Fishing Report July 1, 2019
Steve Nosbisch Fishing Guide
The mayfly hatch seems to be in full swing, but the fish are still willing to bite. This week things have changed a bit. Last week majority of the walleyes caught were on a live bait rig tipped with a leech or nightcrawler. This week it seems to be a little more evenly split between live bait rigs, spinner rigs, jigs, and slip bobbers. The preferred presentation is changing almost daily. One day most fish will be caught on spinner rigs, and the next day a slip bobber and a leech is the obvious winner. Use your electronics to find groups of walleyes and continue to try different presentations until you find what they want that day.
With the bug hatch happening right now focus on areas that have a softer bottom. Weed lines and rock/mud transition areas will have bugs rising of the bottom, and the fish will be close by. The south end of the lake near Diamond Point, West Goose Flats, and the Meadows are good places to start. Depths from 8’-19’ have been productive this week.
The musky fishing is starting to take off out on Leech Lake as well. There are still fish being caught trolling crank baits over the open water, but more fish are starting to be caught casting the new weed growth. Look for the thickest cabbage patches near deep water to start to hold fish first. Casting bucktails and top water baits will convince the active fish into biting.
Its been a crazy month of June for our guide service and now in the past few days summer has arrived and so have some of the lake conditions that go with it. Here are the reports for Leech Lake and Lake Winnie from our team of guides.
Leisure Outdoor Adventure Fishing Report
Leech Lake
About mid week last week the big may flys started to show up throughout the lake, which for many can be tough, but there is still some good fishing to be had throughout the lake. Fisherman just need to adapt what they are doing and be ready to change things up. Right now many of your mid lake structures, humps, and bars in 12-20 feet of water will produce walleyes pulling spinners, slow death, rigging, or crankbaits. Working the transition areas over here that are mud/rock, sand to mud, or a mixture will often mean finding hatching bugs and walleyes close by. Annex, Submarine, Pelican Island, Red Rocks, and many areas where you can find long break lines that have deeper water nearby are going to be the best places to focus on. Be sure to use different colors of blades and crankbaits to figure out what is working that day and with the conditions.
Muskies are still being caught from time to time trolling and casting weed beds. Has water temps stabilize and get into the mid to upper 70s those fish will start to relate more to structure and become more active with casting bucktails, top waters, and glide baits. Bass are going to be setting up on summer structure now as well so deep weedlines, docks that have deep water close by, and high spots on reefs for smallmouth.
Jason Freed
President of Leisure Outdoor Adventures
507-450-7986(Cell)
1-855-LOA-Hook
