Fishing season is officially open! Now, if we could tell the fish, we’d be all set. Fishing is pretty decent, but seeing more action this past weekend would have been lovely. Largemouth bass are in the shallows in 3-4 ft of water. The best location is Viewcrest Bay or Lake Lawn Lodge. The best presentation is casting green pumpkin All Terrain Stiks. My preferred method of hooking them is Texas rigged. With the warm March, the weed growth is much thicker than in recent years. Although I wasn’t fishing for bass on Sunday, I saw several nice fish caught. With warmer weather, fishing should improve. Bluegill fishing is also in the shallows in 3-4 ft of water. The best approach is small ice jigs tipped with leafworms or waxworms. The channels seem to be producing most of the action.

One of the big problems is the overall size; it’s hard to find an 8-inch bluegill this year. With the cool water, the spawn is probably 2-3 weeks away. Northern Pike can be caught on slip bobbers tipped with suckers or large golden shiners. Work at a depth of 6-7 ft of water. Most success is coming in Highlands Bay. I have been anchoring the boat and casting the baits downwind from the boat. Position the bait about 1 ft above the weeds. Crappie fishing this week was very slow.

I fished for almost 2 hours for them on Sunday in many different spots with not so much as a bite. I don’t know if the east wind or the front was moving through, but they didn’t seem interested in what I was presenting. We tried minnows and small plastics, with only bluegills coming on the line. Walleyes are biting during low-light conditions. They are biting on crankbaits, chrome/blue Husky Jerks, or chrome/blue Smithwick Rogues. You want to fish in 6-8 ft of
water. The best location is the Yacht Club and Village Supper Club.

Good luck, and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe
at 608-883-2050