Anglers were provided a good week of fishing granted by Mother Nature this week. Lake Winnebago’s waters have become very stained and the algae bloom continues to thicken. On Sunday, August 3 water temperatures were 78 degrees throughout most of the main lake.
Perch fishing is the main topic of conversation for most anglers on the lake currently. On Sunday, there were hundreds of boats on the lake working the perch in the transitional areas between the mud and rock, or in areas on top of the reefs. The majority of these boats were using dead sticking techniques along with slip bobbers tight to the bottom with red worms, hellgrammites, or crawler chunks. The southern end of the lake had more success stories than the north. Areas southwest of Fisherman’s Road, just north of the Third Reef, and the northern tip of Long Point had good catches of above averaged sized fish. These perch are scattered in small schools, so angler’s results are hit and miss overall.
The walleye trolling bite is very slow, especially south of the wind turbines. I worked from the turbines to Fond du Lac on three separate occasions this week without any walleye taken on any presentation. The trolling bite is still solid outside of Brothertown, near Garlic Island, and at High Cliff Park. The fish remain deep and 100+ feet behind the board with cranks was most consistent. Speed varied by day, but 1.8 was a good starting point. With the heavy stain of the water, vibration or noise coming from the lure is essential. This will allow the walleye to locate the lure a little easier in the murky water. Using metallic or florescent colored lures will also help.
The walleye reef bite has been solid. The active walleyes have been staged on the windward side of the reefs, rather than on the tops. I found drift fishing very effective this week with jigs and crawlers. The quality of the eyes caught was on the small size, with some bigger fish in the mix. The majority of eyes which have been taken system wide are perch anglers scoring bonus fish on traditional perch methods.
The Third Reef had the best action for walleyes in the 11-15 inch range.
There also was excellent bluegill action happening near Farney’s Point. These fish were near the bottom feeding on red worms in about 7-9 feet of water.
Currently there is a lot of feed within the system. The bug hatch was substantial last week; and the large spring hatch of fish has grown large enough to attract the attention of the predatory fish. It looks like we have graduated into “The Dog days of August.”
Just an FYI. River Haus in FDL just got in 50 dozen hellgrammites, so if you have been seeking these critters be sure to stop by and let them know you heard it here! [email protected]. C-ya next week!
