Fishing Report August 2026

August 17, 2026

I have not posted a fishing report in a few weeks for a couple reasons.  First, I had to be away from Woman Lake for a couple stretches for personal business, doctor visits, and maintenance issues.  Second, the walleye fishing has basically sucked for the 3-4 weeks, which is not untypical for this time of year with the hot water temperatures and all the newly hatched bait in the lake.  We experienced some of the warmest water temperatures I have seen in my 20 years on the lake, and that tends to change fish behaviors and patterns, at least until the water cools.  Water temperatures have now begun dropping from their high mark, and they will continue to drop thru the fall season, as you would expect.  The walleye bite usually picks up again by mid-September, and that directly corelates with the dropping water temps.  There are walleyes currently using the heavier weedbeds, so fishing right in the deep weeds is an option.  Trolling spinner/crawler rigs or crankbaits along the outer weed edges is another decent approach.  The bass and northern pike have been providing a decent summer bite, so there is another option to try.  Trolling traditional old Rapala style baits over the basin sand flats and shoreline sand flats (6-12 foot depths) for walleyes after dark is always a good option, year around.

We have experienced plenty of black bear activity in the last few weeks around our cabin, which is not typical for this time of year as far as I know.  I will post a few photos of my recent cabin visitors in the Catch Photos section of this website.