July 17 – July 24, 2023

Week 11 of the open water season.

Water temp: 68-72

Walleye

Walleye fishing is slowly but surly picking up for us on the east end. During the week we started to see an increase in numbers and size of walleye being caught with some good buckets of 14-17″ eaters being brought in. This past weekend I finally saw some big things of mayflies on the water which explains the slightly slower weekend we had. If you put in the time, fish a lot of spots and use a variety of baits you can come home with a healthy fish fry.

The best bite has been on a lindy rig and half a crawler. Focusing on the sand flats and humps out in big bay we have seen lots of fish piled up anywhere from 17-22′ of water. Pulling lindys around .4-.5 mph has produced the best results. Another really good option this week has been pulling spinner rigs very slow, around that .4-.6 mph. Same thing as the lindys, half a crawler in the sand. Our last bait we used a lot this week were jigging raps (#7). Jigging raps have been great to get reaction bites out of these walleye during the day.

The early morning and evening slip bobber bite has been hit or miss for us. Focusing on wind blown rocks in 5-12′ of water has been the best areas. Floating a leech over the tops of the rock has resulted in a few nice walleye to hit the deck along with a healthy dose of smallmouth mixed in.

For the trollers out there, I would say we are a week or maybe even a couple of days from the lead core bite firing up. We have caught a couple here and there on it so far and the fish are staging in the sand areas waiting to move to the mud. I predict with the hot weather this week we will see the lead core bite fire up by the next report.

Baits of choice in my boat: Lindy rig and half a crawler, spinner rig and half a crawler, bobber and leech, #7 jigging raps

Bass

The bass fishing has been solid all week. A lot of nice Vermilion footballs have been caught on the classic summertime baits. Wacky rigged senkos around all structure has been producing good numbers of fish. During the early morning and late evening hours there is a very good top water bite. Top water baits can produce some big fish. As always on Vermilion, the trusty slip bobber and leech has been producing like it should this time of year. Focusing on the big boulders, docks, and downed trees has produced the most fish. Boulders in 3-8′ of water has been our target area. Docks that have deep water very close by are always a good go-to during the middle of the day.

Baits of choice in my boat: top water, senkos, slip bobber and leech

Check back in next Monday (7/31) for next weeks fishing report!

Zach Hrvol

Fishing with Z Guide Service

(218) 404-9200