Jeff Sundin, Guest Post "If You’re Happy and You Know It, … Stay Right There!" September 10, 2024

Since Labor Day, and the start of my customer’s more intense pursuit of walleyes, I’ve spent several days on Lake Winnie. The past couple of them have been with Scott and Owen Stemple, who were staying at Bowen Lodge. Scott Stemple won a recent Benchmade sweepstakes entry and the prize package included an all expense paid trip to Bowens, and two days of walleye fishing with yours truly, the Early Bird Fishing Guide.

Owen and Scott Stemple, Benchmade Sweepstakes Winners

Having a couple of days to fish with the same crew is nice for me, it allows extra time to experiment with locations and presentations. It allows more time too, for talking with folks around the resort, comparing notes about who’s doing what, and where. On these particular fishing trips, I also had a chance to learn how Winnie’s walleyes reacted to completely opposite weather conditions.

 One thing I’ve learned this week is that it would be easy, after a few hours of casual fishing, to conclude that the walleyes on Winnibigoshish are not biting. Unless you were to get stubborn, like I sometimes do, and keep covering the water until you find fish. If you did that, then you would figure out that the complete opposite is true; they actually are biting quite well.

What I believe is that there is so much food available, and good fish habitat is so widespread, walleyes are already happy wherever they are. Nature has given them no reason to begin migrating away from summer haunts toward fall feeding areas. The result is that we’re finding small numbers of fish everywhere, but no large schools of them anywhere. So, for me, the trick to success has been to try lots of spots, then when we hit a good one and have a successful drift, or trolling pass, I take the win and move along to another spot. The more spots we try, the better we wind up at the end of the day.

Owen Stemple with nice fat Lake Winnie Northern Pike

Saturday was an ideal day for fishing on Winnie, the skies were grey, there was a chop on the surface and fish were in an active mood. We started fishing on the north shore, trolling spinners along the weedline. The dark sky made the northern pike active; we caught lots of them in various places along the stretch of water between the gap and Stony point. The pike were fun, and there were some walleyes, but they were few and far between, so we moved further west. At every stop, there were a few fish and most of the time, species were mixed. Walleyes, pike and perch co-mingled in the shallows; 6 to 8 feet of water was where we did our best work.

 Also at every stop, we observed something that I think has been true for a month or more on Winnie; the fish were active for the first trolling pass, but rarely were there enough to produce good results on the second trolling pass. I noticed that almost every time I saw a fish on the screen of my graph, somebody caught it. That was true at every stop throughout the day, but like I said, weather conditions were ideal that day. I notice too that whenever we attempted to re-run a stretch of productive territory, sightings on my graph dropped exponentially. I think whatever fish were there bit the first time they saw our lures, so going back for more was usually time wasted.

Scott Stemple with nice Winnie Walleye

 For a time on Saturday, we experimented with jigs and minnows in deeper water. Fishing on mid-lake structure in 16 to 20 feet of water, we did find some walleyes. Like the fish we discovered in shallow water, one pass was all we could get. For me, jigging was rewarding because if offered a change of pace and was more productive for walleyes. For my crew, it lacked the fast pace of catching the mixed bag on the shoreline, so we returned to the weed edges to finish off the day.

 Sunday’s weather conditions were more challenging, and during the morning, Winnie was stingy. There was a strong west wind blowing, and that forced us to drive to Richard’s Townsite to launch the boat. That got us out of the wind, but with clear blue skies and no chop on the water, the activity level was low. Fishing the stretch of water between that landing and the Mississippi River mouth produced some perch, but not much else. There were places that I saw larger marks on my graph, but unlike our experience on Saturday, seeing fish did not mean that we cold catch them.

Scott and Owen Stemple, Benchmade Sweepstakes Winners

 Part of the problem on Sunday was my own fault, I knew that my crew preferred trolling the spinners, so I stuck with it longer than I should have. Around noon, it was clear that if we were going to catch fish, we’d need to try something else. At about that same time, the winds subsided, and travelling around the lake became a lot easier. “I know it’s not your first choice boys, but I think we’re going to have to try the jigs and minnows again,” I said. They agreed, and we headed back to the middle of the lake to try our luck.

Numerous walleyes from Lake Winnie’s 2018 year class have entered the protected slot

Like Saturday, there were fish on the bars, this time in water depths of 18 to 22 feet. They were still scattered, and we still had to follow the one pass and move spots rule, but at least now we were catching some walleyes. We were able to fsih effective using ¼ ounce Live Bait Jigs tipped with small to medium golden shiners. I won’t try to tell you that it was a “hot bite”, but we did manage to have some action and catch a half dozen “keeper” size fish in the 16 to 17 inch range, class of 2019 fish I think.

 There was also a half dozen fish in the protected slot, all from the 2018-year class and all just barely over 18 inches. That’s been happening to me a lot lately, and you can see by the accompanying photo that taking a quick and casual measurement could lead to trouble. I’d recommend taking plenty of time to measure extra carefully and be sure that your fish is legal before dropping it in the cooler.

A hopeful sign, lots of 8 t0 10 inch walleyes might mean a strong 2023 year class coming up

Another observation is that 2023 appears to have been a good year for walleye spawning. This week we’ve caught dozens of walleyes in the 8-to-10-inch size range. If these fish have good survival next winter, we should have something to look forward to after the 2019-year class population declines.

Secchi Disk reading on Lake Winnie 8 feet as of 9-8-2024

One more thing, I’ve added a tool to my arsenal, an official Cub Reporter, Staff Number 003, Secchi Disk. Now, instead of speculating about the water clarity on any given body of water, I can test it myself. Before we ledt the lake on Sunday, we dropped in into Lake Winnie and learned that the current water clarity is at about 8 feet. In future reports, I plan to offer this information regularly, so stay tuned.

 I’m thankful for the Benchmade company’s confidence in allowing me to handle the fishing end of their sweepstakes winners’ trip to Lake Winnie. I’m thankful too for the folks at Bowen Lodge, they’ve given me lots of support over the years, and it too is much appreciated. Finally, I’m thankful that Scott and Owen got in on some decent fishing. After spending two days in the boat with them, I can tell that these guys are like me, working class folks who probably would not have made this trip on their own. It’s gratifying to see somebody win something knowing that it truly is a “special treat” for them. Thanks everybody for a great experience!

August 29, 2024 Lake Winnie-Cutfoot Sioux Turning the Corner into Fall Fishing Patterns

Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and for our guests and friends heading this way, the fishing report is an optimistic one. Surface water temperatures are trending gently downward, the days are getting shorter, and weather patterns are generally favorable for angling. Combined, they have begun triggering seasonal movements of both walleye and perch, encouraging an uptick in shallow water action. Crappie and pike have been prowling the steep breaklines and are more active as well.

Phil Goettl with nice Lake Winnie Walleye August 28, 2024

The most recent heat wave, now passed, created a heavy algae bloom in Cutfoot and Little Cutfoot Sioux. Water clarity in the small lakes is low, we think somewhere in the 3-to-5-foot range. On Lake Winnie, the algae bloom is lighter, but still evident and water clarity out there ranges between 5 and 7 feet. The dingier water, combined with breezy conditions has made it easier for anglers to use traditional trolling and drifting presentations.

 Within the past few days, there have been good reports from friends fishing on Lake Winnie using jig and minnow combinations, and there are still good reports from folks who prefer trolling the shorelines using spinners. Less common, but also being used by some, are shallow running crankbaits trolled across the flats. No matter which of these presentations you prefer, it is realistic to expect a mixed catch of pike, perch, and walleye, most likely in that order.

 Key habitat varies somewhat from spot-to-spot but finding vegetation in water depths of 6 to 10 feet will get you in the ballpark. On breezy days, fish tend to rise above the tops, and out toward the clean edges of submerged grasses. On calmer, brighter days, they have trended toward heavier vegetation, and hold tighter to the plants. Rocks, gravel and isolated patches of vegetation on the flats are holding some fish too. That said, fish on some of the most popular “rock spots” on the flats have been heavily pursued and are less likely to be aggressive.

 Whether you choose to search the grassy breaklines, or check out the gravel patches, you can use the same basic presentations. Spinners, tipped with fatheads and trolled behind a 3/16-ounce bullet sinker will allow you to cover most of the territory. They can be fished in water depths of 6 to 12 feet by controlling the length of line. In shallower water, run them about 25 feet behind the boat, allow extra line as you go deeper. Remember, spinners do not need to be fish on, or even near the bottom. In heavy vegetation, it’s ideal to tickle the tops, and run through the gaps between plants. Keeping your spinner a foot or two over the tops of rocks is ideal too, touching the bottom is not.

 Jig and minnow combinations are producing fish right now too. The best all around size is 1/8 ounce, and when the wind blows, can be bumped up to ¼ ounce. The best all-around choice of bait, if you can find them, is large fatheads. Golden shiners will work, so will rainbows, and so will some of the minnows found in the “river mix” sold in local bait shops. Size is more important than species, an ideal minnow for jigging ranges from 3 to 4 inches in length.

 If you have the technology and prefer to spot and stop when fish are seen, jigs and minnows will be effective too. The popularity of using slip floats and leeches can’t be denied, but they’ve been in use all summer long, and some of the fish seem to be “conditioned” to them. We’ve heard some folks’ express frustration because they see fish but can’t get them to strike. Maybe it’s simply time to offer those fish an alternative presentation?

Jumbo Perch showing up on Lake Winnie August 27, 2024

 Perch, like the ones you see pictured here are becoming more prominent in the daily catch every day. Most of them come as a by-catch during the pursuit of walleyes and are located along the shallower shoreline breaks. To single them out, either move shallower and fish the flatter, sand and gravel patches inside of the main grass lines. Or locate shallow rocks adjacent to shoreline breaks. Key depths for perch in either location have ranged between 4 and 7 feet.

 Trolling the spinner and minnow combinations have produced plenty of perch and can be used to maximize the odds of catching walleyes. Jigs and minnows though, are likely more efficient than spinners in many instances. Perch, especially when located on isolated patches of rock and gravel are likely to stay in that area. Stopping the boat and fan casting 1/8 or 1/6 ounce jigs tipped with medium fatheads might be better.

 The size structure of perch on Winnie is all over the map right now but there are some nice ones. Expect to catch a lot of small, 6-to-9-inch perch, with a respectable smattering of fish in the 10-to-11-inch range. An occasional 12 inch fish may come along as a bonus.

 Crappie fishing took a turn for the better a couple weeks ago, but the action has tapered off since then. There are still anglers catching them in both big and little Cutfoot. The trend for locating them has been to search along steeper shoreline breaks that lay adjacent to larger flats of mixed cabbage and coontail. On Big Cutfoot, that means water depths of 7 to 12 feet of water. On Little Cutfoot, they may be found shallower, key depths there range from 5 to 8 feet where vegetation is present. Alternatively, search breaklines in 12 to 15 feet of water looking for small packs of suspended fish.

 Slow trolling with 1/16- or 1/8-ounce jigs tipped with plastic tails or spinner jigs works well. The 2-inch size twister tails, ripple shads and Keitech paddle tails are popular and productive. Beetle spins, road runners and other spinner jigs work well too, and can be used to cast into pockets and gaps in the cabbage.

 Northern pike are turning up in many of the same spots where folks are catching walleye and perch. The deeper, outer edges of shoreline breaks seem to be best. Key depths for pike range from 9 to 12 feet and they can easily be seen on most of the better sonar units. Trolling spinners produces plenty of pike but may not be best for singling out larger fish. Speed trolling the flats using large crankbaits is working right now. So is fan casting larger jigs or swimbaits with paddle tails. Alternatively, large sucker minnows suspended below big slip floats will produce larger pike as well.

Large school of yearling walleyes on lake Winnie

 WOW! That’s a lot of walleyes showing on the sonar screen! There were a lot of anecdotes about folks catching small, yearling size walleyes on the big lake. Yesterday, we experienced firsthand how many walleyes, presumably from the 2023-year class have survived the summer. The image you see here repeated for a couple of hours on the shallow flat we were fishing. The yearling walleyes were everywhere on the flat, and among them, larger, keeper size fish from the 2019-year class.

Yearling Walleye, Lake Winnie August 29, 2024

 We’re not experts, but it doesn’t take a scientific analysis to at least feel optimistic that Winnie may just have another good year class of fish in the pipeline, we have our fingers crossed.

 For many, the Labor Day Weekend represents the last hurrah before schools open and family life takes over as a priority over vacationing. For others, Labor Day Weekend represents the beginning of a new season, one that features cooler temperatures, fall colors and the emergence of fall fishing patterns. For us, it’s a little of both, sad to see the summer pass, but happy to see the fall arrive. Wherever you are on the path, we hope you’ll stay in touch, we’ll keep you updated as best we can.

Walleyes In Transition: Lake Winnie, Cutfoot Sioux Report August 19, 2024

Transition is routine during late summer and on both Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux, we’re noticing lots of transition right now. Water levels are dropping, and aquatic vegetation is fully developed. Now, there are fish of all species using the shorelines, back bays and shallow flats.

No transition is ever 100% and for sure, there are still walleyes located on mid-lake structure. Remember though, anglers have been targeting walleyes on bars and humps for about two months now, many of the active fish have been caught, and a lot of “harvestable” fish have been harvested. Add to that, insect hatches have run their course and forage on the smaller structures and some of the predators have moved toward other habitat. Fish that do remain on small, isolated “mud-humps” have been heavily pursued, and are more finicky, so catching them requires better timing.

Fish on the larger bars may be more difficult to pin down, but the “bar-fish” have more feeding choices and are more likely to remain on these structures. All the most familiar bars, Bena, Horseshoe, Center, Sugar and others, hold fish. Covering water and being at the right spot when fish are feeding is essential. Trolling presentations are likely more efficient now than the more targeted “sharpshooting” presentations that were effective earlier this summer.

Spinners tipped with live bait top the list of most popular trolling presentations. Anglers focus on the upper edges of the structure’s breaklines, and on isolated patches of rock and gravel on top of the flats. Key water depths along the breaks are 14 to 18 feet, and on top, range from 12 to 16 feet deep depending on the specific location. Bullet, or egg sinkers in the 3/16, or ¼ ounce sizes will be fine for the shallower 12-to-14 depth end of the spectrum. Fish located deeper than about 14 feet should be targeted using heavier weights.

The most common spinners on Winnie and Cutfoot are single hook, single blade versions. A single 2/0 Aberdeen hook, combined with a hammered gold #3 Indiana blade is widely used by the better fishing guides. Tipping the spinner with fathead minnows accounts for most walleyes caught be these guides. Experiment though and customize the prestation to suit your fishing style. Two hook crawler harnesses can be effective, so can using leeches on your single hook spinner versions.

Trolling speeds in the .9 to 1.3 MPH range are best. Even in clear water, where walleyes have earned the reputation as being flighty and boat shy, some walleyes can be caught using a simple “flat line”, trolling directly behind the boat presentation. On calm days, especially when it’s sunny, planer boards can be used to push the spinners out and away from the boat. If it sounds too complex for you, relax, an inexpensive planer board like the yellow bird is very easy to use. Start with one, and when you feel confident in the system, add more of them to suit the needs of your fishing crew.

Trolling spinners is also very effective along the shoreline. Cabbage, coontail and other patches of vegetation hold walleyes, and often offer a mixed bag of other fish species too. Most popular areas on both Cutfoot Sioux and Winnie will be in water depths of 7 to 10 feet of water. Bullet weights in the 1/8- or 3/16-ounce sizes are most common.

Crappies have shown up recently, and anglers trolling spinners tipped with fathead minnows report catching them. Some of the better anglers tell us that once they find crappies by trolling, they have stopped their boats, and fished with small, 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with 2-3 inch plastic action tails. Casting toward gaps and pockets in the vegetation, allow your jig to fall a little bit, then retrieve using a fall-swim-fall-swim approach. Crappies love to strike a bait as it falls, so maintain a tight line and be alert for a light twitch, or pop that’s the alert of a fish strike.

Sunfish, less likely to strike minnows, can be located using spinners too, by substituting medium size leeches for the fatheads. Everything else about the trolling presentation remains the same.  Again, a school of fish located by trolling may be caught more effectively by stopping and fishing vertically.

Perch are showing up more frequently these days too, but not in large numbers. During periods of cloudy, breezy weather conditions, they will be most active and can be targeted using jigs and minnows. When it’s calm, especially on sunny days, trolling for random perch strikes is more effective. So far, vegetation is the preferred habitat. Key depths range between 4 and 8 feet of water.

Northern pike have been active recently, and there are some fat and chunky fish being caught. Most folks report catching pike while trolling for walleyes. There are some folks catching pike using large sucker minnows suspended below big bobbers. This is a great approach for catching larger size fish on calm, sunny days. When the skies are dark, and the winds are blowing, trolling the shorelines using spoons, crankbaits or swim baits will provide better action. Large Redeye Wigglers are great trolling spoons, large rattling crankbaits are fun, and so are 6 inch swimbaits like the YUM Money Minnow on a large jig head.

August 2, 2024 Lake Winnie, Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report

Walleye fishing on Lake Winnibigoshish remains good, but timing your trip for early morning and late evening is a very good idea. Daytime fishing can be good if the conditions are favorable for walleye feeding. Overcast skies combined with moderate winds continue to produce good action. When the sun is shining, and the water is calm, the bite slows considerably. Ironically, folks have been catching some of the largest walleyes during periods when the action is slow.

Lake Winnie Walleye, Courtesy Dusty Snyder

Most folks continue to fish over mid-lake structures, particularly smaller free-standing humps. Most of them top out at 16 to 22 feet and are surrounded by water depths of 30 to 35 feet. The most active walleyes tend to gather high on the edges, key depths vary between 16 and 24 feet. Sometimes walleyes move deeper on the breaklines, but there are a lot of fish that move away horizontally and suspend. It has been common to see walleyes suspended at 18 to 20 feet over the 30-to-35-foot soft bottom basin.

The suspended fish have been difficult for most anglers to catch, but there are some pros who manage to coax some of them into striking. Most of them agree that using slip-floats, leeches and small jigs have been the most reliable presentation to use in these situations.

More traditional methods for catching fish on structures are jigs tipped with leeches, live bait rigs tipped with night crawlers and spinners presented using bottom bouncers. There are some anglers also catching fish casting smaller, lightweight jigs tipped with ½ night crawlers and fishing them back to toward the boat using a swim-drop-swim-drop-retrieve. The lighter jigs help keep the lures up above bottom where they are more visible to the fish, and less prone to snagging on clusters of zebra mussels.

The zebra mussels are the key reason why lindy rigs using plain hooks tipped with leeches should be avoided. Lindy Rigging with night crawlers that are injected with some air from a work blower stay above bottom, and seldom get fouled. Leeches don’t swim as well as we think they do, and they frequently touch the bottom, becoming fouled by the zebra mussel clusters. This is one reason for the recent surge in popularity of slip-floats on Lake Winnie, they have gone from a seldom used tactic, to one of the top producing presentations in recent years.

Despite the popularity of fishing mid-lake structures for walleye, there are a handful of anglers finding fish in shallower water. The warm, sunny conditions have brought surface water temperatures back into the high 70-degree range, even hitting 80 degrees in certain protected areas. There’s a fairly robust algae bloom in some regions of the lake, and shoreline breaks related to patches of vegetation are holding some fish.

On the shoreline, trolling with spinners tipped with fathead minnows has become effective. For a mix of walleye, pike and perch, troll the same areas using shallow diving crankbaits. Rattling crankbaits that run at 4 to 6 feet of water are best on the shoreline. Deeper diving crankbaits can be used on the flats too, key depths are 12 to 14 feet, and scattered pods of all 3 predator species are encountered at random intervals.

Cutfoot Sioux Sunfish, courtesy Bob Slager

Another by-product of the warm surface water temperatures is the improved sunfish activity. Some of our guests are finding good eating size sunfish and bluegills trolling the edges of cabbage and coontail patches everywhere in the Cutfoot Sioux chain of lakes. Key depths range from 6 to 10 feet, with 8 feet being a reliable target depth. Once sunfish are found, there are times when stopping the boat and fishing vertically with small jigs may be more efficient, but while the water remains warm, trolling is very effective. Use a single hook spinner with a #3 blade and tip the hook with either night crawlers or medium size leeches.

Alternatives to trolling for panfish are some of the spinner type jigs like beetle spins, road runners and the like. Cast the edges of cabbage flats and retrieve slowly using a drop-swim-drop presentations. Don’t be surprised when an active bass, pike or crappie attacks the spin-jigs as well.

Lake Winnie Northern Pike, courtesy Jake Hamilton

Pike have been more elusive this week than they were last week. The warm, sunny weather has not been favorable for activating them. When caught, there have been some nice sized ones though, and most come as a by-catch while folks are trolling for panfish and walleyes. If all things weather related remain equal, the next full moon should bring about a period of increased pike activity; it typically does.

Crappie anglers report hits and misses right now, with most fish coming at dawn, or late in the evening. It seems that the current populations are low, but there are some nice, 11-to-12-inch fish in the system. For best results, fish early in the morning wherever you find the best patches of healthy cabbage. Small jigs tipped with plastic action tails, cast into gaps and pockets will produce strikes. If you find an area that “looks good” during the day, be sure to try it as the sun goes down in the evening. When they go on the prowl, they will become easier to catch.

Perch, by all accounts have been smaller than usual this summer. There are still some nice ones out there, and our best advice is when stumbling into them at random locations, take advantage of the opportunity. The perch, especially the larger ones, appear to be nomadic, rarely being found in some spots from one day to the next. Again, sunshine and calm seas don’t favor great perch action either, so we could see an uptick in the action whenever the clouds and choppy conditions appear.

We’re at a pivotal time in the season, quietly and without fanfare, fish are adjusting to changes in their food sources. As insect hatches run their course, and young of the year fish become attractive targets, many will return to the shoreline and become minnow-oriented predators once again. Every season, sometime in August, the shallow water action begins to intensify. Where it will be, and exactly when it will happen is tricky to pin down, but it will happen, and we’ll be watching for it. Stay tuned for updates as they become available.

Mid-Summer Ups and Downs Lake Winnie Walleye Fishing July 25, 2024

Last week, stable, warm weather played into the hands of walleye anglers on Lake Winnie. As surface water temperatures approached their peak of almost 80 degrees last Sunday, there was a good algae bloom in the water. As the bloom became heavier, mid-lake structures produced good catches during the daytime and GREAT catches during the evening and early morning periods. The action reached its peak as a line of thunderstorms approached on Monday of this week.

Joe Nelson with fat Winnie Walleye

Post storm conditions caused a setback, and by Wednesday, the cool front had caused a drop in surface temperatures, the algae bloom was reduced, water clarity increased, and walleyes became finicky. Now, the walleye anglers who had good catches were the ones who fished early morning and late evening, daytime anglers settled for both fewer, and smaller fish.

Setbacks happen, but during this period of summer, seldom last very long. This is the time of summer when fish feed and grow the most. The forecast calls for warming temperatures, and relatively stable conditions to return. As the weather pattern stabilizes, and water temperatures rise, we expect to see a rebound in feeding activity. So, lets talk about the fishing patterns that worked well for our guests before conditions changed.

Megan Kempf with nice Winnie Walleye

Leeches were trending as the “best” live bait choice for walleyes. Delivered by many folks using slip-floats to suspend the offering a foot or two above the bottom, walleyes ate them willingly. Anglers also reported catching good numbers of walleyes using leeches presented on ¼ to 3/8-ounce jig heads. Fished vertically and held still with a “dead-slow” action, the jig and leech combos produced good catches. Lindy Rigs, with plain hooks were less effective because they often fall to the bottom and gather clusters of zebra mussels. Anglers who prefer fishing with live bait rigs should add a floating jig head, or other float ahead of the hook to help suspend the leeches above bottom.

Night crawlers, injected with air using a worm blower and presented on Lindy Rigs produced some fish too, and shouldn’t be overlooked. Walleyes feeding preferences change periodically, and it would be no surprise if worms became more effective in the near future.

Trolling with spinners did not make a lot of news last week, but there were some anglers using them effectively. Trolling on the high edges of the largest, and shallowest mid- lake bars produced good results last weekend, and on Monday. Key water depths ranged from 13 to 15 feet of water, long lining the spinners using ¼ to 3/8 ounce bullet weights ahead of the spinners worked well. Tipping the spinners with minnows or leeches were the two preferred bait choices.

Panfish are active, and action-oriented anglers might be interested in these as an alternative to walleyes right now. Sunfish have moved deeper, into the edges of deep-lying cabbage patches. They feed primarily on insect larvae, so tend to remain in areas where the best hatches are occurring. You can locate them using spinners tipped with night crawlers, or small leeches. Once located, you can catch more fish using a slower, vertical presentation. Jig heads tipped with cut pieces of night crawler or small leeches are good.

If you prefer using slip-floats, try rigging a flasher rig to appeal to the bluegill’s sense of curiosity. The rig consists of a slip float, and a small egg sinker held in place on your line by a simple barrel swivel. Below the swivel, use a plain hook, several colored plastic beads and a small, flashy, spinner blade on a 12-inch drop line. Tip the hook with small, lively leeches or worms and fish the outer edges, and gaps in the vegetation.

Crappies have been hitting but finding them has been tricky. They have been much more active during the very early morning hours, and this is the best time to search for them. Trolling the largest patches of vegetation will work, but casting small jigs like beetle spins, twister tails and other swimming baits may be better right now. Move slowly, look for gaps or pockets and cast into them. Let the lures fall, then retrieve using a slow, swim-fall-swim-fall retrieve. Most strikes will occur as the lures fall, so be deliberate and allow the action of the bait to do the work.