye’s feeding zone. In general, water temperatures are approximately 2-3 weeks behind prior year.
Water levels have also played a critical role this year in the Fox and Wolf Rivers. With very high water (past flood stage) on both rivers, the walleyes have stayed up river longer. The lowering of the river levels is a trigger for the fish to move back down stream. Walleye will vacate an area when water levels drop as a survival instinct. My hypothesis is: with the flooded marshes, they stayed in the marshes/river longer this year. For example, the Lake Poygan trolling bite was red hot last year in late April and has just started to heat up the last week of May in 2008.
After reviewing a couple years of notes, fishing reports and many fishing posts, I have drawn these conclusions.
- The mud bite typically starts the first week of June
- The trolling of reefs usually heats up around the week of May 17th
- The slip bobber bite on the reefs starts about May 1
- Walleye are being caught on a regular basis in 2008
This year, the trolling of reef bites has been slow but activity has been better since the week of May 24th. This is one week behind “normal” trends in my estimations. Slip bobbers were steady compared to years past. Warm weather is the cure to get the trolling bite back on track.
Another factor is forage. With bluegill, crappies and perch at 15 year peaks in population– plenty of food is available currently. The fall 2007 census showed a huge population of emerald shiners in the system also (can you say blue colored lures!). These factors are contributing to the slow bite this spring.
Now for the bad news if you are struggling: Walleyes are being caught with regularity. Many of them in the 20+ inch range. Most of these fish are coming off the reefs with slip bobbers, jigs or rigs. An adjustment to your style of fishing or a tweak in presentation might be all that is required to change your luck. This week I witnessed a weigh in with several fish over 7 pounds, and one over 8 pounds. Limits are still tough to come by. We are spoiled on the Winnebago system as we expect a limit every time we are on the water.
In conclusion, cold water, ample forage, and an aggressive white bass run have given walleyes the appearance of “lock jaw” when it comes to gobbling up lures. The fish are there; however, they are not in the “mood” to chase lures based on the current conditions. Some consecutive warm nights are the ticket to get these fish to turn on big time! Predicted warm weather over the coming week may just be the break we have been waiting for to get the trolling bite rolling. I encourage each of you to draw your own conclusions and post your responses in the forum section of the site.
