More temperate weather has arrived andwithit,thefishinghasreallypicked up quite nicely. As we suspected the last couple of weeks, the minnow bite is now in full swing. Walleyes are eagerly hitting larger rainbows and shiners fished along the edge of high weed lines in 8-15 feet of water. Set your slip bobber, jig or troll just in front of the tall vegetation and they will dart out from their hiding spot and take sit. As usual, for artificial, soft plastic swim baits, Rapala’s, Berkly Flicker Shads or Reef Runner trolled in those same places will work fine. If you’re not finding the weed lines, look for depth transitions off points and in pinch point between islands; concentrate on rock piles or sunken islands if you find them.
Crappies have also been quite hungry this last week, they too have been preferringminnows.Suspendacrappie minnow under a slip bobber in 8-12 feet of water in high vegetation. Also proving very effective are Northland Tackle ThumperJigs,NorthlandTackleGypsi Jigs, Troo Moos Glow Jigs, Beetle Spins, Bobby Garland Original Baby Shads, and Z-Man Micro Finesse Minnows.
Bass, both large and small mouth, are pretty shallow, 5-10 feet. Again, minnows have been the most effective method of brining them in. A scoop of WalleyeMix(rainbowsandshiners)will meet your needs for everything but the crappie.Ofcourse,largemouthbasswill still readily take a topwater crank bait if you feel so inclined. Neither species of bass will turn down your soft plastic presentations either, so if you’re more inclined to go artificial, throw Whacky Rigs, Ned Rigs or Tube Jigs and walk them over rocky flats or through high cabbage.
Northern pike action is picking up as well. I know for myself this week, they havebeenpreferringminnowsoveranything artificial. If you can find sucker minnows, get them. If not, the largest rainbow and shiner minnows you can get will do just fine. The pike are not terribly deep right now, most sitting in the 5-10 foot range, again cruising and ambushing in the heavy weed cover.
