walleye run

"Some guys are getting them pretty good, and some guys aren't," said Don Drogowski, Morenci, Michigan, on Monday. He was suiting up for a day on the river at Orleans Park with his son, also named Don, who lives in Manitou Lake, Michigan. Orleans Park is frequently cited as having some of the best fishing on the river during the run.
The walleye run occurs when the fish swim into the Maumee from Lake Erie to spawn as the waters warm. The fish can pack the river in the hundreds of thousands, and anglers usually catch tens of thousands of them in the Maumee each year. The first two weeks of April are generally considered the peak time for the run.

Walleye fishing

Walleye fishing can be more productive when water levels drop after a period of runoff. The increased flow triggers walleye to move upstream, and the declining flow helps concentrate them.
Walleyes are not built to swim against a strong current for long periods, so anglers can find them on the edge of eddies, behind boulders or anything that provides a break from current. Anglers also should look for areas of slow current near the bank, especially after sunset.    

Dale Hollow fishing early april

Dale Hollow:  Fishing is great.  Water temperature is 53 degrees;  lake is falling slowly. 
Smallmouth:  Smallmouth fishing is fabulous.  Lots are being caught on jigs, jerkbaits, crankbaits and Alabama rigs while fishing points and flats in 5-to-15 feet of water. 
Largemouth:  Fishing is great.  Lots of fish are being caught on spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and Alabama rigs while fishing pockets and flats in 5-to-10 feet of water.
Crappie:  Fishing is slow.  A few crappie are being caught in the grass while fishing minnows and jigs in 10 feet of water. 

Ice Fishing Book

I don’t have 100% success, but I’m damn close. Even the people I have taught have had incredible success. I recently went ice fishing with a good friend's wife, who had never even been out on the ice before. She caught seven pike on her very first ice fishing trip! So I know what I’m doing. What’s really going to help you, is why I can get this kind of success. That’s what this website is really about. Helping you to get the same success when ice fishing. Like I said earlier, Ice Fishing really started for me about 11 years ago when my Father-In-Law took me out to Moose pond (his favorite ice fishing spot in all of Maine). And this was real ice fishing, no heated shanty, just a hole, and two upside down buckets for our tired butts to sit on. We were out there for almost ten hours, but it seemed like seconds because the fish just seemed to leap out of the ice into his hands. My father-in-law just seemed to understand how the fish would think, and he whispered to me the secret…. “we don’t catch fish….they catch us.”. It was fantastic, my idea of fishing heaven, except for one thing. You see, as easy as my father-in-law made it look, it was still very difficult for me. The fish only seemed to be drawn to his line. He would laugh and just tease me. Ice Fishing Book!

Missouri River

Missouri River Report:Lake Oahe:With ice breaking up along shorelines, ice fishing is on hold for the most part. There are a few spots where extremely cautious ice fishing is possible, though for the most part anglers are putting gear up until weather conditions stabilize.Lake Sharp: The main channel is open water down to Ft. George and while the fish are showing up on screens around bridges, and sandbars, they are not responding to normal presentations at present, a very fluid situation that could change quickly depending upon water discharge or barometer change.Lake Francis Case:The channel in Chamberlain area is open. The boat ramp at south end of Big Bend is open though difficult to access because of low water. Anglers have been catching a few walleye below the dam. Ice fishing has ceased at present.

Tustin on Lake Poygan.

The landings are starting to firm back up. County had about two inches of solid ice again. As long as no one tries to go off for a few days, it should set up nicely. The lake has really firmed up but is still very slick and quite clear ... a little snow would be wonderful!
Fishing continues to be excellent except for today which was a little tough with the high pressure and cold front. The fish were very sluggish for the most part with only a few aggressive fish coming off the bottom. Best baits have been small gold or silver spoons with or without spikes. The new hammered slender spoons or hammered pimples have been my two choices. Let the baits free-fall to the bottom past the fish and slowly jig it up past them almost like a bluegill jigging motion and look for the bite

Santa Cruz Lake

San Juan River: Trout fishing through the Quality Waters was good using foam wing emergers, fluff baetis, zebra midges, San Juan worms, egg patterns and small bead-head pheasant tails. There were some strong midge hatches in the early afternoon hours. Fishing through the bait waters was fair to good using salmon eggs, copper John Barrs and San Juan worms.

Santa Cruz Lake: This water has closed to boating and will remain closed until mid-July of 2015. The only fishing access will be from the overlook, which will remain open. The Bureau of Land Management will be renovating the north lake campground, boat launch, picnic area and main access road. We had no reports from anglers this week.

Ice Fishing

A few of the smaller and shallow Northwoods lakes have developed a thin layer of ice cover, but the majority of lakes were still open. The deep snow across most of the north has nearly all boat landings inaccessible and, for all practical purposes, the open-water fishing season has come to an abrupt end. Single-digit low temperatures are in the forecast for the next few days and will likely result in many lakes becoming completely iced over but early season ice will be thin and dangerous and any thoughts of early ice fishing should be put on hold for a few weeks yet.
Anglers fishing Lake Michigan harbors and piers have been dwindling but those out have been catching a few brown and rainbow trout and a few are still being caught on tributaries, but flows are low and the run is winding down. Walleye and sauger continue to be caught on Lake Wisconsin and the Wisconsin River below the dam in Prairie du Sac