Beaverhead River

 The big trout just keep coming, and we are seeing the river come up into summer irrigation flows. Sally nymphs down deep and heavy are producing every day, with a small PMD nymph still being a great choice. Trout will also be looking for hoppers. The last hour of daylight has seen a solid caddis emergence with fish looking up. Likewise, streamer anglers are seeing action early and late with enough during the day to make it worthwhile.  Crowds are down, although there are still clusters of boats and wading anglers.

Braided lines

Braided lines are a great breakthrough. They’re very strong for their diameter, stiff enough to transmit a hit clearly with little or no stretch which allows you to set the hook with authority. Their downside is cost, and the fact they don’t stretch when fighting a fish and their tendency to damage easily. Super lines keep improving though and definitely fill a much needed spot in fishing.

Chautauqua Lake

 

Capt. Mike Sperry with Chautauqua Reel Outdoors reports that walleye and musky action is still going strong. For walleyes, worm harnesses trolling at 1 mph along the weed edges in the north basin is a good starting point. Experiment with different blade colors to figure out a pattern on any given day. Jigging also will produce some ‘eyes. In the South Basin, try using Hot ’N Tots off lead core line or a three-way rig with a drop lead. Muskies have been hitting jointed or smaller Shad-style crankbaits in the North Basin casting or trolling. Use a Tuff Shad, Leo Mojoe and jointed Stalkers to take fish. Casting 6- to 9-inch jerk baits can work well for you according to Sperry.

AMISTAD:

AMISTAD: Water stained; 88-92 degrees; 29.81 feet low. Black bass are good on topwaters, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and soft plastics. Striped bass are fair on Red Fins and large topwaters. White bass are fair on crankbaits and small topwaters. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cheesebait, shrimp, and nightcrawlers. Yellow catfish are fair on trotlines, droplines, and throwlines on live perch. Everyone in a boat must have a Mexico fishing license (if fishing the Mexico side) whether fishing or not.

Lake Erie

Lake Erie walleye boom’s cause is a mystery, but no one is complaining
Spoons of all sizes are working behind dipsy, jet and tru-trip divers, with Stinger and Silver Streak spoons with a splash of pink or purple getting the attention of walleye. The walleye are generally suspending at 17 to 25 feet, and few are roaming the deeper waters. The bottom 3 or 4 feet of water have already been reported as oxygen-starved by the fisheries experts.
A few yellow perch are being caught in 30 feet of water. The perch seem to be suspending about 10 feet off the bottom and feeding on water fleas and hatching mayflies, but they will nibble on emerald shiner minnows.
The smallmouth bass fishing has been excellent in 17 to 25 feet of water around the harbor areas in Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, Geneva, Ashtabula and Conneaut.

Lake Erie walleye

Lake Erie walleye fishing is on fire. After an outstanding spring of fishing, it appears that the migratory walleye have arrived in at least fair numbers. A good number of very large walleye have been caught.
Some anglers are releasing the big walleye on the assumption that the smaller walleye taste better. Try this: When the big walleye is filleted, take special care to remove as much red meat as possible. Then slice the thicker fillet in half. Soak the fillets at least three days in the coldest part of the refrigerator in a mixture of a generous amount of salt and about a heaping tablespoon of baking soda. You should see a light film of oil on the water when it is time to remove the fillets for eating or freezing.
Walleye are spread through depths of 45 feet and who knows how much deeper now that the migratory fish are here. Most anglers have been fishing from 50 feet to 60 feet, it appears. Glance at the sonar screen often for marks that appear to be walleye, noting the depth range of the marks, then put your lures in front of them. While stick baits and spoons continue to catch plenty of walleye, the usual summer switch-over to nightcrawler harnesses, either spinner or spoon, is happening. Harnesses behind Dipsy Divers and Jet Divers have been working well.
If conditions are right, do not hesitate to fish into the First Trench. Around the point, good reports come from 50 feet to 51 feet, then from 40 feet to 60 feet to the Cribs. Good catches have been made at 55 feet to 61 feet west of Shade’s Beach, and 55 feet to 58 feet from Shade’s Beach to North East.

Leech Lake

 

Typical for this time of year, fishing has taken a turn for the slower in the past week, Jason Freed of Leisure Outdoor Adventures reports. There’s an abundance of bait in the lake, ranging from mayflies and crayfish to young of the year perch.
Anglers should look for walleyes on long breaklines in 12 to 20 feet of water, especially if the wind is blowing into the spot, Freed said. Walker Bay, Agency Bay and long breaklines on the main lake all are good places to start, and some of the main lake rock reefs and bars still are producing walleyes in 15 to 18 feet of water. Try working the areas with spinners, crankbaits or live bait rigs, Freed said; slip bobbers on windy days are another great tactic.
Muskie fishing should start to pick up as fish get more active on the main lake rocks and bars, and bluegills and crappies are showing up in emergent weed beds in 8 to 12 feet of water,

AMISTAD:

Water stained; 88-92 degrees; 30.07 feet low. Black bass are good on topwaters, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, Senkos, frogs, and soft plastics. Striped bass are good on Red Fins and topwaters. White bass are fair on crankbaits, grubs, and live minnows. Crappie are slow. Catfish are good on cheesebait, shrimp, and nightcrawlers under popping corks in 3-9 feet. Yellow catfish are slow. Everyone in a boat must have a Mexico fishing license (if fishing the Mexico side) whether fishing or not.