A very inconsistent week of weather during the past seven days led to a substantial decline in Lake Winnebago’s water temps. Over the week, the water temperature decreased nearly 13 degrees, creating new conditions for local anglers from the past five weeks. The heavy winds created a mess along the eastern shore with piles of vegetation. This helped clear the main lake of a lot of the floating debris in the short term. Water clarity remains cloudy in most sections of the lake.
Regardless of the cold fronts, Perch fishing remained fantastic. Being in the bottom 4 inches of the lake on a gravel bottom was essential. The mornings have had perch in the shallower ranges, and then moving into deeper water as the day goes forward. Red worms were red hot this week, but crawler chunks boasted big numbers of fish also. I found orange hooks to have been working the best this week, followed by silver kahle hooks and then gold colored hooks. Red hooks have worked well also.
The sizes of the fish have been running on the small to average size. Some jumbos are in the mix also. The schools tend to have multiple size fish with within them, so moving to find bigger fish has been unproductive for the most part. On Sunday, it was nearly impossible to keep three lines in the water, and “triplers” (three fish on at a time) were common.
Based on the current populations of shad, young of the year bass, and the small perch—walleyes are not to be found anywhere. There is just too much food for them currently and the need to chase a crawler harness or crank bait does not exist. If you plan on walleye fishing currently, try to run the baits very fast thru the water column to create a reaction bite. Larger sized presentations are a must. Historically, there should be a walleye bite starting in the near future, so be ready to change gears if needed.
The Wolf River has had the seasonal “Fall run” of white bass start in the rivers and lakes. Small mouths are still common, and pike are active. Catfish and crappie fishing has been improving. Lake Poygan has been slow overall, but some perch have been taken with regularity.
For those asking about the hot rumor…..Yes, My Fishing Partner will start a fishing League on Lake Winnebago in 2011 (Winnebago Fishing League or WFL). We are in the process of completing the new website for the league, and we will start taking applications thereafter. The league will be limited to 36 fishermen, and will run from April to Labor Day. If your Business is interested in sponsoring the league, please contact me. More details to come in the next few weeks.
Thanks for stopping by the website. [email protected] is my email. Feel free to contact me with your fishing reports or questions. Have a great week on the water!
