June 30, 2006

June 29th, 2006 by Silver Water Wheel Lodge

This past week was a tough one. It began at an avg. pace, but became increasingly difficult to find any consistent pattern or concentration of fish. Especially by the end of the week, walleye volume and size both took a hit.

The weather was hot and we have had very little wind. There is also a noticeable smoke haze in the area from fires in the Northwest. The mayflies are hatching, but I don’t believe this to be the primary cause of the quiet bite.

The most dramatic change that we are seeing compared to most years is the wide range of depths and habitats that are holding walleyes. We found fish in shallow weeds, on deep rock, on mid depth sand flats and absolutely every other place in between. We caught walleyes suspended, we found the occasional active fish bite (usually shallow), but most spots produced just a few fish and then it was time to move on. With no real concentration of fish, most guides employed a run and gun strategy switching back and forth between deep and shallow water spots. The only volume was found in front of the weed beds, but this pattern held no big fish (top end was 25 in.) The bigger fish were found as deep as 30 ft., but they definitely were not active.

Effective presentations also ran the spectrum. During a good shallow water bite, jig and twister combos without minnows pitched in outproduced live bait. For the inactive deeper water fish, it was super slow with light jigs and straight meat. A few guides ran spinners to find a pod of fish and then doubled back with jigs to pick up the less aggressive biters. If you didn’t stay open minded and change up your patterns and depths several times a day, then you got smoked.

Volume dropped to an average of 35 walleyes over 18 in. per daily guide sheet. The highest daily total was 75. For the week, we caught and released 53 walleyes over 27 in., including 13 – 28s, and 1 – 29.

The bass are on their way out to deep water early this year. For the week, we had 17 over 17 in., including 6 – 18s. Many were caught in 10 – 20 ft. while walleye fishing. There were also a few big pike that showed up as incidental catch for walleye fisherman.
For the week, there was 1 – 39, 2 – 40s, and 1 – 41.

While reviewing the sheets, the numbers don’t look as bad as it felt. It may be that both guests and guides have been spoiled or it may be the drain from the mental gymnastics that were required to successfully guide a day.

There was one giant surprise for the week. While walleye fishing a deeper summer structure, Pat Keane caught a monster lake trout. The fish was 38 in. long and weighed approximately 27 lbs. We have caught the occasional laker over the past 8 years, but we were all shocked to see such a huge fish.

The weather was unsettled this week with showers, variable winds, and a significant cold front. The result was a tougher walleye bite and a trend towards deeper water. The weed beds are virtually fully grown and the major mayfly hatch has yet to occur, but we are finding many walleyes in deeper water in and around the main lake basin. We fished many of these spots as we would in July or Aug. There were still some nice walleyes caught shallow, but not near the number you would normally expect for this time of year.

July 16, 2010

July 15th, 2010 by Silver Water Wheel Lodge

There were huge changes in the walleye world this week and as usual, weather was the instigator. We started the week with bright sunshine and flat water, got banged up with a 2 day storm front, and closed out the week with a big cold northwest blast. We had big winds, big waves, and big moves. Despite a few rough days it was still a really good week overall for walleye volume and size.

Early in the week with nice weather, the deep water sand flats were the go to spots for both size and numbers. There were a few fish caught from the deep side of the weed beds in 10 – 12, but the big fish were noticeably absent. Deep sand produced size and numbers. During the storms, we just did what we could to find a place to fish and took note that the writing was on the wall – “the times they are a changing.” After the front, with more big winds we found that deep water sand spots were overwhelmed with tiny walleyes. Shallow water weed spots were empty. And the best bet for big fish was deeper water main lake rock. Not all summer deep rock spots were on, but many produced between 20 and 30 ft. towards the end of the week. Minnows with ¼ oz. jigs were the top producer.

For the week, we caught 32 walleyes over 27 in., including 12 – 28s. Guide sheets averaged 35 walleyes over 18 in. per day. The highest daily total was 64. Factoring in several tough fishing days, it was still a very good week.

We did have some anglers chasing pike this week and the results were mixed. Volume was generally good for smaller pike and there were some big fish landed, but there were also some very slow spells. For the week we had 2 – 37s, 1 – 38, 1 – 40, and 1 – 42.

First time guest Wade Hicks fished with us early in the week when the walleye bite was excellent on the deep water sand flats. He and friend John Randolph caught the highest daily total of the week – 64 walleyes over 18 in. in one day.

Wade – “Mike, I’ve been on a lot of fishing trips – trout, salt water, bass and more – and that was still the best fishing I have ever had. I don’t think there is any way for 2 guys to catch big fish any faster than we did – it can’t be done!”