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Open water season is finally upon us. Ice out on many of the lakes in the Ely area was just within the last week so one would think the water temps would still be quite cold. But over the last several days, our daytime highs have climbed into the upper 70s and low 80s, raising the water temps very quickly. You will find different species in different stages of the spawn.
If walleye are what you’re after, start your search relatively shallow, 10-15 feet and work shallower. Troll spinners over rock outcroppings, rocky humps and quick drops. Minnows and crawlers are going to be your best live bait bet. If you’re fishing artificial, Shad Raps, Berkley Flicker Shads, or Rapala Ripstops. Jigging is also going to prove effective. Tip your jig with a fathead minnow, rainbow, lite pike sucker or even a crawler and fish over the earlier listed structure or a just outside the main currents of a river mouth.
Northern pike are running the weedy shallows and river mouths. Typical pike tactics will work just fine; casting flashy spoons, Mepps spoons and buck tails, buzz baits, really anything flashy and obnoxious, or simply a large sucker minnow under a large bobber.
Bass will still be holding a little deeper. Start looking in about 15 feet of water. Some great tactics for bass, both large and smallmouth are plastics fished in a variety of ways; Whacky Rigged, Ned Rigged or Texas Rigged. Live Target Crawfish and Z-Man Crawfish will also prove very effective in triggering hard hitting strikes.
Crappie and large bluegills will be found right along with the bass. Crappie minnows and night crawler under a slip-bobber will be the easiest approach, but crappie will very eagerly hit retrieved Beetle Spins.
The rising waters temps will keep the lake trout a bit deeper, 30-40 feet. Jig Dr Spoons, large white and red Tube jigs tipped with a frozen smelt or minnow head, or troll large Salmo’s. You will find stream trout much shallower than their larger cousin and in lakes like Miners or Tofte, you’ll do best in 10-20 feet of water. Troll or cast Mepps bucktails or small Salmo’s. If you’re fishing Miners, set a slipbobber at about 10 feet over a plain hook and a night crawler. Headed to Tofte? Snap on a sinker two to three feet above a plain hook tipped with a nightcrawler. Use a worm blower, inflate the crawler and cast it out. Leave the bail open and let the sinker sit on the bottom and the crawler float.
