Walleye anglers who love to fish mid-summer, mid-lake patterns on Lake Winnie have renewed enthusiasm today. A much anticipated period of calmer, warmer weather, which will allow easier access to mid-lake fishing structure is in the forecast for this week.
Surface water temperatures have been receding, now in the mid-to-upper-60s. It happened so slowly that we barely noticed, but the lake’s water temperature went from being slightly ahead of schedule early this month, to now being lower than average, for this time of summer.
Insect hatches have not been heavy so far, but as water temperatures rise, they should intensify. Mid-lake structure adjacent to soft bottom areas will continue to attract and hold walleyes until the bug hatches eventually run their course.
Mid-Lake Bars and Humps on Lake Winnie. Photo courtesy FishRapper.com
We’ve been comparing notes with some of the top pros and the consensus among them is that walleye activity is best when you locate fish on the shallowest portions of these bars and humps. A school of fish located in 21 feet of water is far more likely to be active than another school found in 29 feet of water. That doesn’t mean that you couldn’t catch some fish from the deeper schools, but your odds will definitely go up when you focus on shallower fish.
Watch your electronics for clouds of emerging larvae and pay special attention to gaps, or clear spaces; that’s a great indicator for where you’ll find feeding walleyes.
With so many structures located in the mid lake basin, there’s virtually no way that any one angler can fish them all. Some folks fall into the trap of going to their “favorite spots” and fishing on faith, even if they’re not sure that there are good numbers of fish in the area. You could do it that way and sometimes you’d get lucky, but many times this practice turns out to be a real time waster.
Some of the better guides on the lake move from structure to structure, searching for spots that have the right ingredients. Fish located shallower on structure provide an advantage, and so do fish that are suspended slightly higher above the bottom. Moving fish are feeding fish; those hugging super tight to the bottom are less likely to strike your lures than the ones that are up and moving.
Spending a couple of hours travelling from spot to spot before you wet a line might feel like you’re wasting time, but the reward for finding the right school of fish at the right time will be well worth the effort.
Once located, Lindy Rigs tipped with leeches or night crawlers have been the most effective presentation recently. But some folks who have tried “power corking” reported some success as well.
Perch fishing has been “hit and miss” recently; we’ve heard numerous reports about big schools of smaller fish, but larger perch have been elusive. We think insect hatches have drawn many of the nicer fish into deep, soft bottom areas. Once insect hatches have run their course, perch will turn their attention back to feeding on minnows and crawfish. When they do, we’ll start hearing better reports from perch anglers again.
Panfish are gathering in greater numbers in weed patches and we’re seeing more anglers turn to these as an alternative to walleye fishing.
Key areas are cabbage patches located along the breakline in water depths of 6 to 8 feet. The best action occurs in areas where patches of weeds are slightly more open; this is why cabbage patches are important. Dense mats of heavy vegetation provide little room for fish to ambush prey and seldom produce the best panfish action.
Once located, tight lining with a 1/8 ounce jig tipped with live bait will produce sunfish, perch and rock bass. Crappie fishermen are better off casting small jigs tipped with action tails into pockets and holes along the weed edges.