Fishing Report July 2017
July 22-27, 2017
The daytime walleye bite has slowed down considerably, probably due to the abundance of forage available, and it has generally been a tougher bite for the bass and northern as well. We are still seeing some nice walleyes caught on live bait rigs very early in the mornings (before they fill their stomach) and late evenings pulling crankbaits (like Rapalas). While this is fairly typical for late July and August, it can be frustrating, especially after the hot daytime bite we enjoyed in May and June. I expect the bite will improve once the forage base gets diminished (eaten), and this typically becomes evident in early September. Water temperatures have hit 75 degrees now, and the smallmouth bass and big bluegills have come into the deeper rock structures. The bass seem to be there every day, but the bluegills seem to be active one day and then vanish the next. I expect they will be there more consistently by the end of the month.
July 8-14, 2017
We are still catching nice walleyes and smallmouth bass most every day, with a couple exceptions, but the torrid bite we enjoyed in May/June seems to have now ended. Surface water temperatures have hit the 72-73 degree mark and the lake probably won't get too much warmer this summer. Huge schools of young-of-the-year baitfish (forage) can be seen on the depth sounder on most good fishing structures, and that is likely the primary cause of the slower walleye bite. The big bluegills and sunfish (8-10+ inchers) are now showing up on the deeper rock piles (10-14 feet deep) and we are finding the smallmouth bass a little deeper on these same structures.
July 1-7, 2017
The very hot walleye bite has continued for the first few days of the July 4th weekend, with limits of walleyes caught both Saturday and Sunday, but then it has slowed down considerably the last few days. We are still catching nice walleyes daily, but they have been tougher to locate. Maybe it has something to do with the heavy holiday weekend boat traffic or maybe the hot sticky weather and weak winds, but the fish are scattered and not all grouped up for now. I am hopeful the solid bite will return after this hot stretch of weather has passed. The walleyes have been located on the deep rock piles (13-15 feet deep) as well as on the deeper main lake basin sand breaks in 20-23 feet. As a bonus, we are catching plenty of big, fat, and aggressive 18-20 inch smallmouth bass on the same deep rock piles, and they will really give you a battle on the way to the boat.