July 31 – August 7, 2023

Week 13 of the open water season.

Water temp: 75-80

Walleye

The walleye fishing continued on the same path from last week and was very good again. We are catching a lot of fish right now which makes for a fun filled day on the water. There is a lot of little fish being caught, but if you keep catching you will get the nicer eating sized fish in the same spots.

Early morning and right before dark produced the best bites for us this week. Pitching a jig and minnow at pods of walleye is how we caught the bigger fish. Fishing sand humps and points, in Big Bay, in 15-22′ of water with a jig or lindy rig has produced high numbers of fish. A big key to putting fish in the boat is moving from spot to spot until you find active fish. There are a lot of spots holding large numbers of fish right now so finding the active fish is key. Usually I will give a spot 20-30 minutes and if we don’t have a keeper yet I will move. The small fish are a lot of fun, but usually you will get an eater sized fish to bite in that first 30 minutes on a spot.

If the bite slows down and the fish seem to lack interest, I have had very good luck downsizing my jig to an 1/8 ounce tungsten compared to the 1/4 ounce jigs I use daily.

For us, there has not been much of a trolling bite to report yet. There are good numbers of fish being caught on lead core pulling cranks in certain areas of the lake.

Baits of choice in my boat: Northland Tackle 1/4 and 1/8 ounce tungsten jigs

Bass

Smallmouth are still everywhere and being caught a lot of different ways. Focusing on points, shallow shorelines, and structure has been key to finding late summer footballs. Casting shallow crankbaits, soft plastics, and top water has all produced high quality fish. The best depth I have seen right now has been 6-12′ and bouncing crankbaits on the rocks. During the late evening, casting a top water bait of your choice can produce a ton of excitement when a giant smallmouth blows up on it. There is a bunch of different ways to catch these fish, so pick your favorite tactics and go have some fun!

Baits of choice in my boat: Shallow crank baits, senkos and tubes, any top water bait.

Check back in next week (8/14) to see next weeks fishing report!

Zach Hrvol

Fishing with Z Guide Service

(218) 404-9200