Midwest Fishing Report: Muddy Waters riffs & white bass run

Out busting brush along the flooded riverbanks is always good for the soul. Today, I spotted a big smallie working up a flooded fishermans path with it’s back sticking out of the shallow water. I pitched a weighted keeper hook with a 5 inch Kalins Twister about 3 feet ahead of the fish. As soon as the lure hit the water the smallie zoomed in on it. In a heartbeat or two I saw the line twitch and felt the fish grab the lure. As soon as I set the hook all hell broke loose. The fish flipped up out of the water and changed direction, heading back to the path thru the weeds to the river. This old fart was closer and quicker and I had the only route of escape blocked. After that it was frantic fury in that narrow passage way as the fish splashed me liberally. I think it ended up with more water on my face, glasses, waders and weeds than was left on the flooded path. It taped out at a little over 18.5 inches. Less than ideal conditions in the eyes of most as I had the river to myself. Good things come to those who put the time in under all conditions.

Delavan Lake 5/17/2010 through 5/23/2010 The cool spring and windy conditions continued this past week. It was difficult to get out on the water. There is still quite a few fish in the shallow waters. Crappies are in the shallow weeds in 6-8 ft of water. They are being caught on slip bobber rigged minnows or on small plastics. The best location is the buoy line in Highlands Bay or by Browns Channel. For the small plastics, try purple or chartreuse. I fish on a 1/32 oz Arkie Jig. Bluegills are in two locations. A lot of smaller fish are in the 1-2 ft depth range with the bigger fish being in 6-8 ft of water. The fish are being caught on wax worms fished on ice jigs or with leaf worms fished on a slip bobber. Look for the fish by Willow Point or Viewcrest Bay. Largemouth bass are cruising in the shallow weeds in 3-4 ft of water. Some of the fish I saw this week looked like they were trying to spawn in the cold water. They really didn’t enjoy a bait being thrown at them and were very shy to bite. The best location was Viewcrest Bay or Browns Channel. Northern Pike are still on the shallow flats in 8-10 ft of water. They can be caught on white spinner baits or Rapala Husky Jerk baits. The perch pattern seems to be the best choice. The best location is by Assembly Park or Lake Lawn Lodge. Walleye fishing remains very slow. I haven’t heard of anyone catching any with any consistency. They too are in the shallow weeds in 8-10 ft of water. Look for them by the Oriental boat house or the island on the west end. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050 Daily Reports 5/16/2010 – Delavan Lake, water temp 56 degrees, winds E at 15 mph. Air temp 55 degrees. Caught about 30 bluegills, kept 15. Fished with bobbers and leaf worms. Fished by the golf course and the west end by Viewcrest. Fished anywhere from 1-8 ft of water. 5/15/2010 – Lake Geneva, water temp 54 degrees, winds E at 10-15 mph. Air temp 55 degrees. Caught 8 largemouth, rock bass and bluegills. Fished in 4-5 ft of water. Caught the fish on split shot rigged nightcrawlers. Fished in Geneva Bay most of the time. 5/14/2010 – Delavan Lake, water temp 55 degrees, winds SW at 10-15 mph. Air temp 50 degrees. Caught 8 largemouth and about 15 bluegills. Fished in 3-4 ft of water. The bass were caught on nightcrawlers and All Terrain Stiks. The west end was the best.

Lake Geneva 5/17/10 through 5/23/10 With the weather patterns such that they are and the depth of Lake Geneva, the lake is still very cool. The most consistent fishing is in the 3-4 ft water depth range. Smallmouth bass have been sporadic. If you can find the bait fish, you will likely find the smallmouth. They can be caught on hair jigs or a smoke colored twister tail. The fish are suspended 6 or 7 ft down in 15-20 ft of water. The best location is Elgin Club or the Military Academy. Largemouth bass are in the shallows in 3-4 ft. Look for the fish in Geneva Bay or by Williams Bay. Nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig are producing a lot of action. Water temperatures are too cold and the fish aren’t even close to spawning yet. Perch can be caught in the 8-10 ft depth range where there are scattered weeds and hard sand bottom. They can be caught on slip bobbers fished with minnows or nightcrawler pieces. Look for them by Knollwood or Rainbow point. Bluegills and Rock bass are around the boat docks. The best location is Williams Bay or Geneva Bay. Worms fished on bobbers have been producing most of the action. The best depth is 3-4 ft. Be prepared to sort, the numbers are decent but there are a lot of small fish in the mix. Northern pike are in the shallow weeds. The best depth is 8-10 ft of water. They are being caught on Lindys Shadling, the perch color has been producing the best for me. Another good bait is a white spinner bait, in a slow rolling retrieve.

Need some stomping Muddy Waters riffs going in the background for this one. Didn’t feel like hanging around the house. The day started nice and sunny. Picked the creek that had come down the most to go do some exploring. It was still up, but I’ve fished it at worse times. Covered from the mouth to about a quarter mile in. Clarity was about a foot, but the river was so far into the creek that it all but killed the current. I’ve done well in years past under these conditions, wasn’t meant to be today. Squeaked out 2 landed smallies and 2 missed ones for all the work put into it. The fish were definitely not in attack mode. All of them were hooked when I was half paying attention and just letting the lure hang and swim around. Didn’t know a fish was even on till I tried to move the lure and felt the weight. One had some pretty good weight to it and I was much too slow on the hook set. The river was even muddier and I didn’t bother casting into it. Nothing more depressing to a river fisherman than looking at flowing mud. Considered stopping at a couple of places, but by then the wind gusts had given me a headache and I was done with it. Monday’s rain did nothing to the water levels. One more chance of rain on Friday that I don’t think will amount to much, than a string of days in the 80’s. This could be good as the water drops and the water temps go up. Fish have to eat at some point.

The river is slowly receding, still murky, but fish are being caught! Catfishing continues good throughout river on catfish cheese on *plastic grub or worm designed to hold the bait *chicken liver *minnows *crawlers. Both smallmouth and largemouth bass are being caught in both Indiana and Illinois. Smallmouth on *minnows*jointed plugs *#2 Spinners; Largemouth on *minnows *plastic worms *fluorescent colored lures. Much of the fishing is along the shorelines, mouths of creeks and bayous.

Western Basin Walleye fishing slowed over the past week, but there was still good fishing around the western basin. The best fishing was around Niagara Reef, D can of the Camp Perry firing range, from Green Island to North Bass Island, and also north of Kelleys Island. The jigging bite is ending and most casters are switching over to may fly rigs or drifting bottom bouncers with worm harnesses. Trollers are catching fish on worm harnesses with inline weights or with crankbaits. Yellow perch fishing has been best around Kelleys Island and between Marblehead and Kelleys Island. Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Week of stable May like weather has things looking up. Water temps are rising, fish that seemed ready to spawn weeks ago before being shut down by the cold are getting ready to get back at it. Smallmouth Bass: Good – Very good. Staging up tight, in some bodies of water (dark flowages), cruising shorelines setting up nesting sites. (Actually some nesting going on already). Many anglers having best luck on tubes, fluke type plastics. Warm evenings bringing surface action on chug bugs. Husky Jerks, X-raps producing outside spawning flats. All catch and release!! Crappies: Good-Very Good. Crappies moving back into shallows. Lots of action with fish to 15″ caught this week. Crappie minnows rule… But lots of anglers taking nice catches on Gapen Freshwater shrimp, mini-mites, Charlie bees and Chippewa Charlie jigs as well as the 1″ Gulp Alive minnows, with lake temps averaging mid 50’s now and highs to near 80 degrees by weeks end crappies should be back to bedding this weekend. Walleyes: Good. With high skies early mornings and evenings (especially evenings) best. Lakes exceptionally clear due to lake of rain (no water movement). Fish deeper than usual. Wood key on Flowages at least 7-9′, weeks in 12-16′ on lakes. Dace minnows, redtails, large fats. Some after dark action on #5-#7 Shad Raps on tops of 7-10 bars. Northern Pike: Good. Jig and Chub action starting to give way to Spinnerbaits, #3 Mepps. Large River Shiners below slip bobbers helped anglers to catches of Pike to 28″ this weekend. Paddletail soft minnow baits also hot (4-5″) Bluegill: Fair-Good. This species will really turn on this week. Once lake temps hit 60 degrees plus gills will start moving into shallows. Waxworms, leafworms and thunderbugs. Also some top water popper and dry fly action occurring in the back bays for the fly rod enthusiasts. Largemouth Bass: Good. With smallies moving in this species taking a back seat. Best action on senko style worms plunked into week pockets. Pre-rigged worms also scoring when worked over 6-8′ weed beds. Yellow Perch: Fair. Not as much interest with Crappies moving in, some very nice jumbos being caught in shallows of 1-3′ by anglers targeting crappies and gills. Warmer weather will improve this bite. With lakes so low, use caution motoring. Water is very clear, take advantage of low light periods (dawn, dusk), after dark and cloudy days. Use neutral colors (blue, green) for Walleyes on clear lakes. Forecast is very stable and typical for the second half of May. Should be a good week.

Water temps in the Eagle River area are in the 60 degree range on smaller lakes, and 56 or so on the bigger bodies. Walleye action is good in the Eagle River area. Fish the weedlines in 6 to 8 feet of water. Use a 1/16 ounce jig and a medium fathead, or try a slip bobber rig. It’s an all day bite, especially on the Eagle River Chain of 28 lakes (largest freshwater chain of lakes in the world). The walleye are pretty much near the bottom. Northern are in the same spots as the walleye in the Eagle River area. Fish 6 to 8 feet in and around the weeds, using a jig and a larger fathead. Or you can use a plastic like a Twister Tail, or try a spinner bait in chartreuse and white. All day bite. Most of the northerns are being caught incidentally to anglers going for walleye, rather than being specifically targeted. The crappies in the Eagle River area are on their beds, spawning. Fish 2 to 3 feet of water, using a crappie minnow or a small plastic. Very good action, which should continue for another week or so. Perch are hanging with the walleyes in the Eagle River area. Fish weeds and the weedlines in 6 to 8 feet of water. Use a crappie minnow. The perch will be near the bottom. The action is real good for perch, and local guides say that it should continue through Memorial Day.

River came up about 5 feet last week, not much action over the weekend, some big carp biting on worms and corn, and they have been catching mostly sheephead. Not much to report, but the river is coming down each day, we should be in good shape for the weekend.

Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: May 17, 2010 Kenosha Co. In Kenosha trollers continue to catch good numbers of coho from 180 to 200 feet of water. Cracked ice or blue spoons or orange dodgers with small flies fished 70 to 90 feet down have been taking fish, and early mornings have been best. Shore fishing in Kenosha remains somewhat slow, and nearshore water is dirty. Racine Co. In Racine trollers fishing offshore have been catching limits of coho, along with a few chinooks and rainbows, in water 140 to 240 feet deep. The coho and rainbows have been hitting in the top 50 feet of water, and the chinooks have been 80 to 120 feet down. The coho have been hitting orange dodgers and blue or green flies, and the chinooks have been taking white or silver flashers with blue flies. Nearshore waters in Racine are still muddy after last week’s rains, but shore fishing should improve as the water clears. Milwaukee Co. In Milwaukee trollers have been catching decent numbers of chinooks, coho, and rainbows. Peanut flies fished 60 feet down in 120 feet of water have taken the most fish. Overall, Milwaukee shore fishing remains slow.