June 13-17 Fishing Update
My last post was themed “up and down.” This one is reversed: “down and up” shall be the theme today.
On Monday, I wore my winter survival suit when I was out on the boat. water was 48 degrees F. Today, we are in the high 20’s, with 30 degrees Celsius (90 F) tomorrow. There has not been a breeze since Tuesday and the surface temperatures are now in the 70’s. How is the fishing, you ask?
It has been a great week to enjoy the sun, beach, maybe a swim, but not so great for catching walleye. Monday evening was decent if you hit the right place. I managed to catch and release 7 with my season-leading 24 1/2 inch walleye. A few other walleye were taken by our guests over the course of the week, but overall the bite was dismal, to say the least: a few bass, a few pike, a few trout.
By Thursday, we noticed that the bass had began to turn on (even they had been closed-lipped most of the week.) We saw good catches of very big bass with the hawg’s stuffed with crayfish. A few more walleye were taken on slip-bobbed leeches or jigs.
As I said before, walleye like stable conditions. Rapid temperature changes throw them off from feeding in the shallows. And bright, calm days don’t help either. And, as I have said all week, “maybe today things will turn on.” It is just a mater of time before they start to feed again. In the meantime, try fishing deeper, use cold-front presentations, cast for some bass, enjoy the weather and wear your sunscreen.
Things you see when fishing.
