Well it is that time of year again finally. I have spent the last couple weeks on the river, and was rewarded with great company and some good fish to go with that. It doesnt get much better than seeing old friends and meeting new ones all the while fishing one of the greatest walleye fisheries in the world.
This spring has brought new and challanging things to us all. The water wasnt to high like most people were refering to, as a matter of fact the water level was about perfect for ideal fishing. The major factor in this springs bite was that the water temp stayed way down while we were getting and had high water. That caused the fish to move from winter locations right into the flooded trees for their staging areas. Most springs the water level is still down as the fish move up to stage therefore you can get to them in the normal spring time spots. With that being the case it made for a little tougher fishing for numbers of big fish. But there were still plenty around and a fair number of them caught.
The best locations for myself have been SHALLOW (6′ or less) sand flats. Sand flats that were at the entrance or exits of back waters and that had a distinct current seam on them seemed to produce better than just a sand flat out of the current. Add in there any type of wood or structure and it makes it even better. The most used presention for my boat was once again the blade bait. Gold was by far the number one producer but firetiger and white did boat us a few fish. Plastics did make a fair showing with a purple char ringworms being best. Chartruese Orange Core also caught a few fish on the bright sunny days. 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4oz jigs in sour apple got the nod most everytime.
Thanks to all who shared my boat with me these last couple weeks. It was a joy fishing with you all and hope to do it again soon.
If your interested in a short course on fishing blades and why they work, tune into Northland Adventures with Dave Carlson this coming Sunday Night. Dave and I filmed a short shot on fishing blades and I explained a few tips on location and presention. So if you have nothing to do on sunday night and need a little fishing fix tune in.
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Until next time…………….
A few other random pics from last week.
The last one is of myself and Sean L. doing a little dirty work around the resort pulling a full sized tree out that was wedged at the big dock
Great report
,great to meet you last Thursday and thanks for the tips Eric 
Nice work Eric! The blade bite will improve with increased water temps and clarity… You did extremely well with the circumstances!
Great post Eric, For a minute i thought you were river logging. Thanks for helping Dean out!! Will be watching Sunday!!
Thanks for the report Eric–sweet fish!
Jeremy
Yes a tough year for many of us reading this,but you have had many fish this spring over 10 plus pounds.Tough to beat those kind of fish.
Nice report & thanks for the info. I still have a lot to learn using blades.
Exactly!! Great job Eric, you definitely put the time in and figure out where those big girls are hiding!
Jami
Nice fish!! That saug is a tank and the wallys ain’t too bad either:)
Nice report Eric and very good insight in regard to how this year’s water temps affected the walleye’s staging areas.
Nice fish Eric, can’t thank you enough for letting me fill an open seat early this season, and the absolute education on chucking blades. What an exciting way to fish- you are a blade guru.
