Beautiful Weather, Hot Fishing in Rice Lake
By Frank Zumpf, Local Outdoorsman
Can you ask for better weather to go fishing? The last week has been great. The fishing has been good since the opener.
The crappies have moved right into the wood and brush to spawn. At one of my favorite spots, if you cast in the shallows next to the brush you’ll catch a bluegill. If you pull up short and let the jig sink by the top of the fallen tree in deeper water you’ll catch crappies. They are either spawning there or after the minnows in the fine branches.
I walked out on a dock and saw a few of the larger bluegills picking out spots to lay their eggs. The smaller gills were hanging around the perimeter waiting to rob the eggs. The larger fish were defending their spots although they hadn’t started to fan the beds yet.
The walleyes are still in the emerging weeds at 10-12 feet. Try a Lindy rig tipped with a leech and fish from the deep water side. One could also troll along the weed edges. The bass have been cruising the shallows and feeding on the minnows like the crappies are.
For information on Rice Lake area lodging, dining, entertainment and more outdoors, connect with Ricelaketourism.com or 715-234-8888 or nicky@ricelaketourism.com