Lake Wissota pre-holiday update, 5-23-08

This is the first of my regular Lake Wissota updates for the 2008 season. I spent three days on the water this week, fishing with clients and with friends. We found a great multi-species bite taking place on Wissota in the shallows. Our bag this week consisted primarily of walleyes and crappies, but also included smallies, pike, musky, and perch. Here are some tips to get you on fish this holiday weekend.

First, some general presentaions. About half of our catch came on jigs (fatheads or plastics), with the other half coming while trolling (long lines or leadcore). Right now, the jig bite is strongest early and late, while the trolling bite shines mid-day. We mixed it up through the course of the day to stay on fish.

Walleyes

Northern shorelines of shallow bays are hard to beat right now, with gentle current areas in the Chippewa and Yellow rivers being a very close second. To work the shorelines, we have been pitching 1/16 oz jigs tipped with fatheads, or 1/8 oz jigs tipped with Gulp Alive minnow grubs. The bite is ~ 2/3 minnows and 1/3 plastic, although the plastic bite is much more aggressive and frankly more enjoyable than the bait bite. In current areas, we have been dragging shallow rock and sand with 1/16 or 1/8 oz jigs tipped with fatheads, or pulling cranks (primarily SR5s). Our best depths for trolling are 8-10′ early and late, and ~ 12′ during midday. Speeds are quite fast, between 2.4 and 2.8 mph. Our over-the-slot fish are evenly distributed between pitching and trolling.

Crappies

While not targetting crappies exclusively, we have been enjoying an occasional crappie here and there while pitching the shallows, and the crappies we are getting are of the slab variety. This 12.5″ fish is an example of the kind of fish that are possible. We have had numerous 10-12″ fish in the boat this week. Shorelines with woody cover are the best, although we have found some fish in current-swept rock areas as well. The slabs are falling for the same fatheads or Gulp Alive presentations that are taking the walleyes on the shorelines.

Toothy critters

We had 4 incidental muskys this week while fishing for eyes. The 32″ fish starring in this poor picture is the largest. With musky season closed until this weekend, I wanted to get this fish back in the drink rather than get a perfect pic. If a guy wanted to target muskies this weekend, I’d suggest fishing the emerging weed growth in the Chip with small cranks. We lost an absolute TANK at the net while trolling, and of the 4 muskies we landed, 3 came on cranks. Pike are also available and feeding aggressively right now. We have had 2-3 pike per day, all in the mid-upper 20″ class.

Looking ahead

With some stable weather and some sunshine, our water temps should get the bump needed to get the walleye bite in high gear. We are averaging ~ 15 walleyes per trip, and that number should go up (and UP) once the water temp gets into the upper 60s. The crappies will begin to fall off, but the smallies that are just now spawning will take up their slack. If you’d like to get in on some fun multi-species action, drop me a line!