Smallmouth bass are in two depth ranges. The fish I’ve been catching have been in 14-16 ft of water. My friends are catching them in 26-28 ft of water. When I tried the deeper water, all I caught on the nightcrawlers were northern pike. The best location has been by Knollwood or by the Military Academy. Most of my success is coming on nightcrawlers or drop shotting small 4 inch finesse worms. I expect the deeper bite to continue to get stronger in the coming days and weeks. Largemouth bass have been spotty. The best action has been on top water fished in the early morning hours. Chug Bugs or Pop-R’s are producing most of the action. The occasional bass can be caught while Carolina rigging lizards or nightcrawlers in the 12-14 ft depth range.
Look for the fish by Colemans Point or in Trinkes Bay. Walleye are still biting at night, however I did hear of a daytime bite that has been occurring in the last few days. The fish are in 26-28 ft of water and are being caught on lindy rigged leeches. The key is deep water humps near the narrows. Some of the walleyes caught last week, were over 25 inches. Bluegills have been biting really well, however the size has been a real factor this season. The last few years, it was nothing to catch 8 or 9 inch fish in deep water, this year it’s been a real chore to get the size. I’ve been catching 5-6 inch fish easily but they are too small to keep. Most of the fish are being caught on nightcrawlers drifted in 16-18 ft of water. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water.
For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.