MILTONA

Going to miltona for opener and just wondering how the fishing will be on the east side with the warm water.will they be shallow or on some structure,and if the midnight bite is better then the day bite.I know the weather has something to do with it but just in general.(joe)It would be wonderful if you had any info or direction on this.

Steve, I don’t usually get out for the midnight bite, but I know there are plenty of people that do well trolling raps shallow. I’m more of a jig or Lindy rig type of a guy, so I have my best luck in the mornings and evenings. This time or year I almost always fish shallow, whether I’m fishing rocks, gravel, or sand.

Based off other lakes Miltona should still be slightly warmer than normal even though water temps have actually been dropping over the past week or two. After that amazing weather we had in April I thought we were going to be swimming on opener.

In the past I’ve done very well pulling a shiner on a wide gap jig in 6’-10’ FOW. Fishing that shallow an 1/8oz jig is plenty big, but a standard jig has too small of a hook gap. Look at the difference between a standard jig and a Max Gap Lindy X-change jig. The larger hook allows me a much higher hooking percentage. It’s the perfect combo of a light jig head and 2/0 hook. Not to mention I can change colors and weights at anytime I want. If you use this technique and have decent boat control, I can just about guarantee you a walleye.

I live on Lake Mary, so I’ll be fishing out there. Good luck on Miltona

Joe…Coming up from Rochester to take the wife on her maiden voyage in the new boat for opener on Lake Mary. Never fished the lake before but it’s close to family that lives in the area. Any pointers you can share without giving up your secrets. I’d love to pull some crank baits but I’m open to whatever will put some fish in the boat.

Well you never know, give cranks a try. I’ve personally never done well on them out there nor have I seen anyone do well on them this early. Mid summer I’ve caught a few but usually live bait will still out perform. My go to bait on Mary for opener is a minnow on a jig or Lindy rig.

The biggest mistakes I see people make on opener;

1) They go way too fast! (boat control is key)
2) They fish way to long in a spot that has no fish. (Keep moving until you read fish)
3) They use line that’s too heavy and hooks that are too big. (Use 6lb line and a #6 hook)
4) They use poor bait. (You need fresh lively bait)

There were well over 100-150 boats out there last opener and I saw three fish caught all day. I’m not saying that’s all that was caught, just all I noticed caught from the many boats fishing near me. It was a slower year, but my boat pulled 14 nice eyes using this technique. If you skimp on any of the above your results will be less than great, these fish are picky. Good luck out there