Here is a sample of recent catches from my boat. The key has been leaving the schools of poo-poo fish and finding schools of Pac-Man fish. Anywhere from 13-22 feet of water with a crawler or Leech has been best. Every day is an awesome new adventure here on Leech Lake.
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Its still a great time to get out on the lake, and the weather has not affected the fish too much. Great report Phil.
My best action this past week came fishing near steep drop-offs in 20-25 f.o.w. The best presentation really varies from day to day. Rigging Leeches, crawlers or chubs has been best on most days. In the morning, evening and on cloudy or windy days, a deep diving crankbait like a deep tail dancer or reef runner is hard to beat.
It is a good idea to check any of those shallower weed or sand honey holes right now as fish are still using these areas too.
I always try to spend more time driving and marking fish before I put lines out this time of year to maximize our time out there. You can scan a lot of bottom at 4 mph and locate more schools of fish, upping your odds of a good haul.
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As most anglers know, July and August fishing can be less consistent for Walleyes then at other times of the year. I am always eager and optimistic when venturing out however, as some of my best catches have been during this time period.
Fish are cold blooded and when the water is in the mid-to-upper 70’s they have no choice but to feed as they are burning a lot of calories. Slowly presenting live bait is not always that productive now. Often speedy or erratic presentations trigger a reaction bite in these well fed fish. Fish do feed more at night and during dawn and dusk. Bright sunny days can make for less than productive fishing but fishing a little bit deeper, a little bit faster, or near thick weeds has saved more than a few slow outings for me during the “dog days”. When fishing deeper water, seeing fish on my electronics before putting lines down has been really key for me at this time.
While scouting yesterday I happened upon a school of Walleyes in 5 f.o.w. that I believe were feeding on Crayfish. A jig and leech, slip bobber and leech, & jig and minnow got only a few bites but a switch to a Rippin’ Rap triggered Walleyes on 5 out of 10 casts. 30 fish in two outings have now been boated on rattle baits. These fish were spread out in an area roughly the size of a tennis court but were chasing prey all over. They were able to find the rattle baits much easier than the live bait offerings and I can only assume that they stood out against the limitless food options that the fish had available.
I’m not sure where we will find them next week or what they will bite on, but I am very excited to find out.
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Great info, thanks for sharing! 
Nice write-up, thanks!
Phil,
Did you try a crawdad RNR?
Helpful info as always Phil!
Phil,
Did you try a crawdad RNR?
I didn’t have any…I do now!
We have worked hard during the past week to put numbers of fish in the boat but the bite remains decent.
I’m still catching Walleyes from 6-36 feet of water on many presentations including; slip bobbering leeches, slow-rolling rippin’ raps, rigging redtails, and trolling crankbaits on both mono and lead core line.
Each spot seems to demand a different presentation to get bites, and the prior days success seems to fade quickly, requiring another pattern to be uncovered. Seeking out new territory that has not been fished has paid off at times too. Marking fish on sonar and persistence seem to be the only real common denominators to success now as I see it.
Each day really is an exciting new adventure!
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