Summer Fishing on Lake Winnebago

Have you noticed that time flies when you are fishing?

This year is cruising by. Spring brought us low slow waters on the rivers. We didn’t catch large quantities of walleyes however, we did catch some big fat ones!

Summer is a totally different story. So much rain. So much water. It’s the middle of August and we still have green grass. So often it’s brown and crispy in spots. Not this year.

But how’s the fishing? Honeslty, it’s been good to great! The last time out on a four hour trip we put 41 fish in the boat. 10 walleyes, 1 small mouth bass, and 30 fresh water drum. 4 walleyes were small and released. 1 walleye was too big and released. And 5 walleyes were kept by my people. 2 sturgeon were also hooked, never to be seen, however.

I enjoy dragging crawlers and casting plastics on shallow rocky areas to put fish in the boat. Check out my YouTube channel to watch videos on how I fish Lake Winnebago: https://www.youtube.com/@justgofish

Fishing with night crawlers is really easy and it’s the first technique I share with guests when fishing Lake Winnebago. We will use 3/16 ounce jig heads tipped with 1/4 or 1/3 of a night crawler. Cast out. Let the bait hit the bottom. Then use the rod to pull the jig back toward the boat. Then wind up the slack. Pull, wind, pull, wind, until the bait is back to the boat. If you feel weight while pulling or something jerks the rod, set the hook by jerking back.

When fishing slowly, fish don’t have to hit hard. A walleye may just seem to appear on the line when fishing this way. If you feel something different, set the hook! Often people will lose fish as they just “aren’t sure”. Set the hook anyway! If it’s a rock or weed, so what.

When casting plastics, I use split tail plastic minnow baits 3 to 3 3/4 inches long. Natural colors work best on Lake Winnebago. I prefer silvers and blacks, or colorless and black or brown. A 3 inch smelt, Berkley PowerBait minnow is a good choice. I use a 1/4 ounce lead head jig on 6 or 8 pound test line.

Cast out and retrieve fast enough that you aren’t hitting bottom. Short pauses can be a great addition. Often fish will hit on the brief pause. Keep the bait moving. And again, if you feel something different, set the hook. Sometimes fish will just crush it. Other times they gently pick it up on the pause and you’ll feel weight when you make the next jerk or pop.

Need more help? Come fishing with me! Visit my website for more information: https://www.fishingguidewisconsin.com/

Good luck out there!

Captain Kirk
920-722-1881
YouTube: @justGoFish