Hartigan Fishing report 7/15/14
The last week or so the best walleye bite has been on flats of 12 to 14ft with scattered wood. The walleye that we have been catching have small leeches stuck to the roof of their mouths, so that can mean they are feeding in mud. The mayfly larva that are down in the mud seem to be just starting to come out which is attracting all types of fish. We have still not had a major mayfly hatch, although I have seen the remnants of a hatch with almost no adults on the water. I do not think we will have a major hatch this late in the year, but I may be wrong. With the high bluebird sky's and high pressure we had, some day's the best bite was on a dead stick off the side of the boat. Walleyes, smallmouth, perch, and some big bluegill were all hitting a small jig suspended 6 inches off the bottom with a minnow or half a crawler on it. It seemed like the least amount of movement caught the most fish. Today was a different story as the change in weather made the fish very aggressive. The walleye were on drop offs and were so aggressive that we even had a 20 inch plus fish try to grab a 10 inch fish as we were lifting it in the boat.
Musky have been active all week with most of the fish hitting surface baits or medium sized bucktails. The bigger walleyes should be starting to use the new weeds as they come up and start chasing minnows. A beetle spin and minnow pulled through the weeds can be deadly under the right conditions. Deep wood and cribs are just starting to get hot with perch, bluegills and crappies.
Jerry Hartigan
Jerkbait Guide Service
Info@flambeauflowagesport.com
715-476-2526