What a difference a week makes, from flakes, rain, cold and wind to sun, heat and mostly dry. With summer finally making an appearance, the behavior of the fish is going to be changing along with the changing conditions. So far this spring, most of the walleye have been found in the shallows, even as shallow as 4 feet but most right around 8-12 feet. Most anglers have found their success with minnow presentations, whether live, soft plastics or crank baits like Scatter Raps.
The rapid rise in temperature the last few days has begun the transition to leeches. Talking with some fishermen coming off Shagawa on Wednesday this week, the walleye were only wanting leeches trolled on a spinner in about 12 -15 feet of water. The Ely area is forecasted for very little rain in the next week with temperatures pretty high for our area. This is going to cause a rapid rise in water surface temps and thus driving the walleye deeper. As the week progresses, be prepared to move deeper. Look for classic walleye structure, sunken islands / humps, points and main lake breaks. Leech tipped jigs and spinners are going to be very effective.
Bass, both large and small mouth are still shallow and very active. Top-water baits are starting to come into play. Crawfish presentations are always a great option with proven success most of the summer. Soft plastic tactics like Whacky Rigs, Carolina Rigs or swim baits fished over shallow weed flats, rocky flats, island points or current / river structures.
Northern pike will still be found in the same areas. A larger sucker minnow, frozen smelt, or large Rapala should work very well. Find a weedy, shallow bay and throw large, loud buzz baits or similar top-water crank bait, or large flashy spoons and you are likely to find success.
Crappies and panfish are hanging out in heavy weed cover in about 8-12 feet of water. The easiest approach is a crappie minnow under a slip bobber. But a quick way to cover more water more quickly is casting a classic Beetle Spin. Small jigs tipped with a crawler or minnow is another easy, yet effective approach for panfish.
Long story short, as the temps rise this week, be prepared to change up your approach and switch locations to stay on the fish.
