The heat is on and it looks like it’s here to stay, at least for a while. For walleye, fishermen are reporting leeches and smaller minnows, fathead chubs, as the go to live baits. Both should be fished on abrightlycoloredjig.Thehotcolorsthis weekhavebeenpink,white,chartreuse, purple and light green. Sunken islands and rock piles between 12-20 feet, and mud / weed line breaks at the same depthsaretheareasofthelaketotarget. For rivers, fish the river mouths or under larger bridges around the piers. For artificial baits, Mr. Twister Tails, soft plastics like Keitech Easy Shiners and Rapala Crush City paddle tails are going to be the best alternatives, again using the same jigs as mentioned previously. Northern pike are cruising their usual haunts, weedy bays and river mouths.Withhigherwatertemps,don’t expect fast action from the bigger pike. For larger pike, you will need to move out of the shallows and get a bit deeper. A large sucker minnow under aslip bobber is still going to be the most effective tactic but classics like Spoons, Mepps Spinners or trolling large Rapala’s will also work very well.
Bass too are moving out to cooler water during the heat of the day, 8-10 feet. Give soft plastic approaches like Ned and WhackyRigsatry.Thesepresentations are very versatile and can be worked on rocky flats or through heavy weed cover. As evening approaches, move shallower and throw topwater crank baits.
Crappies are still in 12-15 feet of water in the tall cabbage cover. The easiest approach is a crappie minnow under a slip bobber in either the early morning or late evening, 7-8 pm. You can also jig a marabou jig or cast a Beetle Spin. Lake trout are running deep, 40+ feet. Troll using downriggers or leadcore line with large Dr Spoons, Salmos, Reef Runners or Rapala’s. Concentrate your efforts over rock piles rising from very deep depths to 40 – 50 feet. You can also Jig large bucktail jigs or spoons tipped with frozen smelt over that same structure.
