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Winnebago Fishing Report 9-7-10 |
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 A very inconsistent week of weather led to a substantial decline in Lake Winnebago’s water temps. Over the week, the water temperature decreased nearly 13 degrees, creating new conditions for local anglers from the past five weeks. The heavy winds created a mess along the eastern shore with piles of vegetation. This helped clear the main lake of a lot of the floating debris plaguing the lake in the short term. Water clarity remains cloudy in most sections of the lake.
Regardless of the cold fronts, perch fishing remained fantastic. Being in the bottom 4 inches of the lake on a gravel bottom was essential. The mornings have had perch in the shallower ranges, and then moving into deeper water as the day goes forward. Red worms were red hot this week, but crawler chunks boasted big numbers of fish also. I found orange hooks to have been working the best this week, followed by silver kahle hooks and then gold colored hooks. Red hooks have worked well also. The sizes of the fish have been running on the small to average size. Some jumbos are in the mix also. The schools tend to have multiple size fish with within them, so moving to find bigger fish has been unproductive for the most part. On Sunday, it was nearly impossible to keep three lines in the water, and “triplers” (three fish on at a time) were common. Based on the current populations of shad, young of the year bass, and the small perch—walleyes are not to be found anywhere. There is just too much food for them currently and the need to chase a crawler harness or crank bait does not exist. If you plan on walleye fishing currently, try to run the baits very fast thru the water column to create a reaction bite. Larger sized presentations are a must. Historically, there should be a walleye bite starting in the near future, so be ready to change gears if needed. The Wolf River has had the seasonal “Fall run” of white bass start in the rivers and lakes. Small mouths are still common, and pike are active. Catfish and crappie fishing has been improving. Lake Poygan has been slow overall, but some perch have been taken with regularity. For those asking about the hot rumor…..Yes, My Fishing Partner will start a fishing League on Lake Winnebago in 2011 (Winnebago Fishing League or WFL). We are in the process of completing the new website for the league, and we will start taking applications thereafter. The league will be limited to 36 fishermen, and will run from April to Labor Day. If your Business is interested in sponsoring the league, please contact me. More details to come in the next few weeks. Thanks for stopping by the website.
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is my email. Feel free to contact me with your fishing reports or questions. Have a great week on the water! |
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Last Updated on Monday, 06 September 2010 21:47 |
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 Near perfect weather graced East Central Wisconsin over the past ten days. This was a major departure from the constant rain from the past three weeks. Water temperatures ranged from the mid 70’s to the low 80’s during most days. Water clarity has improved in the northern portions of the lake, and remains stained in the southern portions of Lake Winnebago. Floating vegetation still remains a hindrance over most of the top water surface.
Recently the city of Oshkosh passed a permanent change to the Fox River near the Oshkosh Avenue Bridge. This area has become a 7 day no wake zone. The perch bite may be the one of the best in years currently. Solid catches of perch are being reported everywhere on the system on a daily basis. Many of the fish are running on the small size (5-8 inches), but the larger perch have also been within those schools. perch fishing remains a sorting game until the right fish are located. 100 fish days are common, with about 10-20% of the fish falling into the keeper ranges. Many anglers are targeting the fish via slip bobbers. Larger fish are coming on dead stick methods, especially when there is a light chop on the water. Hellgrammites, waxies and crawlers are all working great. On colder mornings, many times the perch have been found slightly shallower, and then tend to move deeper once the sun is higher in the sky or the water warms. Best Locations: Gladstone Beach, Fisherman’s Road launch area, east of the Third Reef, in front of the Lighthouse in Fond du Lac, Indian Point, Black Wolf, and Stony Beach point. Lake Poygan also has a good perch bite in shallow water. walleyes are not be targeted by most anglers currently. They have been pretty sparse. Bluegills have been showing up in larger numbers along the reefs and weed lines in the northwest portion of the main lake. Small mouths have been active, especially in the Wolf River. The young of the year bass are prevalent system wide. The next several weeks will bring some cooling to the water temps, as night time temperatures traditionally start to decline and as the daylight continues to shorten each day. walleyes will become more active once water temperature decline. Fishing pressure will tend to decline as soon as the hunting seasons gear up, and sportsmen change their focus.
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is my email for any questions you may have or reports you may wish to pass on for this report. Thank you for supporting this site! |
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Last Updated on Saturday, 28 August 2010 22:52 |
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Winnebago weekly August 8-15-10 Rain, Rain, go away! Another week washed away from daily rain events impeded the fishing overall on the Winnebago System. When the rain was not present, outside temperatures soared into the 90 degree ranges with high humidity. Water clarity has not changed, and is still very dirty. Water temps continue to hover in the low to mid 80 degree range, which is very warm for the system. Bait fish schools can be seen everywhere currently. There appears to have been an impressive hatch of largemouth, smallmouth and white bass this past spring. The forecast for the coming week could provide near perfect fishing conditions for the entire week. walleyes remain elusive. The only area which I have had consistent reports of walleyes being caught is near the mouth of the Fox River. Techniques include crawler harnesses, and bottom bouncers. It is essential to be in the bottom of the water column with any walleye presentation currently. These fish are looking for colder water, and that is currently at the bottom of the water column. A recent tournament produced twice as many boats as walleyes caught. There are some walleyes being caught while anglers target perch also. There is no pattern to these walleyes, other than they are tight to the bottom. It is a nice bonus. Once water temperature decline, I would expect the walleye bite to be resurrected. perch fishing continues to be solid, but it takes work to find a positive location. There are masses of boats on the water every day, but only a few are taking limits home. Most anglers are taking some perch home each trip. Sizes have varied from 6” to 14”. My suggestion is to move every 20 minutes until you locate fish, then sit on the spot to determine the quality of the school. You may have to wade through some small fish to find those nice eaters. On Saturday, we produced over 150 perch along Gladstone Beach, but only 20 fell into the jumbo category.  perch have been interested more in crawler pieces this week than any other bait choice. Hellgrammites continue to be a solid choice, especially for a little larger perch. An attractant bead is a must currently, and gold hooks have been the best hook color, followed by red. Look for the large groups of boats….and avoid them. Take notice of the depth and bottom content that the groups are fishing, and try to duplicate away from the crowd. The large crowds are pressuring the fish, and the constant commotion of boats overhead can turn fish negative. Don’t be afraid to blaze your own trail! Areas with the best perch production are related to a gravel type bottom. Some of the best locations currently include the entire south eastern shore, the third reef, Haystack, Little BlackBird Island, and the Black Wolf areas. With that said, it is a here today, gone tomorrow scenario across the lake. Smallmouth and Largemouth bass can be found on the weed lines of the points of the western shore of the lake. Some of the gravel tops along the eastern shore are also producing these fish also. The Wolf River has seen some reduction in water levels. The River level is still unusually high for this late in the season. Pike, small mouth bass, bluegills, and crappies are the most active fish currently. Focus on the back water areas, which normally do not have water this time of year. I have been working on an exciting endeavor. I plan to unveil the idea in the next month, and I think many Winnebago fisherman will be excited by the opportunity which will be at hand. Stay tuned.
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is the email should you need anything from me. I will be at the Musky National Championships next weekend in Eagle River. If you have never fished this tourney, it is one of the best “open” style tournaments in the country with nearly 1,100 anglers entered. Hope to see you there! I will try to get some photos for the site also. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 16 August 2010 20:23 |
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Rain continues to be the story around the Winnebago system. A dry day on Sunday provided the opportunity for hundreds of fishermen to hit the water in unison. Water clarity remains stained, but has improved slightly, especially in the northern and western portions of the lake. Algae are forming quickly along the southeast portion of the lake, along with signs of the blue green algae which can make humans and pets ill. Water temperatures generally ranged in the low 80’s, and have not varied much over the past three weeks. The lower Wolf River is now “no wake” in Winnebago County, due to high water levels. The majority of the fishermen’s attention on the lake is focused on perch fishing. Unfortunately, most of the fish being caught are sheephead. A couple of notes which are important currently: There has been a large hatch of shad recently, and these fish can be seen feeding on the surface with regularity. The DNR has also confirmed that a large hatch of white bass has occurred in 2010, adding ample forage for predator fish into the system again this year. The walleye class size has yet to be determined, but all indications lean towards a small year class. perch fishing has been very hit-n-miss. The big groups of boats will give you an indication where the perch have moved each day, but typically only a few boats are producing fish with in the groups. In some cases, the “spot on the spot” will yield large number of excellent sized perch, with a boat 100 yards away taking a skunk on the day. It can be very humbling. Some of the better perch locations remain along the south and eastern shores. Gladstone Beach, Fisherman’s Road area, Miller’s Bay, and the Third Reef have had some good reports over the past week. Abraham’s, Long Point, Kalbus, and many of the northwestern reefs have been slow. Crawler chunks and hellgrammites are working equally well. I did have a tip about green night crawlers (dyed) working excellent also. walleye fishermen have struggled greatly for nearly three weeks now. There is just too much forage available currently, and water clarity has not helped in the search for these fish. Vibration and sound are key elements. Bright colored presentations are also critical. Many of the diehard walleye anglers have moved their efforts to the Bay of Green Bay currently. I have cut a new video related to perch fishing. This can be found on the main page of myfishingpartner.com, Facebook, or at Youtube. Be sure to check out the video which shows a new technique (or not so new) in perch fishing for many anglers. It works wonders and catches walleyes also!
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is my email. Feel free to drop me a line with your questions or fishing reports. If you are looking for hellgrammites, be sure to stop by River Haus in FDL to pick some up. Tell Don, you heard it here. There are some great days on the water yet to come. In the mean time, sort though those sheephead to find the fish you want! Midwest walleye Series will hold a tournament on Sunday out of Oshkosh. See you next week. |
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Winnebago Fishing Report 7-27-10 |
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 Rain and above average temperatures dominated the weather for the Lake Winnebago Region. With nearly 6 inches of rain in the area over the past two weeks, water levels are very high on the system. The Wolf River is currently at peak spring levels and a flood advisory remains in effect for the Fox River and Lake Winnebago. Water clarity is still very cloudy with visibility at approximately 12 inches. Water temperatures have remained constant from 78-82 degrees during the daytime hours.
The perch have been the real story the past week. They are grabbing everything and anything out on the lake. Most tactics are producing perch, including dead sticking, slip bobbers and cast and retrieve. Hellgrammites are the preferred attractant, followed closely by red worms and night crawler pieces. A fairly still presentation is preferred. The best locations have been on the eastern and southern shores. There has been a huge discrepancy as to the locations of the fish. In the southern areas it has been in shallower waters (7-11 feet is typical). Along the eastern shore the 13-16 foot ranges have been ideal. In most cases a gravel bottom or transition zones are holding the fish. Size is smaller on the south shore, but the schools/numbers of fish are definitely larger. Currently the best locations include in front of the light house in Fond du Lac, approximately 2 miles due west from Fisherman’s Road launch, Winnebago Point near Pipe, adjacent waters near the Third Reef and just southeast of the island near Wendt’s. Other areas on the north shore are also doing well. There is little activity for walleyes currently. Massive schools of shad can be found now, and the walleyes have no need to chase other presentations. There are still some walleyes being taken near the Garlic Island area on harnesses and cranks. Trolling south of the Fox River is very frustrating currently due to weed debris in the water column. Sheepheads are a nuisance system wide. Smallmouth bass are active on rocky reef tops. With the high water on the Wolf River, some of the spring time haunts are back in play. These backwater areas are holding Pike, bass, pan fish and catfish. White bass seem to be thicker in the rivers again, rather than in the main lake. As the water levels diminish, and the stain clears in the water column, walleye activity will increase. In the meantime, the focus on perch will remain high by area fishermen until early September. Have a great week on the water…..and leave a few for me on your next trip out!
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. I anticipate doing a perch video in the next week or so. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 26 July 2010 22:36 |
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