FISHING WITH THE GUIDES with George Langley - Week of 5/5 to 5/12

It turned out to be a pretty good Opening Weekend up here, with plenty of action for those who went out. Walleye and Crappie were the stars of this opener, with Pearch holding their own on many bodies of water, too. The weather was only decent, but at least it wasn’t cold or snowy and it didn’t rain the more than a few hours. All and all, a nice weekend. Water temps are holding in the upper 40’s to low 50’s throughout the area – so, depending on the lake your fishing, time of day and location there’s still quite a bit of variation. Warm, shallow, sunny bays were the spots producing for all species – as per usual up here for this time of the year.

Most folks we spoke to were fishing on the chain and as mentioned, Perch and Walleye were on the move. They are being found both shallow and a little deeper - and right now where you find one, you’ll find the other. We heard great reports of both in 2’ of water while at the same time others were talking about 12-17’, depending on the lake and the time. Look shallow in the mornings and evenings, and deeper hole-edges during mid-day. They are moving in and out for spawning and feeding right now, and it’s important to remember to put those females back and stick to keeping the males only for the time being.  Use light tackle and smaller fathead or crappie minnows to target the Perch and go a little heavier with bigger tuffies or sucker minnows for the Walleye.

While the Walleye and Perch stole the show, people were targeting other species, too. Crappie and bluegill were popular, although bluegill are still shy. Crappies, however, are on the move. They were caught on the Chain in areas from the holes right up to shallow shoreline cover in 2-3’. Let's hope the water temps continue to rise, as they'll be up for several weeks to spawn. This provides the best crappie fishing of the year. A hint for these fish is to use fatheads rather than crappie minnows, as this tends to "size select" to the larger fish. Just look for the warmest shorelines with cover for these fish.

Northern fishing was good too, as these fish are very early spawners and are active feeders after. They can be found just about everywhere, but especially in cover such as emergent weeds or brush piles. They are hitting any type of larger minnow. Many northerns were caught by walleye anglers who were not targeting them. 

The Bass are just starting to cruise the shorelines, feeding and looking for spots to spawn. This pattern will continue - unless we get a big cold front - right up to the time we see them decide to spawn. They can be caught on minnow stick baits easily during this period.

All in all, it was a good Opener, although anticlimactic as we’ve been fishing from boats for quite a while this year.  Last year we barely had open water!  With the weather forecast cooperating we expect fishing to continue to improve.  We’ve got some great action to look forward to, including the Bluegill that will be spawning later this month. For now, for a great day on the water stick to targeting Perch, Walleye and Crappie and be gentle - put those females back to do their thing and stock our fisheries. 

Good luck and good fishin’!

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