by Eric Crowley
  Water temperature: 65 degrees,
 lake level: full,
clarity: 8 feet.
        The walleye bite has been really good the last few weeks. We have seen some really nice upper 20″ fish . The biggest was a 27″ post spawn female . The spawning is over and the fish are chasing bait on the main lake  and feeding up for summer. We are catching fish a number of different ways from trolling to jigging depending on the day and weather. Look for fish to be more active during the day if its cloudy  overcast,or raining.  Bright sunny days make for a tough bite . The fish are scattered in 20 to 30 feet on rock piles and drop-offs in the day time, and the bite has been best early in the morning and right after dark. After dark, they move up a little shallower, so if you’re catching them and then you’re not, you may need to adjust to a little shallower water. I’m mainly fishing the river mouth area,  point 5, and the islands in that general area  right now as that’s the best concentration of catchable fish, but there’s certainly fish all over the pond. The herring spawn and the full moon are both big events this month . Finding the big females after dark is what we will be focused on when both of these happen. This is a great time for big fish.
        The trout bite is picking up and should be in full swing by mid-month around the full moon. If this year is anything like the last few years, we can expect to see plenty of flying silver trout this month and next. Stay tuned for more info on that .
        I’m still looking for the smallmouth to show up. This is usually our best month for them. We don’t see many true smallies anymore, so it’s nice when it happens. If you’re looking for them, the break of dawn on the main lake or in star creek is your best bet. Look for busting fish and throw a topwater or a 4″ spoon at them from as far as you can.  As for the rest of the bass we are always catching spots. Seems like if I’m fishing a spoon we catch spots. If we are jigging with a minnow we catch spots We catch them trolling Rapalas . At times I can’t get away from them . With the super clear water and competition for food I believe you can catch them just about anyway you like some days. Most of the bass hold at the same depth as the bait or just below it . Right now that’s about 20 to 30ft. Look for groups of fish on your sonar just off the bottom around that bait ball.