FISHIN' WITH DICK

  I've left Dick's previous reports on the page so you can compare across the seasons and see if things have changed much.  I promise to get a profile of Dick this year for the page as well.  Dick can always seem to catch some fish when others may be having some tough luck so give him a read and take some notes for when you come up.  I've never met anyone more willing to share tips and offer advice on what has been working when people are looking to catch every kind of fish that LOW has to offer.  Be sure to visit Moore's Lures on the web for all your fishing tackle and tackle accessory needs.  Dick now has several of his finished muskie baits online for ordering so stop by and see what he's got to offer.  I've used a few of them myself and they've all had great action in the water.

October 2008

Fall 2008

Summer 2008


Late Spring/Early Summer 2008


October 2007
Last month of the season for most of us. have to close the trailer down. Sad time, but some of the best fishing of the year.  Walleyes are biting. Current areas (many of them around the camp) and sandy bays. Usual lures: jigs/minnows and jigs/spinners. Big fish time. Crappies are hitting at Thompson Creek area, Obakakon and Hay Island. Jigs and crappie rigs are your best bet. Try a small white twister tail on these presentations. Water temps are still a little high for good muskie trolling, but throwing jerk baits and large bucktails and spinnerbaits have been producing. Rocks and rocks are the preferred locations. For us duck hunters, the birds are coming down. We had real good puddle duck shooting earlier and the divers should give us some real great hunting. There are still lots of geese around also. Be careful on the water. There are not many people around and if you get in trouble it might be a while before anybody finds you. We monitor ch. 14 and the camp monitors 68. Good luck and good fishing.

"The Baitmaker" - ch. 14.

Fall 2007
Well we are now into the Fall season. My favorite time of the year. Big fish time!  Muskies will still be relating to rocky areas. Jerk baits and Big bucktails
will be the best producers. Trolling will begin a little later in the month.  Walleyes are along the shorelines. Rocky points and weedy bays are the key. Usual methods: jigs and minnows, Bottom Bouncers with a spinner rig will always produce. We have good luck with a jig and twister with a chunk of nightcrawler. Try it. Don't forget to try the necked down current areas also. These area will produce the biggest fish. There are a number of them near the camp.  Crappies should be moving into their usual Fall habitats: Thompson Creek, Smokehouse Channel, Hay Island. Jigs and minnows or my favorite, Crappie Rigs with a minnow on one hook and a small white twister on the other. 

Last, but not least. Duck Season. Puddle duck shooting should be good in the rice fields. We prefer jump shooting out of a canoe.

Trout fishing continues until the end of the month. Try it. Lots of fun. A little bit of work to get over the portage.

Anyhow, see you on the lake. We monitor Ch. 14. Handle is "Baitmaker". Give us a call.

Summer 2007
We are into the prime fishing season foe muskies and walleyes. Walleyes are showing up on the reefs and jigs and minnows are producing. With the wind we have been having, I would suggest trying bottom bouncers and spinners and just drift over some of the bigger reefs. Quite often the larger fish will be right on top of the reef in heavy waves. I like to drag spinners along sand bays. Fish will be near green weeds. Use a short snell and a little larger blade because of the water clarity.

My sources tell me muskie action is picking up. Large bucktails are producing. Bays with small pockets of reeds with cabbage in front are real hot. Surface bait action should start up with warmer temps. Haven't heard too much happening on the rocks but the fish should start moving to them soon. Then switch to jerk baits and cranks. Good luck.

"Baitmaker"

Spring 2007
See you on The Woods.
Dick Moore (Baitmaker) - ch. 14.

Fall 2006
Well the Summer season is nearing the end and as far as I am concerned the best time of the year is at hand. Walleye fishing: To me Fall is the best time for both numbers and especially a BIG fish. Walleyes will be along shorelines the first part of the month and later we will be fishing necked down current areas in deeper water (20-35'). Plenty of those nearby. If you like to travel, Firebag Island, Gull  and Sandy Bay to the West always produce at this time of the year. Jigs and minnows by far will be the best bait. We will drag bottom bouncers with spinners along the shorelines when we get a chance. We will still be casting for muskies, rocky points, reefs, but trolling will start picking up. BIG fish time. And don't forget the Crappies. Hay Island, Obakikon lake and the Thompson Creek area of Miles Bay will be the prime spots. Jigs and minnows and small twister tails work well, but we prefer a crappie rig with a minnow on one hook and a white twister or small jig on the other. 25-32' always seems to be the best depth. Don't hesitate to try deep water bays in the areas we recommend. Duck season opens on the 10th and for us waterfowlers there is nothing like LOW. See you on the water.
Dick Moore
"Baitmaker", ch. 14.

Mid Summer 2006

Early Summer 2006
It was an excellent opener and all indications are that the walleye fishing has continued good. We haven't been back to the lake since Memorial weekend, but from our sources it appears the walleyes are moving out to the reefs.  With our low water I would expect an excellent reef bite this year. Again heavy jigs and minnows and/or leeches. I also would start using crawlers, either with spinners or put half a crawler on a jig. Plastics on a jig can also produce. Muskie season opens on June 17. It should be a good opener.  Fish have spawned and should be in the vicinity of their spawning grounds.  Look for new weed growth near rocks. Smaller baits (bucktails, spinnerbaits and twitch baits) are a good choice at this time of year.Good spots to try would be Burrows, The Blueberries and some of the shallow bays around Sunset channel.  

Good luck and see on the water.
Dick Moore , "Baitmaker", ch. 14.

2006 Walleye Opener
Well the 2006 season is right around the corner. Ice went out quite early this year and the walleyes have long finished spawning. Water levels are a little below normal. We again will be fishing sandy bays, looking for warmer water and early weed growth. South and west facing bays will produce the best. Old tried and true methods: dragging jigs (3/8-1/2 Oz.) Pink, orange, red and chartreuse are usually the best colors. Don't hesitate to use heavy jigs. Get down where the fish are. Bottom bouncing - not enough fishermen use this method on our portion of the lake. 1-1/2-2 oz. size with a hammered nickel or gold spinner and a minnow is a great method for finding fish.  Troll about .5 to 1.5 mph. Keep your line at a 45 degree angle. Northerns should be an added bonus. They are coming back after many poor years.  Haven't had any report on the status of the Turtle Portage lift so I don't expect to hear much about the lake trout fishing.

Good luck, wear your flotation vest and stay safe.
Dick (Baitmaker ch. 14)

Season Ending 2005
It is almost December and this will be our final report for the year.  It was a strange season to say the least. Very high water most of the year, hot temps, warmer Fall. Opening weekend found the fish in an entirely different pattern than normal. Reef fishing in July was almost non-existent.  We never found the BIG walleyes where they should be in the Fall. However, we still had very good fishing despite these conditions. Muskie action started slow, but really got hot in October. Crappies were also different.  We started limiting out in August, in different areas than normal. We caught a lot of crappies later on, but not consistently. Hay Island area was by far the better area. There were times you didn't see another fisherman up around Thompson Creek. That tells you the story in that area. We did have good duck hunting despite lack of wild rice. Never saw the big flocks of Bills, but we shot a lot of different species. We didn't have any good reports on Lake Trout, mostly because of the poor condition of the portage.  All in all it still was a great year on Lake of the Woods and we look forward to hearing from all of you next season.

Dick Moore (Baitmaker)


Fall 2005
Summer is over. Now we are getting into some of the best fishing of the year. Walleyes are moving into shallower water, near weedy shorelines. Later this month we will start finding them in the deep water, current areas. Jigs and minnows (heavy jigs). Muskie action should start picking up. Little early for good trolling action. Try rocky shorelines, steep walls, current areas with weeds. Crappies are beginning to hit, We limited out the last week in August. Hot spots will be Hay Island, Thompson Creek, Bottleneck and The Elbow. We are finding crappies in other areas as well. Try some deeper bays (20-35') in the general areas of the above mentioned spots. If there is any secret to catching fish in Sept. it would be to try everything. Don't get stuck on one presentation. Well duck season begins Sat. so we will be on The Woods for a couple of weeks.
Baitmaker (Ch. 14).

July 2005

See you on The Woods.

"Baitmaker", ch. 14.

2005 Opener & Memorial Report
Well opening week through Memorial Day gave us some of the best walleye fishing we have seen in years. Everyone I talked to was catching fish. We started out trolling Bottom Bouncers and Spinner Rigs, but switched to 1/2 oz. Jigs and Minnows (Chartreuse, Orange and Pink). we found the fish deeper than usual 14-20'. Towards the Memorial Day weekend with a little more wind, we switched back to Bottom Bouncers and found a lot of fish in 20-25' of water. These were also larger fish. We had excellent fishing in the evenings casting 5/16 oz. jigs and minnows into the shallows. A lot of fun on light tackle. Some fishermen did manage to find crappies in Miles Bay and at hay island. A lot of Smallmouth Bass were also caught, but not a lot of Northerns. Lake trout action was spotty. A few groups did quite well on opening day while others were shut out. The portage is workable, but one of the docks is in bad shape. Muskie season opens on the 18th and Justin was getting his tackle ready, so watch out fish. We will be starting in the shallow, spawning areas and along the adjacent rocky points. We will be throwing smaller Bucktails and Spinner baits. Twitch baits should also produce action. Don't hesitate to throw a surface bait when the conditions are right. It looks like we will have high water again this year, so be careful running around. Good luck, see you on The Woods.

Dick Moore ("Baitmaker", Ch. 14)

Spring Opener 2005
Well it has finally arrived - opening day on LOTW. I expect a good opener. We had an early Spring and then Winter again. Water levels are about normal for this time of the year as are water temps. We will start out for walleyes fishing West and South facing shores. Sandy bays with last years weeds are always good as are rocky areas near spawning grounds. We start trolling
Bottom Bouncers (1-1/2, 2 oz.) with spinner rigs and a minnow. Hammered brass and/or copper have been by far our best colors. We will also try dragging jigs (1/2 oz.) with a minnow. Colors? Red, Chartreuse, Orange, Pink. evenings will find us casing jigs and minnows to the shallow sandy bays. The action then can be unbelievable.  You can also try casting crankbaits along the rocky shorelines. Northerns might be active in the old weeds and you might luck out on some crappies. We have never been able to find spring crappies consistently, but we keep trying. If the portage is working properly, we hope to shore fish for lakers. If that doesn't work, we will vertically jig with white jigs or white tube jigs. Good luck on the opener and hope to see you on The Woods.

Dick Moore (the "Baitmaker" on Ch. 14.)

Season's End 2004

October 2004

Walleye fishing continued to be great all through July. Reef fishing was the secret. Heavy jigs and minnows, crawlers and leeches all worked well. Bottom bouncing with spinner rigs with crawlers and minnows produced fish on the reefs also. East side of Miles Bay also produced nice fish. Muskie action was outstanding. Check Justin's report. Many 50" fish were caught. Surface baits really produced this past week. We are now beginning the end of the summer season and will see shoreline fishing for walleyes picking up. Muskie action should stay good with the fish relating to rocks. Jerk baits and crank baits will begin to produce the most fish. We might start picking up some crappies, but the best fishing usually doesn't start until September.  Some of the best trout fishing of the year is now at hand. Jigging over deep water with jigs, tube jigs or sonars will the best producers. Good luck and see you on The Woods.

Well the opener is over. It started out tough with cold, windy conditions.  My buddy's wife released a 29" fish opening say and I landed a 48" 30# + muskie. We started picking up more fish after the weekend. We had a hard time getting any small eaters. Released a lot of fish in the 20-28" range.  My wife put back a 28" beauty. She always does that to me. Most of our fish were caught dragging jigs and minnows (1/2 to 3/4 oz.) in from 5-12' of water. Spinner rigs did not produce as well as had hoped. Colder water temps probably were a factor. We did very well a couple of evenings casting jigs and minnows into shallow sand bays. 25+ fish. A nice bonus was the amount of smallmouths that were caught. Our largest was 22". We also released a 39-1/2" northern. As of today (Thursday) the walleyes are still in shallow areas and hitting jigs and minnows. we tried trout fishing three different times and were skunked all three times. Some nice trout were caught by camp people fishing off shore. With the high water the portage isn't too bad. 18' skiff and three people was not a problem. I wouldn't recommend anything bigger. Warmer temps should start the walleyes moving towards the reefs, but we will still have good fishing along shorelines especially were green weeds are beginning to show. Spinner rigs should begin producing better. Crawlers will also start producing a lot of fish. Muskie season opens on the 3rd Sat.  in June and we should have a good opener. Fish the spawning bays and adjacent shorelines. Smaller baits (Bucktails, spinner baits) would be my choice. Good luck and see you on The Woods.
"Baitmaker"

This could turn out to be a very good opener. The walleyes should be finished spawning and should be hungry. I try fishing the south and west facing shorelines  near rocky rubble. Sandy bays also produce especially if there any new weeds. I like to start by trolling Bottom Bouncers with a spinner rig and minnow. Once we find the fish, we will go to a jig and minnow. Many fisherman just long line a jig and minnow. Don't use too light a jig. You will only loose tackle. We usually fish with a 1/2 or 5/8 oz. jig. Bottom Bouncer weight will be 1-1/2 oz. to 2 oz. Hammered brass, nickel or copper are the preferred finishes. Color for jigs can be Chartreuse, Orange and Red. Many times an unpainted jig will be just as good. At times casting a lighter (3/8 oz.) with a twister and snapping it in shallower water will really produce. Try casting crankbaits in the evening. We get some really big fish this way. Good luck and see you on the water.

Walleye fishing has continued slow. Mostly small fish. Hopefully we will start picking up larger ones as the water temperatures drop. Crappie fishing has been very good. OB has been hot, although it  can be touchy getting into the lake. Miles Bay (Thompson Creek area) is my choice. We seem to get larger fish there and there are more areas to fish. Muskie action has also
been good. Jerk baits fished on the rocks has been the best method. Our duck hunting was excellent. Lots of ducks, no hunters. October is my favorite time on The Woods. Come on up and enjoy.

Walleye fishing has slowed down somewhat. Fish are in transition and are starting to show up on the weedy, sandy shorelines. Jigs and minnows are the preferred bait. A few more weeks and we will have a great bite in the deeper, current areas. Muskie action continues good. Many nice fish are being taken. Friends of ours have been fishing between 10 am and 2 pm and have been putting fish in the boat every day. Off shore rocks with weeds have been the best location. Jerk baits and surface baits have been the best lures. With the water temps dropping we will soon be starting our trolling season. Crappies are showing up in the usual spots. Thompson Creek area, The Elbow and Hay Island. It is a little harder getting into the Elbow, be careful. Duck season begins on Wednesday and it appears that we are going to have a great season. Lots of rice and lots of ducks. See you on The Woods.

Walleye fishing continues to be great. Still have a reef bite. Reef topping off at 10-12' have been best. Don't spend too much time on any reef. What is hot one day might not be the next day. Bottom bouncing with crawlers has been the best method. Jigs and minnows and jigs and crawlers have also been producing fish. If you don't have any action on these methods try trolling crank baits around the reefs. Lots of times they will produce when the fish are suspended. By the middle of August we should see a movement of walleyes back to the shorelines. Trolling spinner rigs will be the best method.  Muskie action has been very good so far this year. August can be a hit and miss month. I would spend most of my time fishing rocks. Jerk baits and spinner baits should produce. Don't hesitate to throw a surface bait anytime during the day. Some of our best fish have been taken on surface baits during the heat of the day. Early evening fishing will be the prime time as usual. Smallmouths will be on the rocky reefs and deeper rock shorelines.  Crank baits and leeches will produce best. If you want to take a chance on the Whitefish Portage, lake trout will producing a lot of action. The best time of the year is at hand. September and October are fantastic months on The Woods. Good Fishing.

Walleye fishing continues to be great. We had super fishing the last two weeks of June. Fish were moving to the reefs. Our friends up at the lake said the last few days have been fantastic. Fish are on the reefs 15-18' deep. Jigs and minnows or leeches have been best. Muskie action has been good. Stoney Portage has been a Hot Spot. Fish should be moving to their early summer haunts. Try jerk baits and shallow running bucktails. This is the best single month for quality walleye action on the lake. Please be extra cautious when running around. The lake level is still very low and there are a lot of hazards. Don't spoil your trip by hitting a rock. Check with Justin or Ellen for the latest fishing info. We will be at our place next week. Contact "Baitmaker" on channel 14 if you are around.

This was by far the best opener and Memorial weekend we have seen on Lake of the Woods. Walleyes were hitting at all the usual early Spring areas (Raspberry Island. Little Raspberry Island, Tar Vat, Mink, Boomstick, Rabbit, etc.). We dragged 1-1/2 oz. bottom bouncers with a spinner rig (hammered brass, nickel and copper were the best finishes) with a minnow.  Others were using jigs and minnows (chartreuse seemed the best color). The size of the fish were exceptional. We caught only two fish under 14". It was hard at times to catch fish under 19-1/2". Northerns were not real active.  The fishermen  who went after trout did quite well opening weekend. I would not recommend using the portage until it is fixed. The OPP got their boat stuck on the lift, so maybe it will get fixed right! I look for great fishing throughout June with the fish starting to move to the reefs later in the month. Muskie season opens on June 21st and it could be a good opener if we don't get TOO much rain. Be careful on the water. The level is way down and you will see rocks you never knew were there. If you have any questions on fishing Lake of the Woods, you can e mail me at mlure@newnorth.net or visit with us at Mylie's.

Well, the opener is right around the corner. Should be another great opener on Lake of the Woods. We will very low water levels, so be very careful. I prefer low water. Seems to make for better fishing. Walleyes will be spawned out, so we will be fishing post spawn conditions. Try rocky, gravel shorelines, especially the south and west facing shorelines.  These will be the warmer areas. If you find any emergent weeds in sandy bays, definitely try those areas. The usual presentations will be Jigs and Minnows (either vertical jigging or long line trolling). I like to begin trolling with a bottom bouncer and spinner rig. This is a great way to find concentrations of fish. Jig colors : Red, Chartreuse and Orange. we have found that Hammered brass and Copper Blades out produce all other colors. Try casting crankbaits around rocky points and shorelines. We take some big fish this way. Good luck.

Coldest October since 1919. From Oct. 10th until Nov. 1st, barely got above 40 degrees. Walleye fishing continued to be great. The Narrows down from the Camp, Rabbit Point, East tip of Raspberry Island all produced nice fish. For those who wanted to venture further - Starting Point, Firebag, Morton Bay all produced a lot of nice fish. Crappie fishing wasn't as good as previous years, however we didn't have the fishermen on the lake either. The Elbow was quite good and the Thompson Creek area was good at times. Hay Island produced a lot of small fish. Muskie trolling was quite good. Surprisingly a lot of small fish were caught. One of the guests took a 49-1/2" trophy and quite a few fish in the 40-45" range were caught. Duck hunting was pretty good. Large flocks of birds were in the Basil Channel area. We had good shooting in the eastern end of Sabaskong. There was some real good shooting down by Taylor Bay also. If you want a different vacation, think about coming up to The Woods in October. Good fishing, fine hunting with little or no pressure. Cool weather, but fairly consistent. Try it, you'll like it. Till next year.

With the coming of October, we are getting into what I consider the best time for a trophy walleye on The Woods. Look for necked down areas with current and deep water (Rabbit Point, the narrows going into Burrow Bay, Cedar Island, etc.) Work jigs and large minnows 25-30' deep. Musky anglers will start trolling along steep walls and rocky points. During warmer periods don't hesitate to fish west facing sandy bays. Crappies will be hitting at The Elbow and up around Thompson Creek. 30-32' seems to be the preferred depth. Pickerel rigs with minnows and/or twister tails will get you some real slabs. Please only keep what you want for a good meal, don't be a fish hog. We are seeing way too many crappies dying and floating on the surface.

Fishing the past three weeks has been very good even with the high winds. We have noticed a movement of walleyes off the reefs back to the shorelines. Jigs (1/2, 5/8 oz.) with minnows or leeches have been the best bait. Trolling with spinner rigs (hammered brass blade) has also been producing . Crawlers have also been getting fish. For a change of pace, try trolling crankbaits(Shad Raps, etc.) along rocky points and shorelines. This can produce huge fish. Muskie action has been good with surface baits producing in the evenings. Moving into September we should continue to good walleye action on the shorelines and the fish will begin staging in narrow current areas in deeper water 27"-35". Vertical jigging is the method of choice. September can be a great month for muskies. Casting the usual lures will produce fish, but start working rocky points and walls. Trolling will begin producing large fish. Don't hesitate to work shallow sandy west facing bays when the weather warms suddenly. Lake Trout fishing in Whitefish Bay can be fantastic at this time of the year. Vertical jigging is the usual method. The big fishing action will be the crappies. Last year early September was hot in Miles Bay. Nothing is better than catching a bunch of slab crappies. Crappie rigs with small minnows and twister tails or casting small jigs will get you your limit. Fish around 30-35' deep. Good luck. See you on The Woods.

The walleye bite is going great. We had no trouble getting our limits the last couple of weeks. We found the fish along sandy shorelines and rocks. By the end of the month the fish were showing up on the off shore reefs. Vertical jigging with minnows and leeches seemed to be the best. Bottom bouncing with spinner rigs along shorelines also produced a number of nice fish. This should be a fabulous month for walleyes, even with the high water. Muskie action on our part of the lake was slow, but the fishing should pick up with the hot weather. The usual lures will produce along the weedy, rocky shorelines. For some exciting action try surface baits just before dark. If you get tired of catching walleyes, how about trying for smallmouths. This is an largely untapped fishery. Rocky shorelines, shallow reefs will produce. I like using small surface baits or twitching Rapalas. Leeches on a Lindy rig always are a good bet. Northern action has been good and they hit all day long. Stevens Bay and Stoney Portage have been very good. Big Marsh Narrows produces at this time of the year also. Spinner baits and spoons will get you a lot of action. Ask Justin or Ellen where the best action is and Good Luck.

Fishing started out slow on opening weekend. Not many walleyes were caught. As the weather and water began to warm, fishing activity picked up. We found dragging jigs in 8-10' depths produced the best. The evening bite was very good for us. We could catch more fish between 7 and 9 pm than we did fishing all day. Chartreuse jigs (1/2, 5/8 oz.) with minnows were the best color.  Some fish were being taken on bottom bouncers and spinner rigs. It actually was hard to catch the nice eaters we wanted. Many LARGE fish were caught this week. Northern action was quite good. Turtle lake was a hot spot. We heard of many nice smallmouth bass being taken (up to 20"). With the warming trend look for the fish to start showing in the sandy bays and rocky points near weeds and sand. Dragging jigs will still produce, but trolling spinner rigs should take a lot of fish. Leeches and crawlers will also start to be the baits of choice. Lake trout action was spotty in Whitefish Bay. We lost two fish on Monday. The trolley system leaves a lot to be desired. Don't use it without two or three people to help. Many anglers are letting the trolley go off the rails so as to get their boat off. That just makes it harder for the next person to use. A little consideration goes a long way. Until Muskie season. Hope to see you on The Woods.

2001 Fishing Reports

September/October 2001

This will be the last report for 2001.  The month of Sept gave us some of the most beautiful weather we have ever experienced on Lake of the Woods.  Crappie fishing was outstanding.  Many very  large fish were caught. The area up around Thompson Creek was by far the best. Some fish were being caught at Hay Island, but The Elbow was not very good.  Walleye action was spotty. When we found them, we caught nice fish.  Best area was Miles Bay, along the shorelines in 12-21 feet of water.  Pink jigs and minnows were by far the best bait.  Muskies were being seen in sandy bays, but not many large fish were caught.  With the advent of colder weather the walleyes should be relating to deeper water channels.  Large jigs and minnows will produce the most fish.  Crappie action should continue to be excellent.  It is time to start trolling for muskies, some of the largest fish of the year will be caught by trolling.  Work steep shorelines and rocky points.  Believers, Jakes and other crank baits will produce the most action.  If the weather is warm, don't hesitate to cast for muskies, especially during the middle of the day.

Good luck and see you on The Woods.

August 2001

Since the storm last month, fishing has been quite slow. we have chased around looking for the walleyes, no specific pattern.  With cooler temperatures, we should start seeing the fishing picking up. Look for deeper, current areas and use jigs and minnows (20-30 ft.). Crappies are beginning to school and we are catching them in areas we never have.  Look for deep water areas near sharp shorelines. The usual - The Elbow and Thompson Creek should produce throughout the Fall. Muskie action has been very spotty. Lots of large fish being seen, not many being caught.  Trolling time is near at hand. Don't hesitate to cast for muskies when we have warm days,especially during mid day. Duck season opens Sept. 10, so we have to decide to fish or hunt. Sure is a problem!!

The best time of the year is at hand. See you on The Woods.

July 2001

When we last fished LOW the walleyes were still holding to their summer reef  pattern. Jigs (1/2-5/8 oz.) tipped with minnows or leeches were the ticket.  Change colors a lot. Chartreuse, Hot Red and Orange seemed to be the best.  Our shoreline bite did not materialize, although some fishermen caught some fish trolling spinner rigs. We didn't do very well bottom bouncing.  With more stable weather we should start seeing a movement into the weedlines and  trolling will start to do better.   Muskie action has been spotty. Lots of fish seen, not too many caught. A  friend and his wife had a 4 fish over 40 inches day in July and another friend took a 50 incher on a surface lure. Smaller bucktails and spinner baits are the lures of choice along with surface baits. Weeds still appear  to be the best habitat. We should start seeing a movement to rocky areas  soon.

Good luck and see you on The Woods.

June 2001

Last week with high water levels and a huge mayfly hatch, fishing slowed down somewhat. Our shoreline bite stopped and we started finding the walleyes on the main lake reefs. Vertically jigging with 1/2 and 5/8 oz. jigs and minnows was the best method. We caught some fish on spinner rigs also. Change colors often as the fish might stop hitting and when you change
colors you will pick up an extra fish or two. Muskie action was slow. Most action took place in the weedy spawning bays. With the high water a lot of fishermen are having a hard time fishing their favorite spots. Bucktails and spinnerbaits are the lures of choice. Surface baits should start producing with the warm weather.  A personal note: With the high water, please use a little common sense when motoring near docks and piers. Many of these structures are ready to float away and a large wake from your rig could cause a lot of damage. Please run slow and don't cause a wake.

See you on The Woods.
 

Spring 2001

Despite the weather, walleye action the last week was quite good. Most of our fish were caught along sandy shorelines with scattered rocks, 6-10" of water. we did best during mid-day hours. Bait of choice was jigs and minnows, reverse trolling. Some fishermen caught fish dragging spinner rigs, but jigs far out fished that method. As the weather improves, fishing should continue getting better. We will continue our pattern of fishing shorelines and with weed growth improving you will be able to get your fish trolling spinner rigs. Minnows and crawlers will both work.

Muskie season opens June 16 and I would look for these fish in the spawning areas and shallow weeds. They won't be on the rocks yet. Use small bucktails, spinner baits and twitch baits and move around. I like buzzing small bucktails over emerging weeds.

Good luck and see you on The Woods.

Dick Moore

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