Another excellent week of weather greeted anglers on Lake Winnebago, with pleasant temperatures and occasional storms. Water temperatures were at 75 degrees on Sunday. Water clarity was variable by location, but most of the lake having several feet of visibility.
Angler have been treated with aerial shows from EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) over Lake Winnebago. An awesome plane was damaged this weekend when an emergency landing was needed near the Jesuit (Black Wolf, WI). A Hawaii Mars JRM-3, owned by Coulson Flying Tankers of Port Alberni, British Columbia, was built in 1946 as a cargo plane that ferried troops to Hawaii and casualties back to the mainland. The bomber was later used as a fire-fighting plane*. The plane remains in the bay awaiting repairs.
Another major hatch of flies occurred this week. The major impacted area is the western shore in the lower third of the lake, although all areas I moved through this week had at least some flies present. The best area (fly free) I found was Brothertown and to the north on the east shore.
Boat launches were showing only a few boats launching onto the lake. Angler traffic is greatly reduced for several reasons; however, the current traffic is reminiscent of October traffic, rather than July angler pressure. Why? Heavy populations of forage are readily available reducing catch rates for most anglers. Also, historic catch rates of salmon on Lake Michigan has redirected boats away from Lake Winnebago to Lake Michigan.
Due to the reduced boat traffic, there are very few floating weeds (due to props) this year allowing for uncharacteristic conditions for this time of year. Additionally, heavy algae which is common for the end of July, is largely absent in 2016….for now.
Perch fishing continues to be subpar. The anglers which are targeting perch are coming home with a few fish. Slip bobbers are out producing dead sticks. Preferred meat is small crawler chunks or hellgrammites. The area around Columbia Park seems to be producing best.
Walleye fishing has been tough, as shown by the recent ‘Bago Walleye Club event held on Sunday. 4 pounds landed in the top 10 (five fish limit). Almost half of the field brought no walleyes to the scale and only two teams managed a five fish limit inside the 65 boat field.
Active walleyes have been associated with reefs, typically on the wind-blown side of the reef or rock pile. Fishing is best when wind direction remain constant for multiple days. The technique is simple. Pitch a jig and crawler and bounce the presentation down the reef.
There are plenty of excellent “marks” showing up on the locators, typically near the bait schools in the mud. However, these fish are well fed and it is very difficult to get these fish to engage with a presentation. If trolling, it might be more effective to get out of the bait schools and look for roaming walleyes not associated with the bait right now. Crawler harnesses were the best choice this week, with crankbaits in the mud producing limited numbers of walleyes on Lake Winnebago.
White bass are becoming more active system wide. Sheephead are always active. Catfish can be found in the south east corner of the lake or near/in the Fox River in Oshkosh. Large and small mouth bass fishing has been solid.
Targeting mid water depths off of the weed lines is another method to find small to midsized walleyes. Try Salmo Hornets trolled behind Off Shore planner boards at 30-40 feet in 6-10 feet of water. This has been particularly effective in the Fond du Lac area.
Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan has been spectacular, especially with a west wind. All Lake Michigan ports are active right now. In Port Washington 70 foot depths seemed to hold the most salmon, and a little deeper in Sheboygan (Sheboygan has been slow with a north or east wind). Jigging salmon/trout has been first-rate in Milwaukee.
I did not get too many reports from the Bay of Green Bay this week. A shallow water bite remains in many locations. Little Tail has had smaller eater sized eyes in the shallower water. In deeper water, crawler harnesses are doing well, especially in perch or alewives colored patterns.
Nothing special in terms of tournaments on Lake Winnebago this week. [email protected] is my email. Please feel free to drop me your fishing reports. Another warm week is expected. Get on the water.
*source: Oshkosh Northwestern
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