Heavy flooding stricken the area much of the week causing many fisherman to stay away from Lake Winnebago. The main lake is full of debris which was swept down rivers with the nearly 6+ inches of rain on Thursday night. On Friday alone, three boats required emergency assistance from hitting debris, so take extra caution as you venture out. This weekend, the water clarity was better than I would have expected. The southern third of Lake Winnebago is very stained, but once north of Wendt’s water quality starts to improve.
Lake Winnebago was starting to heat up on the trolling bite prior to the storms on Thursday. The best activity remains around the reefs adjacent to deep water with crank baits. This seemed to be somewhat of a reaction bite as trolling speeds over 2.0 triggered the most hits on crank baits. The mud trolling bite picked up significantly over the weekend, mainly in the north half of the lake. Trolling speeds of 1.7-2.1 mph with shad baits run between 25-45 feet behind the boards worked best. Harnesses are producing fish, but not at the same rate as the cranks. Blade color varied by day but copper or brass was most consistent. Perch activity on the western reefs near Black Wolf Run has started to fire up over the last week. Size has been solid, and the presentation must be very still. These are generally untargeted fish as anglers are focused on the walleyes using the slip bobber rig with a jumbo leech or crawler. Payne’s Point on the north shore continues to produce average sized walleyes. The Neenah Lighthouse reefs are giving up limits of ‘eyes bouncing shad raps off of the rocks in 6-10 feet of water. High Cliff Park had a mud bite working in the 10-14 foot range on crank baits in blue or purple. Many of the reefs are giving up walleyes on drift fishing techniques, especially on crawlers. The southeast shore and third reef still have a sheephead spawning party occurring so if you need some entertainment, go nuts. The white bass bite is still strong everywhere in the lake, but especially on the north shore. Bluegills and Crappies can be found south of the third reef in the emerging weed beds, or in the quiet channels off of the main lake. Lakeside Park had some large mouth action and a very solid bullhead bite going. Don’t overlook the emerging weed beds for walleyes. Plenty of walleyes can be taken on minnow shaped cranks or Cleo’s in those weeds.
Lake Poygan and the Wolf River are heavily stained, much like chocolate milk. The fishing slowed drastically this week, especially in the River. It appears as if the White Bass run finally has drawn to an end on the Wolf. Poygan has an active Pike bite working on larger lures which present a lot of flash. Until the water clarity is better, florescent bait with flash or vibration is a must. These baits need to be fished slowly to allow the fish to hone in on the bait. The walleyes in the area have good size with many over 20 inches. Saturday was the best day of the week on both Winneconne and Poygan.
For all of you with flooded homes and business, we will keep you in our thoughts for a quick recovery. This week could be fantastic, especially if the mud bite emerges full tilt. Keep those reports coming to [email protected].
