Fish this am and picked up a few eyes in the 15-17" range and a limit of crappies and some nice sunfish also.

All fish came on crawler harness's and crawlers. Water depth from 3ft for the eyes up to 10' for the gills and crappies.

Beautiful morning on the lake.

Any word on the weights?

I found the pike and bass on the edge of the remaining weedlines in 7-8 fow this AM. Rattle traps and rattlin' raps took most of the fish.

Hit a local lake this morning to pull some cranks, the morning started off good with 4 fish in less than an hour, but then the bite got tough.

A change in locations was the ticket, we ended the day catching 27 fish between 4 people, biggest at 25", also a 23" and 2 21". Most fish were in the 16-18" range.

#5 Shad Raps and #4 Salmo Hornets in 5-8' on any type of bottle neck area was the ticket, trolling speeds were anywhere from 2.2-3.4 mph, somewhere around 3 was the best.

Nice work Riverrat!!! 27 fish is one heck of a day. you must be on the spot, im having enough trouble putting one eye in the boat per trip.

was out today from 11:00 to 4:00 on a local lake. managed three eyes on the day but none over 15". caught on hornets and one on the jig and leech. 4-8' of water. father-in-law did catch a pig northern to top it off, probably went close to ten lbs. oh yea, the sheephead bit is also happenin....

Riverrat. I believe we may have hit the same lake as you, only last evening. 2 of us kept 4 for a meal, but caught or lost many more. Same tactics. Small cranks in 6' to 9'. Call me if you want to hit it tomorrow or sunday. May try it tomorrow afternoon alone if I don't hear from anyone.

The walleye bite in this area can't get a whole lot better than it is RIGHT NOW! Get out and enjoy it. I'm going to take my wife and daughter for a trip tomorrow evening. They're looking forward to it.

Riverrat56, as always, it was fun. See you tomorrow.

fishingguy, I don't know if I have your number anymore, I'm at work all day today and tomorrow so stop down if you get a chance, we can work something out for tonight or tomorrow.

I am working on my uncles boat and get to use it in return. I would like to get on a lake with a bite that can keep me and the kid entertained. Maybe a mix of crappie or white bass and some pike or tigers?

Went to orchard earlier in a the week. What a zoo of skiboat activity and "ramp rage"...

Maybe Mazaska, Cannon Lake or German Lake? I have not fished those before so maybe try something new?

Riverrat, sorry didn't get back to you. Fished hard from 3 until 8. And threw every color I had in the box at'em. But could only manage 3 today. 2 16" and 1 20". All came on a #4 metalic and blue hornet. Did see a couple other boats landed a couple with live bait, lindy's and spinners. I'll stop by in the morning. I'll have to add a few more cranks to the box I guess! HEHE!

South Central MN Weekly Fishing Report, 7-6-09

Whew! Yet another holiday weekend in the books. The weather was great, lakes were busy and fish were hungry! The walleyes have continued biting on their torrid pace of last week. In fact, I think the bite has gotten even stronger. Just as what's been described in the South Central forum July 2009 "Tip of the Month", speed is crucial right now and not on the slow side either. The most active fish continue to be those hanging near skinny water in 4 - 6' of water but they are more focused now on bottle necks and pinch points. The best way I can describe these areas is that they're places on a lake where the fish have to go through but don't necessarily want to. Speed trolling crankbaits like #4 Salmo Hornets and #5 Shad Raps at 2.8 - 4.0 mph only ~40 - 45' back has and probably will continue to be the ticket. Again, the fish are just crushing this presentation if given different looks of trolling speed and/or lure direction. Your trolling pattern should not be a straight line; mix it up! Sad to say but casting and pitching has taken a backseat this open water season. Ha! But there are still fish to be caught in ultra-shallow, it's just that low light and abundant food is needed. The deeper bite is still worth a look if things aren't working elsewhere but be sure you're fishing slow. When deeper (i.e. 12+'), focus on transition areas and/or rocks. 18 - 24' of water is a good depth range for starting your search. In all actuality, the fish using the deeper water should become more and more active as the summer wears along.

When targeting crappies and 'gills, search both large and small flats near gravel and sand to mud transitions or on outside weedlines. Some of the better presentations this past week continue to be tube jigs and hair jigs but don't be afraid to go after the better quality fish just as if you were fishing walleyes in deeper water. Also, it's getting to be that time of year, where some of the better quality pan fish in the area lakes will start suspending right under the water's surface over main lake and secondary basins. Look for this pattern to really take off come mid-July and into August...

Jamison is spot on the the crankbait bite. Today I hit a lake and foscused on the narrow pinch points with a Salmo hornet. I fished from 4-6fow. Trolled from 2.9 t0 3.5 mph.

These fish would slam the Salmo. I fished under terrible conditions as I was fishing in bright sunlight, from 11am t0 3pm.

Its nice to catch a nice mess of 16-19 eyes and a couple nice ones in the heat of the day. All my eyes came when the sun went under a few clouds and when the sun came back out, the fish quit until the next cloud cover came again.

Thanks for the great tip TO.

Well, here is a nice green one we picked up today - got a few nice ones - beautiful day to be out...

Nice to hear it's happening on multiple lakes. Nice work Tom!