2018 Wilderness Report #6

The beginning of July has brought lots of wind thus far.  20 mph warm westerly winds have dominated the last week of fishing, causing lots of wet feet for those who enjoy back trolling for walleye.  Daytime highs have been averaging in the high 70's, however, the nights have been dipping into the low 50's.  The cool nights and churning waters have dipped the water temperatures into the mid 60's.  Some rain has fallen the past couple days but the lake levels are still very low.  

The walleye bite has slowly improved the last couple days.  The week started rather slow due to the tail end of the mayfly hatch.  Walleyes were barely nudging the baits and most of the time you couldn't determine you had a fish on the hook.  As the week has progressed, however, the bite became more distinguishable as walleye have disgested last weeks mayfly hatch.  

Presently, walleye are scattered throughout the water column.  Fish are being caught anywhere from 3-25 feet of water but not in huge numbers.  Walleye are transitioning away from the mud flats to rocky points or 10-20 ft reefs.  The majority of fish are being caught with jigs and twisters or crawler harnesses.  The bite should vastly improve as we distance ourselves from the mayfly hatch.  Little to no mayfly carcasses have been spotted the last couple days.   

Northern pike are harboring along their typical summer patterns.  Deep weed edges or windblown rocky points hold the most fish.  Orange bladed and black skirted #6 bucktails, Johnson silver minnows tipped with a twister tail or any type of surface bait have been the most effective lures.  The weed beds are beginning to thicken up in most lakes, so a weedless lure or two is a must in your tackle box.  

A sunrise take off from Central Lake at 4:50 a.m.

Cocos Lake leads the pack lately with lots of the walleye in the 20-23" range along with several pike in the 38-40" range.  Water levels are low and guests are easily able to navigate the rapids.  The perch bite has improved for Burnt and a beauty of a 44" northern was boated and released last week.  In a change of pace, South Lake managed a 40.5" northern and many in the 30-35" range. Nice walleye were also caught along the Midlake reefs.  Southwest Lake boasted some impressive 20-24" fat walleye that were located in the northeast arm.  The hotspot on Central Lake has been near the north rapids.  Schools and schools of walleye have flocked to the shallow reefs in the area.  Most fish are holding in 3-5 ft of water, odd for this time of year.  The deep reefs east of the camp at West Lake are holding lots of nice walleye.  Horseshoe Bay has been a great hotspot for pike and as a bonus, it's sheltered from the strong winds of late.  

Good luck on the water everyone!

-Nathan 

www.bighookcamps.com