With the warmer weather, we have seen much better fishing in the last week. All of our most popular species have been much more active. The white bass are still being caught as well!
Crappie- Crappie are beginning to transition to shallow water and depending on the water body can be anywhere from 2 feet to 10 feet deep. Look for shallow water to hold warmer water. Crappie tend to like water temps in the high 50s to low 60s to begin to move onto their beds so they will begin staging at this point. We have heard of a few limits of crappie this week, mostly being caught on 1/32 oz jigs dressed with Panfish Assassins or 1" Berkley Gulp Minnows tipped with maggots. They have caught quite a few smaller crappie on live minnows under a float as well.
White Bass- White bass are still in the river, but they are on their tail end of the run. We heard of reports between 5-10 being caught in the span of an hour or so, so it is still worth trying for them if you enjoy them!
Largemouth Bass- Look for largemouth bass to begin bedding over the next week or so, dependent on the body of water. They usually follow after the crappie have begun spawning.
Walleye- Walleye have been caught by anglers wading and also fishing from boats near willow trees and structure over the last week. It has definitely increased in the last 48 hours with more reports coming in. Target the walleye with jigs tipped with nightcrawlers, or jigs with 3" Twister Tails/Berkley Gulp. The troll bite has not quite started yet, but in about a week to two weeks it would be worth trying.
The header image for this week's fishing report is a 15.75" crappie from Berlin caught by Tonya Dalton! This would have put her in first place in the Crappie Brawl, but sadly she was not entered. Great Fish Tonya!