While summer continues to push on full steam ahead walleye fishing has begun to grind to a halt. Walleye seem to have decided that they have other things on their schedule than chasing your lures, their underwater friends northern pike on the other hand seem to have just the opposite in mind, continuing to be easily duped into biting just about anything that you drag in front of them, any color, size, pretty much anything, all you need to do is have a hook in the water and you’re in the right spot for northern. Though walleye are being stingy and hard to catch which is typical for this time of year there are still some being fooled into biting. We had a few cabins worth of anglers this past week that dedicated 10-12 hours a day chasing the elusive creature, while this is a lot more time than most people will spend on the task, they managed to take home multiple limits and had a couple of fish frys during the week.
Time management this time of year is very important, forage for fish is very abundant in the summer months, you’re going to need to take advantage of morning/evening low light periods and moon phases, many days fish may only feed for a very short amount of time, and you need to be in the right spot to put the odds in your favor.
Pictured below from L to R: Loren Becker with his granddaughter Abby from Cedar Rapids, IA Abby had the hot hand this week, out fishing grandpa and great grandpa daily, Russ Havlik from Cedar Rapids, IA with his own batch of walleye, and Wayne Van Gorp from Cedar Rapids, IA with a nice slot fish.
Trolling is really #1 right now, it’s the easiest way to cover ground and find active fish. Use your electronics, if you’re not marking fish don’t spend much time there, stay mobile, change lure color often, many times there is one special color that they will hit. Stick with forage based colors, the fish in this lake feed almost exclusively on perch and craw fish, those colors are head and shoulders above the rest in productivity, but don’t be afraid to try those far-out colors either, you never know.
Water temps have pushed up into the mid 70’s and mid-lake reef structures are the places you’re going to want to focus you attack, depth has really fluctuated, you’re going to have to do some exploring area’s in the 8-16 foot range are going to be best, shallower during low light, deeper during high sun. Submarine Island, Annex, North Bar and Mokey Reef have all had fish come off of them mostly in small numbers, catch a fish jump to a new spot, rinse and repeat. Other areas including Big Rock Reef, the south shore from Huddles to Diamond Point and Stoney have also given up bounty in the same manner as most spots, to put it frankly, you’re going to have to work hard, and stay out long hours or sit by the pool instead.
Muskie fishing on the other hand is getting better each week, we had multiple muskies caught by our guests this week, all of the fish were in the 38-43 inch range, no monsters but still quality fish. Follows and sightings have been coming easy this year which always helps keep your interest peaked. Work the area’s around Pelican Island, North Bar especially, Pipe Island and down into Miller Bay has also been good, fish are really moving good on in-line spinners that are fast retrieved.
Moondance Jam went off with a few hitches this past weekend, the Walker area was hit by torrential rains on Thursday night with totals over 4-5 inches in some areas here, camping was flooded, cars were partially underwater, and some bands ended up not playing at all. They moved as many bands inside for their performances as they could, but there isn’t close to enough space to accommodate the amount of people who would have liked to attend. Lets hope for clear skies and sun next year.
Pictured below: Ice Cream time at the lodge, playing on the water trampoline, and Wednesdays kids fishing tournament participants.
The heart of the summer is easily our busiest time here, but this year unfortunately we’ve had a few last-minute cancellations, if you’re looking for a last-minute vacation or fishing trip give us a call, we can get you set up with cabin, boat and a guide.
Featured Image up top is of Jeremy Bushey from Cloquet, MN with a new personal best, 42 inch muskie.
Thanks for reading
Come see us at Big Rock Resort
Ray
