What a fantastic week for the Independence Day holiday, while the weather cooperated, the fishing, especially walleye did not. Fishing has improved compared to the last couple weeks, mostly from weather beginning to stabilize into the typical summer patterns we are all used too, but we’ve s till had to deal with gusty west winds, and while west is usually one of the better wind directions for fishing on Leech, this wind was so strong you had nowhere to hide from it, and the people who chose to go out were greeted with 5 foot plus swells making even the most mundane task in the boat incredibly hard.
Even with the high winds for the first few days of the week, there were some bright spots of walleye activity, area’s along the south shore from Roger’s point and farther east had walleye of all sizes laying in structure, and were willing to bite. Lindy rigs with Leeches were the bait of choice, and like a few of our guests discovered, loose leeches in the live well that swam to freedom out the drain didn’t help put anymore walleye into the boat. I guess you could call that chumming with leeches, on Leech, for walleye, though I wouldn’t recommend it, bait would get expensive! The mid-lake reef structure has started giving up walleye to anglers, trolling is the best way to tackle these area’s, change colors often and keep moving, fish tend to be spread out on these areas.
Pictured below from L to R: Luke Schmidt and his father Joe from Shakopee, Mn with a couple nice eater northern pike they caught while trolling shad raps. Stillwater, Mn pros Paul Kreutzfeldt and John Heroff with 2 limits of walleye, this was one of two trips they snagged their limits on one outing and Charlie Bower-Jernigan from Eagen, Mn with a northern pike.
Northern Pike action is on fire right now, they are being caught almost everywhere and on anything, Miller Bay and Uram Bay have been giving up pike by the dozens, and with good size 8-10 pounders are being caught regularly, sucker minnows on bobbers, trolling crankbaits and tossing spinners baits have all been working, when the rigors of walleye fishing get you down, don’t forget about pike, they are plentiful and almost always willing to bite, and they are just plain fun to catch.
Muskie action is beginning to heat up also, with water temps topping 72 degrees on the surface, muskie will be hanging out at their summer spots, shallow rock structure with deep water near by, sand flats and weeds beds, look for the greenest vegetation, muskie won’t be far behind. Remember to keep your baits smaller, and keep them moving fast. I spent a few hours on Wednesday afternoon casting near Pelican island, while I didn’t catch anything, I had a couple good follows, and saw another angler boat a high 30 inch fish.
Summer time is just getting started, the Walker area has many things to do for everyone in the family, if you have any questions, or are looking to vacation in this area, don’t hesitate to give us a call, we’ll help you find what you’re looking for.
Thanks for reading
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800-827-7106
Ray
