Your Cart is currently empty.

Winnebago Fishing Report 5-15-12

Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 00:25

Great Spring conditions engulfed the Lake Winnebago region, resulting in an excellent fishing bite. Winds were the only negative factor over the course of the week, but this actually added to the first significant walleye activity on the main lake. A mud line still exists near the river in Oshkosh, so water clarity is variable across the lake. The North shore had clear visibility (over 10 feet), while Oshkosh had just a few inches. Water temperatures have spiked into the mid 60’s and the first weed growths are being observed.

The windy weather turned the walleyes “on” in a big way this week. Huge schools of feeding eyes can be found in the main lake currently. The majority of these fish are males, which have returned from the upper lakes and rivers. Make no mistake about it, ‘bago is on fire right now for midsized walleyes.

Walleyes can be found shallow, in the mid ranges, and a few in the mud (deep water). On windy days, the reefs have turned on, but these areas remain slightly inconsistent.

One of the key elements is lake flies. These schools of walleyes are aggressively feeding on the flies and larvae in the water. The fish are constantly on the move seeking this food source. Several walleyes we recently caught had flies still in their mouths when they consumed our presentation. On Sunday, we found approximately 55 walleyes over 15” in less than 8 feet of water all feeding on lake flies.

There have been no standout locations on the lake, as all areas are producing well. The entire region from the mouth of the Fox River down to Wendt’s is loaded with walleyes in the 15-19” range. Many of these fish are in 3-9 feet of water and can be targeted with trolling techniques-- especially size 4 floating Salmo hornets. Best colors were Hollywood (Reel Shot custom color) Dalmatian, and blue chrome. Crawler harnesses were also working well, especially with the Tommy Harris blades in red colors.

The east shore had an excellent bite all week, until the muddy water arrived the bite slowed greatly. Bigger walleyes can be found from Brothertown down to Deadwood Point. This area will heat back up once the water clears in the near future.

The North shore has some good fish working, but the numbers are greatly reduced. The same scenario exists on the South end. The mud bite is starting to develop (middle of the lake), but is not recommended just yet with the solid shallow water bite.

Do not over look the River in Oshkosh. There are still good numbers of walleyes moving out of the upper lakes. The tournament guys who did focus on the river this week were not disappointed with some larger females. Pumping flies and jigging were the most common method here.

Lake Poygan still is holding a lot of fish, including some decent females. Both major walleye tournaments were won in Lake Poygan this weekend. As a matter of fact, most of the top finishers came from the Upper Lakes in the Boat Doc Walleye Series tournament and the Babbling Brooks Event. Check the canes if the carp are rolling. Walleyes love carp spawn. Lake Butte des Mortes is full of sheephead.

Solid sized crappies are being produced along any shallow water rocks. Some of these fish have impressive size. There also has been some movement out to deeper water, so be sure to check those areas also if you are seeking the papermouths. Lakeside Park (FDL) continues to pump out medium sized Crappies.

Just a note. Many of my favorite colors of Salmo hornets are sold out for the season at the US distributor due to high demand. I placed an order this week and they told me next year. If you have a few favorite colors, I suggest picking them up now, as they may not be available later this year.

From Cabela’s on The NABC Bass tournament this weekend: Casey Gallagher and Ty Cornell sacked an impressive 17.59-pound, 5-fish limit to win the Cabela’s North American Bass Circuit’s 2012 season opener against more than 80 of the Midwest’s best bass anglers on Wisconsin’s mighty Lake Winnebago chain. The winning program hinged on dragging green pumpkin-colored jigs and soft baits in three to four feet of water in a channel off Lake Winnebago, where hefty female largemouths were moving up toward the spawning beds.

Tournaments: This week’s tourneys include the Terry’s Bar walleye (Oshkosh) on Saturday and The MWS out of Miller’s Bay on Sunday. There also is a Bow Fishing event on both days. Looks like it will be a busy weekend. Good Luck on the water.

Winnebago Fishing Report 5-8-12

Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 May 2012 01:31

A week of unstable weather and near normal temperatures has sparked the Winnebago system back to life. Heavy rains created heavy water runoff into area lakes and streams, resulting in a mud-line on the main lake. Inside of the mud line visibility was at near zero; outside of the mud line, visibility was nearly 3-4 feet. By the end of the weekend, much of the dirty water had mixed with the clean water leaving limited visibility in most areas. Water temps are moving toward 60 degrees currently, an increase of nearly 10 degrees from last week.

Fishing has improved greatly. The warm water has reinvigorated many fish species to start feeding again. With the conclusion of the lake fly hatch along the western shore, food sources have been reduced. The fish are hungry!

Crappies have started to spawn in many areas of the system. Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac has been producing solid numbers of the paper mouths. Many channels are also producing crappies, along with area reefs and shallow bays. The huge recent year classes of crappies are producing plenty of opportunities for quality fish.

Walleyes are back to being active. There are some really good bites working on the system right now.

Along the East Shore, Pipe/Columbia Park area is holding large schools of fish. The fish are concentrated and feeding aggressively. Be sure to make waypoints on your “hit” locations to dial in the bite. There is heavy boat traffic in these areas currently. Average fish length I found in this school is about 18-20 inches. Targeting 10 -13 feet with crank bait presentations tight to the bottom were best. Mixed in these schools are white bass, sheephead and small mouths. Key colors in this area are chanteuse, pink, and purple.

Brothertown has a similar scenario brewing right now. Average size fish in this area was running in the 17 inch range. Key color here is orange or black/silver. Size 5 Flicker shads and size 4 Salmo hornets were the best lures.

The West Shore had tougher conditions because of the dirty water and strong east winds, especially near Oshkosh. More aggressive baits, which create a lot of vibration, are required to attract fish here. Shallow water crank bait casting was producing vast numbers of walleyes, prior to the rain.

The area near Blank’s Supper Club and the HWY 45 wayside in North Fond du Lac, had heavy concentrations of walleyes and small mouths also. This was a shallow water bite with crank baits or swim baits. These fish were most commonly targeted by wading into these areas as opposed to boat traffic. The muddy water has screwed this bite up for the time being.

The Third Reef was holding ample white bass, many of which were four to six inches. Largemouth, sheephead, walleye and catfish can also be found here.

Lake Poygan and Lake Winneconne are also holding a lot of walleyes. The trolling bite, which picked up last weekend, continues to be the best tactic to target these fish. Natural colored baits, especially Salmo hornet (Dalmatian), were the bait of choice.

An interesting note: I did keep a batch of walleyes for a rare meal (mainly catch and release). All of the fish either had empty stomachs, or had leeches in their belly. This would indicate limited food sources right now, which should drive the fishing activity for the next few weeks.

Tournament News: No results were noted from this past weekend. This coming week has the Boat Doc Walleye Invitational on Sunday from Miller’s Bay. CRITTER'S /WOODEYE'S WALLEYE TOUR is on Saturday in Lake Poygan. North America Bass Circuit (Sat/Sun) and BABBLING BROOK WALLEYE Tournaments are scheduled for Lake Winnebago on Saturday.

Please remain courtesy on the water, and be aware of other anglers. Should you have questions or would like to contribute to this report, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Get ready for some hot action this week!

Winnebago Fishing Report 4-24-12

Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 April 2012 00:10

tronger north winds and below average temperatures signified the week in Eastern Wisconsin. The first significant rain event of the mid-spring took place and water levels have started to improve on the rivers and main lake. As a result, most area water bodies are very stained, with visibility at less than two feet. Water temps have been steady, somewhere between 48 degrees and 57 degrees depending on the time of day. A lake fly hatch has occurred on Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh.

Most area anglers struggled this week for decent baskets of fish. This is typical this time of the year, when post spawn fish remain in the recovery mode and are not feeding aggressively. The extra food source of lake flies also contributed to the general slowdown that fishermen experienced firsthand in two recent walleye tournaments in Fremont and Winneconne. Winning weight was approximately 14 pounds on Saturday (1/3 of the field zeroed), with the majority of the top teams fishing in Horseshoe Hole on Lake Poygan. On Sunday, 11.8 pounds won the Sheboygan Walleye Club event, with the winning team trolling harnesses in Clark’s Bay on Lake Winneconne.

Lake Butte des Mortes was excellent in the early and mid week, but really fizzled during the weekend. Sunset Point and Oakwood Point had steady traffic with many anglers using slip bobbers and leaches for walleyes. I trolled harnesses from Oakwood Point to the mouth of the Fox River, and found a few catfish concentrated in shallow water. Crank baits were ineffective.

The Wolf River continues to hold walleyes in moderate concentrations. White Bass have been sporadic, and many remain pre-spawn.

Lake Winnebago has a good amount of traffic. The reefs and points around Oshkosh have been producing limited numbers of walleyes, catfish, pan fish and bass. The Oshkosh channels have cooled off, and the hot pan fish bite has dissipated. Green has been the most productive color, especially on jigs under slip bobbers.

Sheephead have re-emerged in greater numbers during the past week. Many of these fish are very large. Some reefs, like Long Point, saw a huge influx of “sheeps” moving onto the reefs.

Quietly, there have been larger numbers of boats targeting the mud flats. I did not receive any reports of success or failures this week, but is worthy of a look right now. I concentrated on the areas adjacent to shallow reefs, in about 5-9 feet of water. I did find a mixture of fish (sheephead, bass, crappies, walleye, and sauger) roaming in these areas. Purple remained a dominate color on crank baits, with red/pink being the second choice. The rumor mill has had reports of walleyes heating up on the east shore from Pipe to Brothertown in the shallow water.

Several reefs and some shallow water areas have been reporting crappies getting prepared to spawn. All are still full of spawn. Minnows are currently the key attractant as well as small plastics.

The Midwest Walleye Series has its first event on Sunday in Winneconne, WI. East Street Walleye Invitational and the Red Banks Walleye Tourney are scheduled in the Wolf River on Saturday. The First Cast Bass tournament is scheduled for Saturday on Lake Winnebago.

Thanks again for the great reports, especially from Josh, Mike, Chase, Shawn, Travis, Troy, Paul, Perry, Coot and Ed! If you would like to contribute, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please be sure to check out our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/My-Fishing-Partner/222624783318

Winnebago Fishing Report 5-1-12

Cooler than normal temperatures dominated the weather for another week. As a result, the Winnebago system remained in a holding pattern, waiting for some near normal temperatures. Water temps have remained stable for the week ranging anywhere from 49 degrees to 57 degrees. Water clarity is starting to improve, with visibility at about 2-3 feet. Lake Flies are thick on the west shore of Lake Winnebago.

Due to the recent weather stability, the system has been more predictable.

The Wolf River is still holding strong numbers of male walleyes, and numerous white bass which are waiting to spawn. The walleyes have been gravitating to the deep holes within the system. The white bass are especially thick along the shore lines, especially on the slack water side. The Rock wall in Fremont has picked up greatly also for the whiteys. Small mouth bass have been reported to be in larger numbers near New London.

Lake Poygan and Lake Winneconne have had the best action of the past week. Resting male walleyes are hanging along the gravel shorelines, in shallow water. In essence they are warming up in the warmer water, away from the current. Average size of the fish is between 15-20 inches. If you are trolling, slower speeds are required to attract these fish. Red/pink, blue/purple, or fire-tiger have been great colors the past week. Speed (slow) is more important than color or lure type currently. Clark’s Point has been sluggish. The flats (just north of the main river channel) in Lake Winneconne are holding quite a few fish also. Many of these are sheephead, white bass and pike.

Lake Winnebago has been very quiet around the Oshkosh area. The huge hatch of lake flies is supplying ample food for any hungry fish. Seemingly, the lake is now hosting an abundance of female walleyes currently. There have been more males filtering back to the main lake since last week. The walleyes which are being caught have excellent size.

There were no major hot spots reported this week on the main lake. The north end of the lake has had better activity for walleyes than the south end. Try checking 7-10 foot depths with crank baits or harnesses tight to the bottom where a shallow reef is nearby. Slip Bobbers continue to produce limited numbers of walleyes on most reefs or rocky shorelines.

If you are seeking bass, the southwest portion of Lake Winnebago is producing strong numbers of large and small mouth bass. Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac continues to produce medium size bass in the channels in the park. I would expect the white bass moving into the Fond du Lac River in the near future.

There are some decent days ahead in the forecast. It is likely that the warmer weather (upper 70’s) and thunderstorms could kick off the white bass spawning run and could also result in the crappie spawn a few days later. The anticipate spike in water temperatures, should make a very solid week of fishing, between the thunderstorms.

Walleye Tournament News: Midwest Walleye Series held their first tournament out of Winneconne. Winning weight was just short of 18 pounds, indicating a strong male walleye presence in Lake Poygan where most of the field fished. Average fish weight was 2.3 pounds. About 60% of the field had 5 fish limits. The only tournament on the system next weekend is The Red Banks event on the Wolf River.

Have a great week and if I get my boat back (electrical fire) I should be able to update the “Live from the Boat” twitter feed on the water! Feel free to ask me questions or leave a fishing report. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Until next week, keep those lines tight!

Winnebago Fishing Report 4-16-12

Last Updated on Sunday, 15 April 2012 17:25

Cool and stable weather helped to bring some normalcy back to the Winnebago system this week. Water temperatures have remained in the low to mid 50’s in all portions of the lakes and Rivers. Water clarity is at about 2 feet of visibility on the western shore of Lake Winnebago. The first emerging weeds have started to sprout, and a small lake fly hatch is underway currently, both which are extremely early on a “normal” year. The Wolf River has seen extremely low water levels recently.

The system continues to remain in a “pause” between the post spawn walleyes and the pre spawn White Bass. With these two events happening simultaneously, this creates the illusion of slower fishing patterns. The subpar water flows from the rivers, has resulted in scattered fish throughout the system.

Walleyes, now almost all post-spawn, are in their annual recovery period from the spawning events of the past month. Many times these fish will seek protected areas to recover from the battering caused during spawning. These areas typically are low water flow areas, which favor warmer water. Shallow rocky points and wood cover provide the quickest warming areas in the rivers and lakes, and are areas which should be examined.

A perfect example this week was finding walleyes schooled up near wooden docks (large post type) on the Fox River. Casting a slip bobber with a leech next to the wood was producing walleyes which were warming up next to the posts. These also provide an excellent current break.

Some areas of interest:

Oakwood Point, Sunset Point (Lake Buttes des Mortes): I worked this area on Saturday and found it extremely slow. However, during the majority of the week this area had been giving up some quality walleyes on slip bobbers and leeches.

Stony Beach, Roe’s Point (Lake Winnebago @ Oshkosh): Roe’s Point has been stronger than Stony Beach. Walleyes continue to seek this area, especially with a south or east wind. Perch are scattered in this area, and a stray small mouth has been reported. Occasional walleye limits are reported.

Oshkosh Reefs (Lake Winnebago): Lots of boat traffic, lots of empty live wells. This area remains very inconsistent, but the sheephead are willing to steal some bait from you if you are interested in those fish. Walleyes are here and there, but not enough to satisfy all of the anglers in the area.

Fox River @ Oshkosh: A few white bass are present. Catfish, pan fish, and sheephead can also be taken. Walleyes continue to hide out in some of the protected areas of the river. For the most part, the river has been fairly quiet, and did not show much activity on the locator or in the boats.

East Shore of Lake Winnebago: Very quiet. The next major warm spell and heavy rain event could push the walleyes into the east shore and the annual night time walleye shore bite could kick in.

Lake Buttes Des Mortes, Lake Winneconne and Lake Poygan: The anticipated trolling bite has not materialized to date. Multiple reports this week indicated a mix of white bass and small walleyes present, but they remain inactive. However, I did get a report of some large females being caught in small numbers on Lake Butte des Mortes in the shallows.

Wendt’s (Lake Winnebago): Largemouth bass are in this general area. Most of the fish reported are in the 12-15 inch range, and are best targeted with sinking worms.

Paukotuk (Lake Winnebago): With almost no boat traffic, I worked this area this week and found some very nice female walleyes hanging just off of the reefs. Generally these fish were hanging in 9-11 foot of water, and were targeted best by trolling Salmos at about 1.7 mph. Blues and purples were the key colors.

Wolf River: Masses of walleyes remain in the river, but I would expect they will exit shortly. Either the water level will fall further (causing an exodus), or we will get a rain event to add water flow to the system which may encourage many of these fish to start moving again. White bass are staged, and the run could kick in again at any moment. Sturgeon spawning was at its peak this past week. A 240 pound sturgeon was tagged on Tuesday, and this fish (Largest ever tagged) is estimated to be over 125 years old. More details can be found on the front page of myfishingpartner.com. Try casting crank baits onto the shallows/shorelines to produce midsized male walleyes.

The Fort Fremont (Wolf River) Tournament is scheduled this week on Saturday along with the Big Bucks Bass Tournament (Lake Winneconne). On Sunday, The Sheboygan Walleye Club will hold an event on the Wolf River. Good Luck! Tight lines to all area anglers. To send a report or ask a question, please feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Thanks for your support of the site!