With all the rain, very cloudy waters because of them and the strange up and down temps we’ve been having, the walleye fishing has been fickle to say the least this year. Many of the locations that have historically produced some good post spawn walleye catches over the years have let me and a few others down this year. Rather that will change soon, catch up or get back in step with what the usual programs are is anybodies guess. There has been some good catches already, but again, not the kind we have had over the past few years. The East side of the Bay which usually starts things off has been very tough. And my favorite shallow water bite along the southern shorelines has been all but extinct this spring so far. I have managed to salvage a few trips using my favorite shallow water trolling lure the Long “A” Bomber. Some decent catches have come in straight off from Linwood Beach Marina all the way out to the first Spark Plug. Bare spoons run on 2 and 3 colors of lead core, or baited Spoon Harnesses have done very well given the waters still cold temps. AuGres has also produced some good early catches both North and South of the river mouth starting in 14 FOW, but has also disapointed on certain days. And many of the fish caught are still showing physical signs of just how late both the spawn and the walleyes migration back to the Bay was this spring. And probably why some of the walleyes (IMV) seem to be dragging their feet/fins to get set up in their usual places. But with the cooler temps so far, the up-side may be that more of them will summer in the inner bay versus leaving it for deeper waters. We’ll see.
As always, be safe, fish smart and tight lines.
Capt. Dan.
Walleye Express Charters