the weekly FISHING REPORT

The Beginning of the End

Fall is here and right on schedule.  There is steam on the lake this morning as air temps are right at 45 degrees.  It was a week of wind, rain, and fronts.  We had well over 2 inches of rain this past week spread over most days.  The lake level has risen rapidly and is now at the high point for the season.  I have guided my last fishing group for the year and like a few of my guides, will be packing up and getting ready to head south this weekend.  It is hard to believe that the “summer that wasn’t” is almost over.

The challenging weather conditions put a damper on the walleye bite this past week.  The numbers of fish were good, but the bigger ones were more difficult to trigger.  Guide reports averaged about 40 walleyes over 18 in. per day and the highest daily total was 63.  For the week we had 14 walleyes over 27 in., including 1-28.

We had groups hunting big walleyes, but heavy rains, high winds, or their after affects left us with a “post-front bite.”  We could still catch slot to medium sized walleyes along with tons of little ones on the main lake sand benches, but the big fish that are usually mixed in with them were few and far between.  Main lake rock structures are still virtually empty.  The variable weather effectively shut down the shallow water bite.  Almost all the action was between 18 – 30ft.  Jigs in sizes ¼ - 3/8 oz. tipped with minnows were the presentation of choice.

The weedbeds are just beginning to break up and main lake temps are already (or still) at 63 degrees.  It won’t be long before we see big pike move up into the shallows.  We had just a small effort for pike this week with limited results.  There were a few random bass including a 20 caught while walleye fishing.

Missy and the crew will be here until Sept. 12, but this will be the last fishing report of 2009.  It is time to head to Iowa and get ready to chase whitetails.

The Kicker:

Many different guests:  “Were you able to fill all of the cancellations you had in Spring?”

Mike: 

“We patched in the season pretty well, but I did exhaust my entire waiting list and will probably attend at least one sport show in 2010…  

Between now and then will be the best time in the past 8 years to lock in a great fishing date at Silver Water Wheel… 

After Jan. 15, I expect the book to be packed and to be working on waiting lists again.” 

Somewhat Summer

Summer weather finally arrived with some sunshine, heat, humidity, and thunder storms instead of all day rain.  You couldn’t call the conditions “settled,” but it was a dramatic change from the rest of year.  The walleyes responded positively to the conditions for the most part, but there are still groups of fish scattered across all depth zones. 

It was a very good week overall for walleye numbers and size.  We had 29 walleyes over 27 in., including 6 – 28s, 2 – 29s, and 1 – 30.5.  All but one of the 28+ walleyes were caught in water  20 – 35ft. deep, but many of the 25 – 27 in. walleyes were caught along with good volume, on the front side of main lake cabbage weed beds, in 10 – 14ft.  Walleye volume was excellent with guide reports averaging 45 over 18 in. per day.  The highest daily total was 69.

There were still times during the week when some bites were tough.  The deeper water fish were more temperamental than the shallow ones.  Versatility was always the key to consistent success.  When the deep water walleyes were inactive, the options were to downsize to 1/8 oz jigs and fish very slowly or pack up and spot check other areas, including shallow main lake weedbeds.  Not all cabbage beds were holding fish.  The best ones were exposed to main lake current and were near deeper main lake basins.

There are many traditional summer areas that have just not produced this year.  Many spots that would have had “A” ratings during previous seasons are virtually empty.  Not just no big fish, but no fish.

Big minnows on ¼ oz jigs were the preferred presentation.  There were a couple of fish turned with bouncers and leeches and a few nice fish caught on Gulp Alive minnows, but that accounted for about 2% of the week’s catch.

There were a couple of random bass and big pike caught, but they weren’t targeted or really worth talking about.

The Kicker:

A guest on departure – “Missy, we read Mike’s fishing reports all summer… and he had us really worried…and then we get up here and the weather is good and the fishing is great, we just couldn’t be happier!”

My Wife – “Well the weather did just break, but I will agree that the boys do set pretty high standards, and Mike is a little spoiled and can be overly critical…”

I wasn’t there, but she told me she winked.

Some Surprises!

As Mentioned in last week’s report, the week began with a monster blowout.  One boat tried to fish for part of the day on Saturday, but conceded defeat after a few hours.  We expected the high winds, torrential rains, and cold temps, would throw the bite on Sunday for a loop.  Instead, we caught 11 walleyes over 27 inches along with good volume for medium sized fish.

The weather improved modestly throughout the week and without dramatic changes, we didn’t expect to see too much change for production from the previous weeks.  Instead, we saw not only an increase in the number of large walleyes, but we also had a dramatic increase in the total numbers of walleyes caught.  For the week we had 39 walleyes over 27 in., including 7-28s.  Guide sheets averaged about 40 walleyes over 18 in. per day and the highest daily total was 61.  It was a good week and at round table many guides admitted to being surprised at how many 4-6 lb walleyes they were catching along with the big fish, even though the weather still wasn’t summer-like.

I have talked about it so many times that anyone reading these reports knows that SWWL guides are going to religiously check out all depths and speeds before settling into a groove.  This week, the shallow water bite was not very strong.  There were a few fish caught shallow, but it was never fast and for the most part, the big ones were deeper.  Jigs in sizes ¼ oz. with bigger minnows were the preferred presentation.  Most of the 26 in. plus sized walleyes were caught in 20 – 30 ft. of water on main lake sand.  Main lake rock has been a bust even though guides have been spot checking it for weeks.

There was no effort spent on Bass or Pike, yet we did land another monster pike this week while walleye fishing.  Chuck Warnert caught a massive 43in. pike while fishing on one of our regular summer walleye spots.  His fish is the 5^th over 43 in. for the season.

The Kicker:

We have a photo board in the lodge and we update it regularly so that guests know about the big fish caught during their week.  Yesterday morning I asked the guide table what happened to the photo board.  “Why are there so many photos missing?”

Senior Guide,… “It was a good week….the guests snagged their photos on the way out the door, but I don’t think that we will have too much trouble filling in with new ones.”

Déjà vu All Over Again

The crazy 2009 Anti-summer continues.  The weather was consistently inconsistent all week.  We experienced cool conditions, overcast skies, and off and on showers every day for the past week.  There were a few sunny breaks in between and we did see surface temps creep up into the lower 60s, but the lake feels like Fall.

The weather kept the walleyes scattered and definitely slowed our volume down, but the numbers for big fish were good.  For the week, we had 30 walleyes over 27 in., including            5 – 28s, and 2-29s.  Guide sheets averaged 25 walleyes over 18 in. per day and the highest daily total was 59.

Guides continued to bounce back and forth between main lake deep water sand (20-35ft.) and shallow to mid depth (10 – 16ft.) sand in front of weed beds.  Main lake summer rock patterns have not been effective.  Faster presentations with big jigs and plastics worked occasionally in shallow water, but the deep water fish preferred slower and smaller presentations with lighter jigs (mostly 1/4oz.).  It was common to catch a few fish shallow – move, catch a few fish deep-move, and repeat.  The biggest guiding challenge was to get your guests accustomed to the extreme changes in speed required for the switch from deep to shallow.

There were a few boats that chased pike this week with very limited success for big fish.  There was one 40 boated, but it was caught on a jig out of 30 ft.  It was the same story for bass.  There were a few caught on spinners and topwater, but most were incidental catch.

With lots of things on the go, I was a day late writing the week’s report and can give you a preview for the first week of Aug.  -  Blowout!  It will be a brand new game tomorrow after another Massive weather system hit us today, with high winds, rain, and cold air temps.  What else would you expect for anti-summer 2009?

The Kicker:  After moving my boat from a shallow water weed bite and picking up a few active walleyes on plastics, I changed location and geared my guests down for a slower deep water bite.  I showed my guests walleyes on the graph raising up off the bottom to “check out” our jigs and then refusing them. 

My guest: “I just can’t believe that!  We aren’t more than 200 yds. away from that last spot where those fish were snapping and these walleyes won’t give us the time of day….”

Keeping things in perspective

It rained part of every day but one this week.  But it was showers, not a complete northwest blowout like last week.  Walleye volume was up, but it was not as good as a normal July week at SWWL.  The walleyes are still scattered and temperamental, but we managed to put together good numbers for big fish, despite a challenging bite.  It’s all relative; the weather, the bite, the numbers of big fish.  What we consider OK, most consider great. 

But what is not open for debate by anyone is that this is by far the coldest summer in recent history.  Main lake surface temps are still barely above 60 degrees.  I have talked about the “extreme” weather fluctuations that we have experienced in NW Ontario in recent summers, but even with the effort of making sure of keeping things in perspective, this is the “most extreme” season that I have seen in my guiding career. 

For the week, we had 24 walleyes over 27 in., including 4 – 28s, and 2-29s.  Guide sheets averaged 25 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day and the highest daily total was 57.  The most important point to note was the extreme variation in depths that produced both numbers and size for walleyes this week.  The majority of big walleyes were caught from 25 – 35 ft., but there were still a significant number that were caught between 12 – 20ft. 

Main lake Mega sand structures produced well, but there was also limited success on deep water rock.  As the week progressed, we found more and more walleyes shallow and the deeper water bite became more and more difficult.  By that I mean, that we caught and marked fewer fish down deep and that there was also a significant difference in how aggressive the bite was between shallow and deep.  Aggressive presentations like big jigs and plastics didn’t work on the shallow water fish, but those walleyes in 12 – 20ft.  were still more ready to bite than most of the deep water fish.

It would be incorrect to list one presentation as better for walleyes than another this week as there were just as many fish caught on 3/8 oz. jigs and minnows in deep water as there were caught on ¼-1/8 oz. jigs in shallow.  The bite was always sporadic and the only way to “win” every day was to fish it all.

Everyone was fishing for walleyes this week, but with the crazy weather, we still ran into some great incidental catch including 2-19 in. bass, 1-40, and one monster 44.5 in. Pike caught and released by Jack Sager out of 35 ft. of water.  They had the catch on video and it was awesome to watch a truly huge fish landed.  After I watched it, I told the guys, “there are not many days that you will all remember for the rest of your lives, but this is one of them.”

The Kicker: 

A guest in my boat bringing a fish in out of 12 ft. of water, “What the Hell is that?” 

MW:  “That is a whitefish.  We sometimes catch them in May or early June while walleye fishing when the water is cold.”  So, even when you are trying to keep things in perspective, that makes this a very weird year!

Ouch!  ….  I concluded last week with something like the new normal isn’t normal.  Well it was that all over again.  If someone put a hood over my head, spun me around and set me on the lake this week, I would have told you that we were fishing in Mid May or Late Sept.  After fishing for a few hours, I would have concluded late Sept., because most, but not all walleyes were deep.

This was not only a tough week because of another massive and cold rain system that settled in and never left, but it once again scrambled the fish. I had guests requesting boots, gloves, and heavy socks to be picked up in town.  Seriously, this storm started on Sat. with high winds and is just about to leave us tonight.  We are talking about sustained north winds over 20mph and air temps hovering between 45 – 60 with rain off and on the entire time.  During my check outs tonight, I apologized for the terrible weather and my guests were gracious enough to accept that this was an off the charts week.

To be very clear and very plain…  “I have never, ever!!!,   seen surface temps of 58 degrees on the main lake going into the  3^rd week of July.  In 2004 we had a cold spring with water temps almost reaching 60, but it was the first day of July, not July 17.  Wood stoves and propane heaters were full on this week.  Guests were wet and cold.  Shore lunches were in camp and the lodge was very quiet.

Fish are still scattered.  Walleyes are mostly deep, but there are many shallow.  All were very reluctant to bite this week.  Despite the deplorable fishing conditions, we still managed to post 12 walleyes over 27in., including 1 – 28 and 2- 29s.  The average daily guide sheet reported 25 walleyes over 18 in. and the highest daily total was 60.

We were confined to the south shore for most of this week and most guides moved quickly and spot checked areas to find fish and then geared down with light jigs and minnows fishing slowly to coerce reluctant bites. 

There was a small effort for pike that resulted in a pair of 38s, but that bite was just as tough as the walleyes.  We are done chasing bass for the year and that is too bad.  There were actually some walleyes caught while casting for pike this week. 

The Kicker:  Guest; “I would like to switch my 1^st week of June dates to July.  The weather this week was awful!”

MW…”I will be happy to switch your dates, but can’t help but to inform you that this is Northwest Ontario and it does not discriminate by month when to provide the worst weather of the year… And that is why I don’t play favorites…Whatever you request for dates is what I try to provide, because your guess is just as good as mine as to when the weather will be perfect to get the bite rolling.”

     Overall, it was a good walleye week on Lac Seul.  The weather is still cool and variable and nothing even closely resembling summer, but in Canadian terms, it wasn’t too bad.  Mornings were often mid 40s to 50 and daytime highs were between mid 60 to 70, but there was enough clouds and wind to prevent surface temps from warming significantly.  In my guiding career, I cannot remember a time when main lake temps were this cold this late in July.  The main lake basins began the week in the high 50s and are still barely at 60.  Cabbage weeds are not to the surface, the mayfly hatch is late, and water temps that are uniform throughout the depths still have walleyes evenly distributed from 10 – 30 ft.  The depth question is a daily challenge for all of our guides, but we have become very comfortable spot checking different areas and depths quickly to figure out the pattern for the day.

    For the week, we had 29 walleyes over 27 in., including 5-28s, and 2-29s.  Guide sheets averaged 35 walleyes over 18 in. per day and the highest daily total was 57.  The big walleyes were evenly split between aggressive, fast shallow presentations and deep and slow.  When the big fish were shallow, Gulp Alive plastics on big jigs would let you know quickly how aggressive they were.  We used fast swimming snap retrieves with 3/8 oz. jigs with bait casting gear on sand breaks in 8 – 14 ft. to find active fish.  I had a 28 about jerk the rod out of my hand, it hit so hard.  Often the active phase of the bite did not last that long, but we would then gear down to smaller lighter presentations to pick up additional fish from the hot spots.

    For every big fish caught shallow, there was at least one caught off main lake mega-sand structures on the 18 – 24 ft. crest that broke off into deep water.  Most of these fish were caught with jig and minnow combos in ¼ - 3/8 oz.  Although, some guides experimented with thumping big jigs deep with Gulp Alive plastics to cover ground quickly.  Results were mixed, but there were days where the fast presentation down deep produced more big fish than the slow drag. 

    Flexibility and versatility were the key.  I was surprised almost every night at round table at the number of different types of areas, depths, and presentations that resulted in big fish.  The new normal is fish it all, every day.

    The cold water temps did stretch out our bass season.  We didn’t spend a great deal of time chasing them, but we did release 52 bass over 17in., including 11-18s, and 2-19s.  Tubes and top water were the top producers.  On sunny days with no wind, topwater was the best bet.  Big tubes were always the answer the rest of the time.

    We stumbled into a few big pike this week, but it wasn’t on purpose, or worth mentioning the details.

The Kicker:     SWWL Guide, “It took a couple of tries, but I found the big ones deep today on the main lake sand…. I marked them in 25, picked up a few on 3/8 then geared down to ¼ and filled the sheet.”  Another SWWL Guide, “It took me a couple of tries as well, but I found them ripping Gulps in 8-10 ft. on a transition sand bar, we didn’t fill the sheet, but I boated 2- 26s, 1 – 27, and 1-28.”         MW…..”Sounds like just another day!”

     This entire week was dominated by a massive 4 day storm.  We occasionally see this type of weather event in spring and fall, but it is extremely rare for the middle of the summer.  We had groups this week that arrived, fished, and departed with their rain gear on.  It was not just the rain, but the wind and the cold.  We had sustained high winds from the North for days along with temps that hovered in and around the mid 40s to low 50s.  It was uncomfortable fishing and when the weather broke, it was extremely difficult fishing.

       To give you an idea of how strong this system was, main lake surface temps had been in the high 60s to mid 70s, but by Thursday, the warmest water you could find in the south basin was 57 degrees.  I explained to my groups that this system put the fish into a blender and pushed Puree.  By midweek, we instantly had walleyes on deep summer water structure and caught some of our best fish out of water 30ft. and deeper.  The bass bite got put on hold until Thursday and the pike bite cratered.

       It was an extremely challenging guiding week.  If you were not firmly committed to checking multiple depths and patterns many times a day, you would crash and burn.  Despite the rough conditions, we still managed to share information and salvage a pretty good week for walleyes.  For the week we had 23 over 27 in., including 2 – 28s and 3 – 29s.  Daily guide sheets averaged 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day.  The highest daily total for the week was 65.

      When the walleyes moved to summer patterns deep, 3/8 oz. jigs and minnows worked the best.  When the storm broke, we had to gear down to ¼ and occasionally 1/8 oz. jigs even in deeper water to get fish to bite.  Thursday and Friday were beautiful weather days, but were very tough for walleyes.  The brilliant sunshine brought some fish back from the depths into normal transition spots, but the bite was lack luster at best.  There are still groups of walleyes scattered from 4 – 34 ft. and all across the lake and until the weather stabilizes, this will be the norm.  For the past 2 days, it has been a run and gun, 10 to 20  to 30 and back relay race.  Pick up a couple of fish at each spot and consider yourself lucky and move on.

     The bass bite picked up again after the weather broke.  Almost all were caught on Thurs. and Fri.  We had 66 over 17 in. for the week including 16 – 18s, 1 – 19 and 1- 20.  Versatility was the still the key.  Spinnerbaits were the best option in some areas and in others, big tubes rolled over rocks were the trick for big bass. 

The Kicker:  At check out a guest said, “I’ve never caught so many fish and I want to come back, but how do I get around weather like this?”  I said, “Simple, don’t book an early May or late Sept. spot and the odds are that you will be just fine.”

     I have been accused of being overly critical in my weekly fishing reports when the weather conditions have been tough.  The reason is that I have weeks like this to compare the tough weeks too.  Fishing was fast and furious for all 3 species this week and the only thing that held numbers back from being off the charts was the fact that you had to choose what to fish for.  It was a great week for walleye, pike, and smallmouth bass for both volume and size.

     Walleyes pulsed back and forth from a shallow water, super active bite to a 10 – 14 ft. “I’ll bite a jig and minnow if it is in my face.”  There were many more fish on typical transition pattern areas, but not all of the usual spots were hot.  For the week, we had 26 walleyes over 27 in., including 4 – 28s, 2 – 29s, and 1- 30.  Volume was excellent with daily guide sheets averaging 45 walleyes over 18 in. per day.  The highest daily total was 95.

     When the walleyes were in water less than 5 feet deep, the action was very fast and live bait was not necessary.  Guides routinely reported catching more and bigger fish pitching plastics and Gulp Alive minnows on bigger jigs, than fishing live bait slow in water less than 8 ft.  When they move shallow, they go there to eat.  No need to mess around with slow – give them a big profile presentation and cover as much water as you can.  When the weather was in transition, we doubled back and checked the base of emerging weed beds and transition areas in 8 – 14 ft. a little slower with ¼ oz. jigs and minnow combos.  The big fish this week were caught in the middle of the fray.  Fishing the deeper edge of the school occasionally turned a nice fish, but there were just as many caught in the middle of a bunch of “shorties.”

     Surprisingly the big Pike bite continued this week with 10 over 37 in., including 3 – 40s, 1 – 41, 1 – 42, and 1 – 43.  Some were incidental catch while walleye fishing, but others were targeted on transition areas as they made their way from the shallows to the main lake.  The Husky Jerk is still a formidable tool, but Gulp Alive Crazy Legs jerk shads on a big jig with a fine wire leader were also hard to beat.  Advantage there was that you could catch cross over walleyes in the shallows at the same time.

     I saved the best for last.  The smallmouth bass bite this week was nothing short of absolutely ridiculous.  The Mark Bailey/ Kendal Hartley crew were in from Texas this year and they once again taught the Northern boys a thing or two about catching bass.  For the week we had 368 bass over 17 in., including 112 – 18s, 23 – 19s, and 1 – 20.  Big tubes with light jigs cast into the shallows were the key.  Ring worms and Ring Fry Texas rigged with ¼ oz. bullet weights also turned a massive amount of fish.  The best part of the “shared information guide program” is that we can learn something new and immediately pass it on to the entire guide crew so that everyone can take advantage of a short term seasonal pattern.  I don’t expect our smallmouth bass bite to last much longer, but we definitely got a great show this week.

The Kicker: 

“Daddy, what happened to your thumb?  Why is it so rough?” … Brooke

“The bass are on….It might hurt, but there is only one way to hold a big bass.”  MW 

            Weather is usually the driving force behind the fishing bite and rarely do you see changes as dramatic as we have seen this past week.  Winter ended and Summer began this week with bright sunshine, calm winds, and highs in the 80s.  Lake surface temperatures skyrocketed and the fish were on the move.  It was an extremely shallow water bite with most fish caught in less than 10 ft. of water and many in less than 3 ft.

            The predominant walleye pattern was a pitch bite.  If you had a “puff” of wind to blow pine pollen into a shallow water inside bend, you were sure to find hungry walleyes.  Most guides chose to cast jig and plastics or Jig and Gulp combos to warm water shorelines to turn active walleyes.  We also caught lots of walleyes far back in the warm water bays that we typically fish in early spring on Husky jerks.  Usually these fish disperse much earlier in the season, but the quick change in weather resulted in a large group of fish that were still far back that were willing to hit aggressive presentations.  Husky Jerks were most effective in the shallow stumpy bays, but you could also find pockets and holes to turn additional fish on Jigs.

            During an active shallow water bite, we often locate groups of walleyes with aggressive presentations and then double back one level deeper and one level slower to pick up the bigger fish.  We were able to find a few nice fish in 10 – 15 ft., but more nice fish were caught shallow this week pitching plastics and Gulp Alive minnows into very shallow water.  Volume for the week was good with an average of 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day.  The highest daily total was 78.  For the week we had 20 walleyes over 27 in., including 3 – 28s.  Top end walleye numbers were good, but may have been cut into by the amount of time spent on the hot bass and pike bite.

            The bright sunshine packed baitfish into the top of the water column and the bass and pike turned on just like the walleyes.  Smallmouth action went from 0 – 60 in a day.  The numbers speak for themselves.  For the week we had 178 bass over 17 in., including 38 – 18s, 6 – 19s, and 1 – 20.  Preferences shifted from day to day, but plastics, small rattle traps, top water, spinnerbaits, and small crank baits all produced great bass.  I will predict that this week coming up will be even better.

            The instant hot shallow water also put the big pike into high gear this week.  We had several groups targeting big pike successfully, with 16 over 37 in., including 2 – 39s, 3 – 40s, and 2 – 41s.  Husky jerks and shallow diving cranks turned the most big fish, but there were also several big fish caught on spoons and big plastics on jigs.

            It was a great week to fish on Lac Seul and it was amazing to see how quickly the bite could change from slow and tepid to fast and furious for all 3 species.  As a guide, it truly was difficult to decide which species to target. 

The Kicker:  “It was really a nice spring on Lac Seul this year…. Both days!” …. SWWL Guide.

            “The times they are a changin.”   The week began with more of the same; cold, overcast, rainy conditions that were miserable to fish and tough for production.  By midweek, main lake temps were 47 degrees and backwater areas had fallen to 51.  The result was that fish began to scatter.  With no thermal advantage for baitfish, you were just as likely to find walleyes in 18 ft. as you were to find them in 8 ft.  The weather broke yesterday and we finally had the first partially sunny and warm days that we have had in quite some time.  Now in the Disney version of the fishing report, we would catch fish happily ever after.  Instead, it was like someone hit the Puree button on the blender.  There were just a couple of fish everywhere and instead of putting a pattern together and copying it, you just kept moving and trying different ideas until the day ended.

            At tonight’s nightly round table guide meeting; guys caught May style walleyes on husky jerks in the back of marshy bays, they caught typical early June walleyes on transition spots, and they caught some fish in 20 ft. off main lake points.  The only way to win was to aggressively spot check many different types of areas with very different types of presentations.  Most fish were caught early this week with standard jig and minnow combos in 8 – 15 ft., but later in the week you had to add crankbaits and pitching jigs into the shallows to be consistently successful.

            Production improved with every hour of sunshine and by the end of the week we were averaging 30 walleyes over 18 in. per day logged on the guide sheets.  The highest daily total was 62.  For the week we had 20 walleyes over 27 in., including 4 – 28s, and 1 – 29. 

            With the variable and cool weather, we pretty much ignored the pike this week, but the guys that were working the early season husky jerk bite in the back  bays turned 1 – 40 and 1 – 41 as incidental catch while walleye fishing.

            The bass bite kicked into high gear with the first warm weather.  Volume was high, but the best areas were mixed rock near water that was 10 – 20 ft. deep.  The traditional shallow spring bass spots held a few fish but not the big ones.  For the week we had 81 bass over 17 in., including 14 – 18s and 4 – 19s.  Cranks, plastics, and spinnerbaits all had their good days, but nothing was more consistent than the other.

The Kicker:  “Daddy, is it going to be another yucky day?  I am so tired of yucky days!”  Brooke – age 4.  

            The calendar says June, but it feels like May on Lac Seul this year.  We have had a few days of almost seasonal conditions, but they have been outnumbered by many cool – cold overcast days.  Sunshine is the driving force to the system.  Air temperature doesn’t warm the lake up but brilliant sunshine does.  When it shines, the surface temps heat up rapidly and the shallow water bite gets hot for both pike and walleyes. 

            The central southern basins of Lac Seul are harder hit by cold spells in Spring.  Instead of working with an A list of 100 spots, we are now working with 20 areas that are typically good and when conditions permit, we reach out into our normal June spots.

            The cool temps have reduced our spot choices, but our production for big fish has been excellent.  Top end size for pike, bass, and walleye has been far better than expected considering the conditions.  For the week we have had 29 walleyes over 27 in., including 6 – 28s, 2 – 29s, and 3 – 30s.  Pike top end size was also impressive with 6 over 38 in., including 2 – 40s, 2 – 41s, and another giant 44 caught by Mike Markert.  The bass bite is also behind schedule, but guides are finding big bass mixed in while walleye fishing.  For the week, we had 66 over 17 in., including 20 – 18s, 3 – 19s, and 2 – 20s.   Walleye volume has steadily improved and average guide sheets are reporting 25 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day.

            Jig and minnow combos in 1/8 – ¼ have been the “go to” presentation for walleyes in    6 – 14 ft. of water.  There have also been many big walleyes caught on husky jerks in the shallows.  Almost all the big pike of the week were turned on husky jerks as well.  The bass have been caught on both, though most are found one level deeper than expected for this time of year.

            In general, on colder mornings we have found walleyes in deeper water and less active and on sunny afternoons we have found them shallower and more aggressive.   The recent volatile weather is probably more of an issue for the fisherman than it is for the fish.  It is post spawn and the fish are in travelling mode.   The trick is to be ready to shift gears from slow, deep to shallow, fast when the conditions change.

 The Kicker:     “It was a tough day….  We tried several different areas and locations and never did come up with a pattern, but we did put 1 – 25, 1 – 26 and a 28 in the boat.”     Anonymous Lac Seul guide.  He was serious and didn’t realize that nowhere else would a walleye guide make the same conclusion about a day.

Feb. 2, 2009

The tough economic conditions have resulted in some cancellations.  If you are interested in hearing about the latest options for guided, unguided, or outpost openings, Call Mike Willems @ 800 567 8538.

What a difference a week can make.  It was kind of like watching the ice go off the lake.  It takes forever and all of a sudden it just goes.  Don't get me wrong, there were very good days and very tough days, but the net gain was a good strong bite.

Big news for the week - Smallmouth bass on Fire!  We didn't just catch big fish, but we caught big fish and lots of them.  What began as a solution for a slow afternoon walleye bite, turned into a super pattern that most anglers wanted to fish at least half the day.  It was infectious in camp.  Whether you had a good day on pike or walleye, there was always the question if you caught a big bass.  And the answer was to go fish for them and be surprised at how big and how many bass could be caught in one day.  For the week, WE HAD 178 BASS OVER 17 IN.,  including 33 - 18's, 6 - 19's, and 1 - 20. 

When they decided to bite, they did, Spinnerbaits, fat raps, rattlin raps, jigs and twister tails,  or whatever you had in your tackle box.  They did not care.  It was one of those few times where everyone caught big fish, no matter what they threw.  I like it when it is more of a challenge, but I am not going to make it more complictated than it is.   The smallmouth bass bite was ridiculous.

The walleye and big pike bite were also really good this week.  In fact, I would have lead with the walleye bite if everyone hadn't been so distracted with the bass bite.  The numbers help put things into perspective, I have been bragging about the hot bass bite, but there were also 30 walleyes over 27 in. caught and released for the week, including 7 - 28s, 2 - 29s, and 1 - 30.   Walleye volume was variable.  When it was on, there were 40 fish over 18 in. reported per day, when it was tough, the guides went bass fishing.  The highest daily guide boat total was 56 over 18 in.

The big pike bite was not traditional.  There were 10 over 37", including 3- 39s, 2 - 40s, and 1 - 42. Most were targeted, but they were not caught in warm water spawning bays.  The weather has been variable and most big fish have been caught on the first ambush break outside the warm water area. 

I get surprised every year, and this year I am shocked at how fast a big smallmouth bass bite can turn from nothing into the only thing that is talked about in camp.  I am a spoiled walleye guide and I love to catch big bass, but the only thing over shadowed by the numbers this week is how good the big walleye bite was for those guys that were chasing them.

If you follow along with this thread, you know.  I tell it like it is, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  This week was just plain fun to guide.  Big walleyes and pike showed up when you worked for them, and you could not help but catch great bass when you were on the right spots.

Mike W.

SWWL

May of 2008 will go down as one of the latest ice outs and probably the coldest that I can recall in 20 years.  The fishing stats will back me up.  Despite a few sunny warm days this week, there are still patches of ice and snow on the north shore of some of the main lake islands and main lake water temps are still in the low 40s.

  We began the week with a blow out day on Memorial day; sustained 30 mph winds, freezing temps., and side ways snow.  Today was another virtual wash.  It was warm enough to justify going out, but the conditions were tough and the bite was even worse.

With the late spring, the south shore bite is slow and variable.  We count on a post-spawn migration of the bigger females to kick off the local bite, and so far this year, it just hasn't happened.  In response, we have been on the throttle and travelling to areas that traditionally warm more quickly.  Some of the areas that did produce this week were adjacent to known main lake spawning shoals. 

Even when we did find fish, the bite was erratic.  We found neutral to negative fish on rocks in 10-15 ft. one day, scattered on 20 ft. flats the next, and at the same time, some fish would pulse shallow and be caught with aggressive presentations, pitching jigs or casting cranks in 3-6 ft..  Depending on the conditions, effective presentations ranged from 1/8 oz. jigs with small minnows, to 1/4 oz jigs and tails pitched shallow, all the way up to size 12 and 14 Husky jerks cast up into warm stumpy bays.  It was unusual to find a pattern that held for more than a few hours, let alone a few days.  When it dried up, it was back to the drawing board again and back on the tiller.

Including the blow out days, guide sheets this week averaged 15 walleyes over 18 in. per day.  The highest daily total recorded was 31.  There were 10 walleyes over 27, including 3 - 28s and 2 - 29s.

We had a few groups targeting pike this week, but the variable weather never did produce the Apex bite that we watch for in May.  Instead, the big fish were caught on the first break or point outside of the warm water bays with slower presentations.  For the week, we had 9 over 37", including 1-40, 1-41, and 1-43.

The bass have not quite moved into the areas that the guides generally target them, but they are showing up much more often as incidental catch while walleye fishing.  For the week, there were 19 over 17 in., including 3 - 18s, and 1 - 19.

The way I see it, you take the good with the bad, and you take it all in stride.  There is a reason that I discount our May group's rates and that is because of the risk of adverse weather.  During the last 2 seasons, we haven't had it and May has been outstanding. This year is the extreme opposite and though it was a bit of a surprise (especially to those groups I had to cancel), the percentage of quality fish to volume was strong and several anglers caught their personal best, despite the tough conditions.

Our official ice-out date for 2008 was May 20. We dodged huge ice sheets for about a week during guide training, but the last blocks that hampered navigation were blown out on Tuesday. After canceling the groups booked for opener, today was the first day that camp was full for the season.