Hennepin County:

 Northern pike and walleye action has been slow on Lake Minnetonka. Some walleyes are being caught along the weed lines and a few northern pike are being found suspended on the deep weed lines here. But the sunfish and largemouth bass have been good. Medicine Lake, like Lake Minnetonka, is producing sunfish around the weeds.

RAINBOW LAKE

Fishing is poor for stocked (12”+) rainbow trout! Stocking is done here for the year. The lake level is a few feet down and the weeds are starting to come up in portions of the lake. Tolling in the main channel is still doable, but the weeds are present. If the trout are not biting, try to catch sunfish on a size 12 hook with a small piece of worm in rocky or weedy areas, or black bullhead on the bottom with a size 6 hook and a half or full worm. The White Mountain Bass Fishing club recently adopted the lake and cleaned up trash along the public shoreline. Please don’t leave your trash around!

Devils Lake

 

Anglers are catching a mix of walleyes averaging 10 inches to 20 inches, and pulling bottom bouncers and spinners with leeches, crawlers or soft plastics are the most consistent technique right now, according to Mark Bry of Bry's Guide Service. Some of the guides also have been slip bobbering, Bry said, using smaller jigs or plain hooks tipped with leeches below a bobber in 10 feet to 20 feet of water.
Best locations include humps, flooded roads, points, the old shoreline and weed lines. That offers a lot of options, to be sure, but all are producing, Bry said. Pike fishing has slowed, but anglers are catching a few fish mixed in with the walleyes, Bry said. White bass fishing has been pretty good when anglers find them, he said

Lake Erie

Capt. Tom Marks with Gr8 Lakes Fishing Adventures reports that if you can tough it out with the rough weather we’ve been experiencing of late, the walleye bite is excellent. There are fish in almost every local "hot spot,” according to Marks. Myers Reef has produced good catches, the "fence" (border) from Sturgeon Point to Buffalo is loaded with walleye, too. Work your baits in 65 to 70 foot depths off Evangola where walleye stacked up, as well. Marks has even found schools of yellow perch off Evangola. He keeps his presentations simple by bottom-bouncing worm harnesses. “The warm water has their metabolism kicked into high gear so now is the time to get fishing!”  The Sunset Bay Shootout is this weekend so we should have a report for you next week if we can collect the information from organizers. Bass action has been consistent as well. Target 26 to 40 feet of water with crayfish, shiners, tubes or drop-shot rigs outfitted with live bait or plastics like Jackall Crosstails. Capt. Ryan Shea with Brookdog Fishing Co. has been targeting Myers Reef area in 25 to 30 feet of water with three-way rigs offering shiners or crayfish – keeping the bait moving a 1 to 1.5 mph. He’ll also cast a crayfish imitation fly to take some fish, too. Last week, Todd Aikin and Richard Snyder were trolling for walleye around Seneca Shoal with a blue and silver Renosky stickbait and they couldn’t keep the bass off.

Rio Grande

The streamflows in the Rio Grande are at a good level for all types of fishing right now. If you’d like to avoid the crowded conditions on the river between Taos Junction Bridge and Velarde, try hiking into the Rio Grande Gorge near Questa. It’s a bit of a hike, but don’t be intimidated. It looks like a long way down, but once you get going and pace yourself, even a 70-year old like me can do it. Be sure to bring some water with you and watch for rattlesnakes. Personally, I find the fishing best above the Red River.

Eleven Mile Reservoir

The ferocious bite has cooled, but action is steady and consistent. Bite times are more specific than they have been. Water quality issues have a real effect. If you are dragging a weed you are not going to catch a fish. Check your line frequently if trolling. The bite has been early and most of the fish stop biting by 10 a.m. Kastmasters and Tasmanian Devils are always consistent. Use a night crawler and float it with a marshmallow after the sun sets. The kokanee salmon action is very sporadic. The fish are biting early in the day. The fish are holding near the bottom, so use a down rigger or a lead core. Vertical jig if conditions allow.

Black Hawk Lake:

Water temperature is 80 degrees. Bluegill - Fair: Pick up bluegill just about anywhere along the shoreline.The fish are averaging 7.5 inches. Use a small hair or tube jig with a small piece of crawler fished under a bobber off the floating fishing pier, the west stone pier, and the inlet bridge. Black Crappie - Fair: Crappies are mostly off shore now, but a few are being picked up by shore anglers along Ice House Point. Walleye - Fair:  Use leeches fished under a bobber and twisters near rock piles in late evening and early morning. The rock pile off of Cottonwood point has been producing fish. Largemouth Bass - Good: Catch largemouth all over the lake using the traditional bass lures. Fishing Ice House Point and the lake side of the inlet bridge has provided good bass action for many anglers. Channel Catfish - Fair: Use cut bait and stink bait fished on the bottom along shore. Try also in the marina and near the floating dock in Town Bay. Catch fish up to 25 inches long. 

Hackensack area

Nightcrawlers and spinners are producing walleyes on Woman Lake in 15-20 feet, Ten Mile Lake in 20-25 feet and Webb Lake in 14-18 feet. Largemouth are being found in the weeds on most lakes, and smallmouth bass are hitting in shallow water during low-light periods. A few muskies have been caught on Little Boy Lake and panfish reports have been best on the weedlines of Birch Lake and Moccasin Lake.