Fishing Reports

Hello everybody,

It has been a very different first week of the fishing season this year. What in most years is the easiest fishing of the season has been anything but. High pressure with high skies and little wind has made it very difficult to establish any patterns so far. I have been catching most of my fish on jigs and minnows, with just a few exceptions.

The shallow bite that we see in the spring has never developed. Most of the fish have been in the 25 to 35ft range during the day. We have caught a few fish shallow in the evening on slip bobbers, however that action has only lasted about an hour or two each day, right before the sunset. The weather change this week should help as we should get some wind and a little less high pressure for a change.

Follow up:

There have been a few bright spots this week on the Smallmouth bass front: the Smallies have been much more active than the Walleyes this year. They have started to move up in some areas, and with the full moon on the way the bas fishing should be improving right on through the weekend.

Most of the smallies we are finding are on or close to their spawning areas. Back bays with warmer water temps have been my go-to locations. Topwaters and spinnerbaits have been the most effective presentations so far this spring. Soft plastics, jerkbaits and crankbaits should also catch some fish.

The Pike action has been a little slow so far this season, but I haven't really had much of a chance to fish for them. We did boat a few nice fish while chasing Smallmouth this week. Spinnerbaits, spoons and plastic jerkbaits should produce for you this time of the season. look for new emergent weed growth, or fish the deepest weed edges you can find. Mainlake points and saddle areas are also good locations to search for some nice Pike.

Have a great week everybody and please remember to put some back.

"Ace"

Terry "Ace" Sjoberg
Ace guide service
On Beautiful Lake Vermilion
Muskies and More.
member Lake Vermilion guides league.
www.aceguideservice.com