Stronger north winds and below average temperatures were the mainstay this week in Eastern Wisconsin.  The first significant rain of mid-spring helped to improve water levels 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 first hand 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 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 it might be worth a trip.  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!  Please be sure to check out our Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/My-Fishing-Partner/222624783318.  To view this report, which is updated weekly, please log into www.myfishingpartner.com