Rob P

We had a number of blowups this past weekend where the bait sailed into the air. My sons were trying to get pics and video of the action. Nope. Very fun fishing.

Had 2-3 on this weekend pulling crawler harnesses @ 20-25fow but could not get my rhythm to hook them. Usually we'll get big gills and bass mixed in with walleye. Casting shallow cranks we hooked a lot of bass on outer bush piles on points. I agree with the bluegill bite, if they are following other predator are nearby. We only got out from ~7pm to dark, to many chores kept us off the water. I'm ok with that, we'll be back in a few weeks. We did see water temps from 76-79 degrees over the weekend before the rains.

We do try for crappie. I like using slip floats once we mark suspended fish. This year we just targeted bass and walleye..

great. that narrows my search! thanks

nice report. what was the water temp?

My plan is the same this weekend, but I'll focus on the 20-30fow range. Also look for suspended fish @25 in 50-80 fow.

Tough bite, Friday it was 80 degrees, Saturday 53 maybe.. Little blustery, Saturday I think we saw about 4-5 boats all day. We also saw a 3-5 degree water temp drop in a day. Smaller cranks caught us some smaller bass, topwater turned on at 7;15 and shut off about 7:45. Right at sunset when you think its perfect conditions, we couldn't get a bite. Tried trolling had trouble marking schools of baitfish and we didn't get a bump. Bouncing Jigs down steep walls in the shade was probably my best locale for fish. Other than bass, I caught some of the biggest gills ever on a jig. Its cool to see a 5" grub trying to be swallowed by a bluegill.. Back in coves it gets very quiet. At one time I did overhear 2 guys talking in their boat saying there are no fish in this lake. Oh there are plenty of fish, we just run out of time figuring out the pattern..

low 70s that's great. It was about (58-61) 2 weeks ago in Oakland area. Air temps were also much cooler then.

Rain and wind were fun. NOT. We tried casting jigs, cranks, and trolled. Caught a lot of small fish which was fun, and some nice big guys. Jig bite was outside the brush not at shore, sometimes 3-6fow. Topwater bite was there in pockets and not really a lot of action. Trolling we were catching fish suspended @25' in 50-80 fow. Things change in 2 weeks and we are trying it again this weekend. .

Great report thanks. water 67! nice. I keep a topwater bait tied on a rod just for the proper spot. You can cast for an hour and when a spot appears grab that rod for one cast in hopes of a blowup.. we need about 10 more degrees.. My kids will want to wakeboard by Memorial day..

See that's how it starts.. ..Honey I'll bring down this furniture. Maybe cut the grass. (And fish 8 hours a day............) My bride knows my game plan as a weekender!

Stein, I never even got to include the river fishing. I like to wade flyfish, both White and North Fork. Learning the river water flow and access areas will be as much fun as learning Bull Shoals. I'll admit I did a few guide trips to learn how to present the fly, now its about access and reading the water. You are in a great area for both trout, bass and now walleye!

In July, absolutely a sunrise and sunset topwater bite. As the sun gets high by 7 or 8am, I typically troll or toss jigs to steep banks in 20-30fow. I'm a weekender as well and hope to move in a few years.

We saw you guys buzzing around the main bay with 1-2 footers. We fished the wind and tried to not let it bother us.. It was a tough bite but we managed to catch fish jigging, trolling and tossing cranks. Lotsa small fish which helped combat the conditions. * We were not in your tourney.. I fish a crestliner which felt at home with the waves and wind..

what range of water temps did you guys see this weekend? thanks.

previous years at these same temps ive marked crappie suspended in 20+ fow. A slip bobber set to where I marked them picked up fish. I was hoping to read water temps mid 50s for March but 60 is great! Thanks.

That FLW was held when the minimum walleye were 15", now its 18"

lake at 660, is the COE set with this level now? that's our set pool so we should see it stabilize.

Nice job. You were in 13 fow, casting at shore? graph shows the water is at 47 degrees, we'll see 60s by end of March. Lets hope the high water stays away.. ...how do we get to see your home made underspin??

nice job! flatlining cranks?

Last year I had a small outboard on an aluminum boat we left in the water all summer. When I took it out of the water the intakes were smothered in zebra mussels. A ski boat with an I/O that sat in the same dock all summer had none. I'm investing in a lift for the coming year.

Exactly Sam. The water is already very clear, up to 20ft at times. Lake Erie and Michigan actually cleared up and the walleye and smallies improved. But local region we have rock and mixed cobble shore. I just hope the fry that compete with the zm zooplankton (?) food system will do ok.

yep. once it gets really bad we'll all be switching to braid. Maybe not crank bait fishing but jigs or bottom baits will contact them and cause problems. The edges on the shell can be very sharp. As far on shore lines, you cannot walk on them when zebras mussels are present, , the shells are too sharp. I worry about my kids swimming or my dogs at the water edge.

Love fishing crawler harnesses. Yep gotta hold the rod for best results. Also there is that moment of first pick up when you need to let them have the bait. Crank of slack then sweep for a hookset. If its a bass or other species, that delay could loose you a fish, but walleye will hide and try to swim off and eat the bait. Nice article!