Variable weather has dominated the Lake Winnebago region over the past several weeks; however, with all things considered, trends are near normal. Heavy algae blooms were seen on Lake Winnebago, making for pea soup at the surface. The bloom has weakened, and has mixed into the water column. Water clarity is restricted by the bloom. Water temps are general in the mid 70’s. Floating weed debris is common.
The major walleye tournaments have concluded for the season on the Winnebago system, and boat traffic will reflect much more recreational activity. Many of the diehard fishermen have moved to Lake Michigan to chase trout and salmon. This year has been fantastic so far on the big pond, especially out of Sheboygan and Port Washington.
The next influx of heavy fishing activity on Lake Winnebago will come with the perch “season”, sometime in mid-July. Perch have started to become active on the deeper sides of the transitional zones, especially on the east shore. Although the numbers are low, the fish have had excellent size. The days like back in 2013-14 are long gone where limits of fish were easy. This season will have a semi productive season, as there is ample food and a reduced population of perch.
Perch have been taken mainly on slip bobbers this week with presentations within the bottom one foot of the water column.
Speaking of forage, The Winnebago System has plenty of it currently. The walleye fishing will continue to slow down as the water temperatures rise, and these fish go into conservation mode. With plenty of food around, the need to chase crank baits becomes less critical.
This has also been the storyline in the Bay of Green Bay where alewives are thick. The walleye factory of Green Bay has been on vacation. Overall the bite has been significantly reduced in 2016. The good news, when walleyes are caught, they have been absolute pigs. The walleyes on Green bay are healthy!
An overview of walleye conditions on Lake Winnebago looks like this:
Weeds: The shallow water weed bite is active. Weeds have grown large enough to hold larger walleyes. Additionally, canes are holding fish, especially on windy days. There are plenty of ways to target these fish, including crankbaits, plastics, slip bobbers, rip jigging or a jig and crawler.
Shallow water trolling: In and around reefs remains solid. Working around existing weed beds is ideal, or just off the reef tops in deeper water. Some of the 12-14 foot ranges on the southwest corner have been producing good numbers of walleyes.
Mud Bite: Active walleyes remained scattered. Trolling the mud with Off Shore Boards will produce fish, but patience is needed to get the right fish. Since forage is everywhere, they are not tightly schooled chasing a single massive baitfish school. Baitfish schools are common and easily found.
On clear and calm days, the walleyes have been riding high in the water column, where crankbaits or crawler harnesses excel. On windy days, the fish have moved deeper and prefer crawler harnesses in the bottom two feet. There is a huge school of fish and bait pods just outside of Pipe WI. There is a second school north of Stockbridge also. These fish have had lockjaw, but many of the sonar returns look like a mix of walleyes and white bass in my estimation.
Speed has been a critical factor. The fish which are biting, seem to be on a reaction bite. Faster speeds, over 2.0 mph was producing more fish when using crankbaits.
Reefs: Reefs always hold walleyes. The question is what reef will today? I suggest reef hopping until the active reefs are found. ¼ ounce jig with a half crawler pitched up the breaks usually does the trick. White has been a solid color this year. Crawler presentations, like long line trolling, focused on the deep side of the outer reefs have also been productive.
The mouth of the river has been solid. Mid-sized walleyes have been caught, mainly on slow death presentations or dragged jigs. The catfish are thick in the area, and are fun entertainment. For catfish, try just outside the first no wake buoy entering into the river.
Chase and I fished Little Lake Butte des Mortes in Neenah last week. The water is very dirty, mainly from spawning carp. If you bow fish, this might be a place to target. We produced a few largemouth bass, but nothing I would make a long trip for. The weeds are still behind annual trends for this lake, so a few weeks from now this lake might be on fire. There were also guys targeting perch here. Remember the consumption advisories for this body of water (one meal a month).
Although the conditions are tough on Lake Winnebago, there are plenty of successful anglers. Putting in your time, and having patience is the key to success right now. Be willing to move and change presentations is critical. Sitting on one hole all day will likely get you limited success.
RS nets continues its sale through July. 10% discount can be applied with the discount code MS10. http://www.rsnetsusa.com/. Our My Fishing Partner Green Bay series net and Winnebago series nets will debut in the coming weeks. Designed with the advice of some of the best guides in this area, this net will set the standard which all nets will have to live up to!
Contour Elite software is also available with a myfishingpartner.com discount code. MFP20. That is a 20% discount on orders placed with this code. That’s a $30 SAVINGS! It’s good to read these reports.
Have a great post July 4th week! Get on the water….summer doesn’t last long in Wisconsin!
