A general fishing report for lake winnebago, lake poygan, lake butte des morts and the fox river.
August 3, 2009
Fishing has been slow on the upper lakes to say the least. Every now and then a nice walleye shows up along with a few big pike still being caught. The river has been better especially right in Winneconne. A mix bag of Whitebass, perch, crappies, bluegill, catfish, walleyes and pike show up almost everyday. As you head further east towards Winnebago, Butte des Morts, the river in Oshkosh and Winnebago have all been pretty steady with Winnebago being the best out of the 3.
Lots of guys have been casting crankbaits over the tops of the weeds along the reefs or the deeper shorelines on the east shore catching good numbers and size of fish. The trolling bite is still going strong out in the mud and on the reefs when the wind blows. Salmo bullheads and hornets in the bluegill pattern along with hot steel shad raps are working the best. The crawler harness bite has been hit and miss the past couple of weeks. Big pike have been showing up on the southwest end of the lake towards Fond du Lac. Walleye fisherman and bass fisherman having been catching a few by mistake while fishing in the weeds or on rock humps by the islands.
Perch fishermen are pulling their hair out trying to put 2 consistent days together. The perch bite has been tough for the most part due to the clear and colder than normal water. It seems as though for every one day of decent fishing there are 5 days of nothing. The fish that are being caught are a little deeper than normal and have been more in the mud than on the transition lines of the gravel and mud. Crawlers or hellgrammites tipped on small ice jigs or spoons with light line has been the best method to catch these delicious perch!