Sorry for the late report, but wanted to put up a quick report.
I went out this Sunday on Wissota and my goal was to force myself to fish water I don’t normally touch or have never touched.
What I’m finding out about Wissota anglers is that many of us become comfortable with a section of water. This lake is over 6000 acres and has it quirks about it, so when you figure out one area, it’s just so easy to return and try to replicate success. I will never be a Lake Wissota expert, but I do want to a better broad based understanding of the lake. At least that is my goal this summer.
My search started on the little lake.
I marked fish around Mermaid Island and off some of the prominent points. My plan was to troll some Shad Raps to trigger active fish. If I got any takers, I would fine tune my approach. On the Paint Creek arm my only taker was 30 something inch snot rocket.
I turned the corner and hit the Stillson creek arm. I was trolling in 7 feet of water at high noon in a weedy bay. I had a 17.5 ‘eye whack my crank. I made several passes over this area with no luck. It’s interesting to see Dartman also found his fish to orientate to the weeds. Catching weedy walleyes is a big gap in my fishing knowledge. I logged it in my memory bank and will return better prepared.
I stopped to chat with a young man at restaurant on the lake. His Dad is a musky guide on the lake. He told me of a recent walleye catch on musky guide trip that hit a top water musky bait. He said it measured over 21 inches. I wouldn’t have guessed a walleye would hit an oversized top water bait.
I spent a half hour scoping out some the mid-lake humps on big lake. These spots held fish late in the summer last year, but seemed to void of fish on Sunday.
I spent the rest of the trolling some areas on the Chippewa River arm that I normally drive right by. I found come good numbers of ‘eyes in one spot. They had a strong preference for a #5 Hot Steel Shad Rap. My trolling speed was about 2.4 and the 15 foot depth was best for me. I didn’t pick up anything big, but it was fun to find the numbers.
I was towards the end of my trolling stretch and this small musky hit my bait.
Take a look at his tail. You will see he is missing the top portion. I know the local Muskies Inc chapter has planted some Leech Lake strain muskies. They have clip one of the fins to help identify them and are asking anglers to report catches of this strain. I have forgot which fin they are clipping. Does anyone have any information on this?
Sully
