Fishing Report 7-11-18

I put my boat in the lake this morning, in a rain down-pour, looked at the water temperature on my graph and my jaw dropped—79 degrees.  In fact, when the sun is out it’s not unusual to see 81 degrees or even warmer in bays and rivers.  Be on the alert because warm water temperatures cause fish to relocate.  Spots where fish were last week, are likely to be fishless this week.  That goes for all species—walleye, bass, sunfish, crappie.  While they may not move huge distances, they might move just far enough to through you off.  Although fish may move (**check weeds) when the water tempos spike, it doesn’t mean they won’t feed.  The opposite can actually be true.  The summer fishing environment is a smorgasbord of fishy delectables—and fish don’t stop eating.  For crappie, I like to use larger jigs and miniature spinner baits and crank baits.  Summer time crappie are aggressive feeders so you don’t have to worry about being small and slow—go larger and faster.  Fan cast around the boat over weedy island tops, and prominent weed patches next to deep water.  Walleye continue to feed well—locating them can be the big trick right now.  Trolling crank baits on flats is a good way to locate walleye.  And walleye on clear water lakes, are more likely to feed/bite at night—so keep the crank baits handy after dark.  Sunfish are hanging on deep weed lines on some lakes and are stuffed in the weeds on others.  To locate sunfish just troll spinners and crawlers over weed beds, or behind bottom bouncers on deep weed lines.  Good Luck fishing this week in Ottertail Lakes Country!  Don’t forget the sunscreen and brimmed hat and lots of water—it’s going to be a warm week.  By Ross Hagemeister, meisterguideservice.com

For large walleye, fish Ottertail County!   Brian caught this large 30” walleye earlier this week in Otter County—Happy 15th Birthday Brian!
Photo By, Ross Hagemeister