Monthly Archives: May 2025

Segar Pros Offer Two Different Shallow Water Bass Approaches

Two Different Shallow Water Bass Approaches

Once the bass spawn, some bass move to deeper water, but plenty stick around in the shallows. This is when the shallows are alive with bass guarding fry and spawning activity for bluegill, shad, and herring—all of which keep the bass in shallow water.

Professional bass anglers and Segar Pro Staff, Luke Clausen and Drew Gill, know this and stay in skinny water for much of the post-spawn with various approaches.

Clausen’s Mix of the Old and New School

Like most professional anglers, Luke Clausen’s bass boat and office on the water is decked out with plenty of big electronic screens and the most up-to-date technology. He uses it plenty, but the Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup champion often relies on the old-fashioned way during the post-spawn: using his eyes and paying attention to clues from his surroundings.

After the bass spawn, one of his main focuses is the spawns of some of their favorite meals. The bluegill, shad, and herring spawns are critical to his approach. His electronics help, but years of experience and some hints from the environment guide his approach.

“Tools like side scan are good for locating bluegill beds, and you can use your forward-facing sonar to find baitfish and bass guarding fry this time of year, but so much of it is just done by watching and using your eyes,” he said. “Your electronics help a bunch with deeper bluegill beds, but the shallower ones are best just looking around on flat places, around vegetation, or the back of a pocket. They rarely spawn on something that’s not very flat, and it needs to be somewhat protected.”

He’ll mix various techniques to catch these bass feasting on spawning bluegill, from a wacky rig to topwater lures like frogs, walking baits, prop baits, and poppers.

“I like a popper for the sound and the ability to stop it in place, and a small walking bait is a great choice,” he said. “I fish it on 30 lb Seaguar Smackdown in the Stealth Gray color, and that thin line is great for accurate casts with those light baits. The worst thing you can do with a topwater is to pull a topwater bait away from a fish, so I keep the bait in place when one rolls on it, and you’ll hook a lot of those fish because there’s no stretch in the line.”

Clausen goes white-colored baits like a spinnerbait, buzzbait, or swim jig when targeting bass feeding on spawning shad. “The shad spawn is always going to happen first thing in the morning, and they’ll always spawn around hard places, either rocks, docks, or somewhere with a hard surface,” he said. “It’s hard to beat fast-moving baits like swim jigs and buzzbaits, and I fish all of those on 50 lb Seaguar Smackdown, which is still very thin to get long casts to reach any surface activity you see. I like 15 lb Seaguar Red Label for my spinnerbaits because it has a little less stretch, which is important for short-range hooksets.”

Gill’s New Age Approach

Bass Pro Tour angler Drew Gill is one of the poster boys of the new generation of professional bass anglers, getting the most out of his electronics to find bass. While many consider forward-facing sonar an offshore approach dominated by finesse techniques, he finds it successful in shallow water with a wide range of baits. It’s something that he employs all spring, especially in the post-spawn.

“After the bass spawn, you have the bluegill bed thing and throwing topwaters around shallow cover,” said Gill. “It’s a tandem thing, and forward-facing sonar plays a role in both. It helps you locate the bluegill beds, showing the harder bottom areas they use to spawn. It’s also great for finding shallow targets that provide shade to cast a topwater lure to.”

Once he finds bedding bluegill, Gill will use standard finesse techniques but likes to use heavier weights. “I’m going to use a plastic worm in some form or fashion, but want something fast and snappy, so I use heavier weights than I normally use,” he said. “I want something a little more intrusive, whether a Texas rig, drop-shot, shaky head, or some other way to rig the worm. The heavier weights allow me to get that bass to react when fishing around bluegill beds.”

Even though Gill primarily uses spinning gear and finesse tactics, he likes to beef up his fluorocarbon leader material to 15 or 17-lb Seaguar Tatsu.

“This time of year, fishing this way, your average size of bass goes way up,” he said. “I like to use heavier lines to manhandle the fish because you tend to catch some really big post-spawn fish doing this.”

Gill also likes to stay back on bluegill beds he finds with his electronics, sticking to 50 to 80 feet away and making casts to what he sees. “Fishing at a distance is critical in shallow water because the bass are very mobile this time of year as they roam chasing bluegill and tend to be very aware of their surroundings,” he said.

Aside from soft plastics, Gill also likes to mix in moving baits like topwater lures. “It’s a one-two punch for me, and I also like to use a lure that will call them up to the surface, either a walking topwater or some sort of bait that will draw them like a glide bait,” he said. “These baits are great when searching and looking across shallow flats. For topwater walking baits, I like 20 lb Seaguar Smackdown in Stealth Gray with a very short leader of 15 or 17-pound Seaguar Tatsu to keep the braid from wrapping around the treble hooks. It seems light, but I like how the bait reacts to each movement, and heavier braids tend to overpower a bait.”

Bass fishing in shallow water is an excellent approach almost any time of the year, but around the spawn and for a few weeks afterward, it can be the way to find big and hungry bass.

Seaguar Smackdown braid is available in high visibility Flash Green and low visibility Stealth Gray. It is available in 150- and 300-yard spools in sizes ranging from 10 to 65 lb tests

Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon mainline is available in 200- and 1,000-yard spools from 4 to 25 lb tests

Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon mainline is available in 200- and 1,000-yard spools from 4 to 20 lb tests.

Father’s Day Sale at St Croix Rods

Making Dad Happy on Father’s Day is Simple
Hey Ronnie, Josh here. I’m St. Croix’s communications manager, and that’s me fishing with my son Jack in Alaska last summer. Fishing with my kids is what makes me happiest. I also like fishing gear and fishing clothes… all of it. We dads are pretty simple, right? 

To celebrate dads everywhere in advance of Father’s Day, the St. Croix Factory Store is offering some great deals and one-stop shopping for everything dads love!
SHOP $20 LIMITED EDITION-FATHER’S DAY TEESSHOP 20% OFF ALL IN-STOCK APPARELSHOP ROD, REEL & TACKLE SPECIALSSale ends at 11:59 PM Central Time on June 1.
All quantities are limited. While supplies last.
Remember… in addition to offering easy online shopping, the St. Croix Factory Store is a full-service, physical tackle store. That means if you ever have questions or need any help at all, you can pick up the phone during business hours, call 715-762-3226 Ext. 119, and talk to one of our team members. They’re here to help! 

– JoshBEWARE OF IMITATIONS! There’s only one St. Croix Factory Store. Our website is StCroixRodFactoryStore.com.

Do You Love Topwater Bassing In Spring?

Topwater Bassing In Spring

  • By The Fishing Wire

Seeing a ferocious strike from a huge largemouth bass as it blows up on a topwater lure at sunrise or sunset is absolutely thrilling. To witness the power and aggressiveness on full display sends a collective shiver down the spine of any passionate angler; it’s also one of the most consistent ways to catch big bass throughout the hot summer months. 

When it comes to topwater bass fishing, there are several categories of lures, which are effective in certain situations. Among the favorites are poppers, walkers and prop baits, as well as frogs. For this, we’ll just consider the first three since frogs fall in a category all their own. 

Largemouth bass are ambush predators and are willing to strike nearly anything that comes into range. They can sense a lure visually, by sound or by picking up vibrations through their lateral line as it swims across heavy cover. That’s one reason poppers, like the familiar Rebel Pop-R and prop baits including the Smithwick Devil’s Horse are especially effective in off-color water, since they can draw in fish from the sound alone. Whether it’s the gulping bubble of a popper or the buzz of a prop bait, bass sure love ‘em. Walkers, like the old standby Heddon Zara Spook, tend to work better in clearer water, where the fish can track the lure visually. It takes some practice but the walk-the-dog technique of zig-zagging a stickbait past heavy cover will draw ferocious strikes. 

On the bite, bass create suction by forcing water through its mouth and out past its gills. If the fish misses the lure on the first strike, allow it to sit twitching—the fish will often circle back to consume what it believes is a crippled prey. 

Topwater bass fishing can mean hundreds of casts though, and hand fatigue can become an issue. There are also those little cuts, nicks and scrapes we get from a long day on the water, from fins, gill plates, hooks, braided line and more.  Fish Monkey’s Free Style fishing glove is a perfect match for topwater fishing. It offers a number of key features, including a second-skin fit with ultralight, moisture-wicking fabrics offering UPF 50-plus sun protection as well as light padding and protection in all the right places. This means you can lip a big bass or take a wrap with heavy braid without worry of the line cutting into your hand. The Free Style is also designed to allow the user to remove any fingertips they wish without having the glove fray or split. This is key for tying knots or manipulating snap swivels without having to remove the glove. And because of the additional padding and grip in the palms, making hundreds of casts a day is much less fatiguing.

The Stubby is another great choice. It’s designed for those who prefer shorter cuffs and fingers. It’s not short on features though, with PVC Monkey Grip in the palms that works as well when wet as it does dry, plus UPF 50-plus sun protection. That ultralight fabric and second-skin fit means you’ll forget you’re even wearing gloves after about five casts. 

A third choice is the Pro 365 Guide Glove. It’s designed with professional guides in mind, with a slightly longer cuff and fingers than the Stubby, but with all those same great features, fit and sun protection. Want even more coverage? Check out the Half Finger or even the Full Finger Guide Gloves

Although topwater bass fishing can mean a ton of casting, those explosive strikes from giant largemouths make it all worthwhile. 


Interested in becoming a Fish Monkey dealer? Click here for more information! 

Learning Fishing Tips From Magazines and A West Point Tournament

I grew up reading the big three outdoor magazines of the time: Outdoor Life, Sports Afield and Field and Stream.  At one time I had every copy of all three from 1964 until about 2000.  Those magazines made me want to catch salmon in an Alaska stream and shoot doves in Argentina.

Sometimes an article applied directly to this country Georgia boy. I distinctly remember a tip that redwing blackbirds often lit in bushes hanging over the water and watched a bass under them, expecting the bass to injure a minnow the bird could than eat.

A few days later while fishing Harrison’s Pond with my trusty Mitchell 300 and a Devil’s Horse, I saw a redwing blackbird sitting on a small bush growing from the top of a stump about 40 feet off the bank.  It took me a couple of cast to place the Devil’s Horse perfectly and bring it by the stump, but I got an explosive strike from a nice two-pound bass.

More recently I had gotten my fishing stuff ready for a Jackson night tournament and was killing time waiting to leave. I read an online report on an Arkansas lake.  It said the bass were hitting a jig and pig at night.

I went out and tied one on for the tournament.  At midnight I had not caught a fish and had just two hours left to fish.  Remembering the article and jig, I picked it up and started casting it to a rocky point. I landed five bass on it in the next hour and won the tournament.

The big three magazines were national and covered everything about the outdoors. Then around my senior year in high school, 1968, I heard about a new group that published a magazine. But it was different. The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS) was nothing but black bass fishing.

Youth nowadays have almost unlimited information available to them and many of them take advantage of it. Some college bass fishermen have more bass fishing knowledge than I have accumulated in 65 years of bass fishing.  They constantly study and read about bass fishing.

I share recaps of my tournament here and hope they help fishermen catch fish.  Sometimes another fisherman sharing what they catch fish on and how they are caught is a big help. For the same reason I post a variety of fishing reports on my web site. You never know where or when a tip may help you in the future.

I hope somehow my reports help you catch a bass!

—–

I wish I had read something or heard something to help me at West Point last weekend!  That lake has been my bane this year in tournaments, finishing near the bottom in Potato Creek and a Sportsman Club tournaments in February.

Last Sunday 12 members and guests fished from 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM to land 40 bass weighing about 40 pounds at West Point. There were four five-bass limits and one person didn’t weigh in a fish.

Raymond English won with five weighing 10.31 pounds and got big fish with a 2.59 pounder. Second went to Billy Roberts with five at 6.33 pounds, third was Lee Hancock with five at 5.30 pounds and Jay Gerson was fourth with five weighing 4.97 pounds. My four weighing 4.69 pounds was fifth, one place out of the money again!

Before the tournament Lee said a big tournament there the day before produced a winning weight of 18 pounds.  He asked “How do they do that?”  I told him I thought they ran way up the river and threw topwater frogs around grass and other shallow cover, working hard all day for five bites from quality largemouth. I also said I could not fish like that anymore, my old body won’t let me.

Instead I tend to fish memories, trying to catch fish in the same places and the same ways I caught them the same time of year in the past.  Sometimes it kinda works.

After a club member helped me launch my boat and I sat waiting on blastoff Sunday morning, the fairly strong wind make me change my plans.  I knew the wind would be blowing right into three rocky points down the lake where I caught fish two weeks ago, usually a good thing. I decided to start there rather than a place upstream I originally planned to go.

Wind was blowing into the points and a crow walking the edge of the water, looking for shad I thought, made me think I had made a good decision. I quickly missed a bite on topwater and picked up a Carolina rig and landed a 11.9-inch spot. Not a keeper.

And it was the only bite I got until I ran back up the lake to where I planned to start at 9:00. I finally caught three fish on a shaky head worm on rocky points and one on a whacky rigged worm under a dock.

I hooked exactly five bass all day!  I just could not catch that fifth keeper.

St Croix Rods Customer Appreciation Day Is Saturday, June 21



 

PRE-REGISTER TO ATTEND CAD IN PERSON Join Us in Celebration of Anglers and Angling at One of the World’s Most-Unique Fishing Events2025 St. Croix Customer Appreciation Day Planned for June 21


PARK FALLS, Wis. (May 7, 2025) – St. Croix Rod invites anglers to join in celebration of fishing at its 2025 Customer Appreciation Day, Saturday, June 21 at the St. Croix Factory in Park Falls, Wisconsin.
 
Customer Appreciation Day continues to evolve and grow, but the event’s identity and purpose remain the same. It’s a chance for the St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels Teams to express thanks to our anglers while celebrating our collective passion for fishing. “We provide the setting for our team members to spend a really fun day serving and interacting with thousands of visiting anglers, and the dynamic takes over from there,” says Jesse Simpkins, St. Croix Vice President of Marketing. “Each year we provide more opportunities and new experiences for both in-person and online participants as well. It’s a special day our entire team looks forward to every year.”
 
Visiting anglers look forward to the event as well. “We have anglers who make the trip to Customer Appreciation Day in Park Falls every year, plus hundreds of new visitors each year,” says St. Croix Vice President of Sales, Steve Self. “They come from all over the country and from overseas, too.”

 Anglers attending Customer Appreciation Day are part of the St. Croix Family and experience something no other rod manufacturer offers on such a personal level. This year’s event will include multiple opportunities to learn about the rod-building process, informative fishing seminars from St. Croix pros, casting demonstrations, a free lunch provided by Johnsonville, prize drawings, free line winding, and – of course – a variety of special, one-day-only deals on St. Croix rods, special limited-edition combos, SEVIIN reels, tackle, and apparel, which are available both in-person and online.
 
2025 St. Croix Customer Appreciation Day Activities
 
Rod Building  – Learn the process of how St. Croix Rods are handcrafted. Multiple stations will be set up for you to see an abbreviated example of how our rods are built. Included in this will be a live rod winding demonstration.
 
 SEVIIN Tent – See how we engineer and test our reels. We put them through more than 15 grueling tests with thousands of reps to make sure your time on the water is fun and productive!
 Fishing Seminars – Gain fishing knowledge and up your game on the water. We have a full day of informative presentations – in person and live streamed – presented by St. Croix and SEVIIN Pro Staff. Learn from these elite anglers and have fun doing it. The current schedule includes seminars from Al and James Lindner, Bassmaster Elite angler Pat Schlapper, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, and Joel Nelson, as well as a second-annual in-depth musky seminar delivered by a panel of the Northwoods’ top musky anglers. Seminars will be livestreamed on St. Croix’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

 Special CAD-Only Deals  at the St. Croix Factory Store – CAD attendees and virtual participants will enjoy exceptional one-day-only deals on a huge selection of various St. Croix rods, special combos, gear, and limited-edition St. Croix CAD apparel. In addition to regular items, all CAD deals and special offers will be available online at stcroixrodfactorystore.com the day of the event.

Partner Vendors
While the people of St. Croix and SEVIIN host CAD, the event is enriched by the presence and participation of a variety of other great companies from within the fishing industry, including Rapala, Daiwa, Stormy Kromer, Walleye-X, and others.

Giveaways
Anglers attending CAD in-person are automatically registered for three huge prize drawings! All prize drawings will take place at 1:30PM after the seminars.

BassmastHERCreated by B.A.S.S., BassmastHER is a support system for education, travel, inspiration, and more to the passionate community of female anglers. Meet BassmastHER Ambassador, Maggie Jo Carsello, a fishing influencer and tournament angler from Madison, Wisconsin with the goal of inspiring women to claim their space on the water.
Improve Your Casting – Spincasting, spinning, baitcasting, or even fly casting, learn the proper technique from our team members with the latest St. Croix rods and SEVIIN reels at the onsite casting pond.
 
 Free Johnsonville Lunch – We’re always working to deliver our anglers the upper hand, and a full stomach! Our friends from Johnsonville will be here to help celebrate our anglers with premium Johnsonville brats and hot dogs!

 Free Line Winding – Anglers who pick up a deal on a combo or a reel at CAD can have the reel spooled with line at no cost (available to in-person CAD attendees only), courtesy of St. Croix, SEVIIN, and the University of Wisconsin Fishing Team!

 Warranty Service – If you’re visiting Customer Appreciation Day on June 21, here’s your chance to save time and money by getting your warranty claim processed in advance of your visit. Pre-register your warranty claim HERE before 5:00PM Central Time on Friday June 13. Bring your broken rod to the Warranty Tent at Customer Appreciation Day, pay a $30 In-Person Warranty Fee (half of our Standard $60 Warranty Fee) and pick up your rod!

Meet the St. Croix and SEVIIN Teams – At least 32 sets of hands come in contact with a St. Croix rod before it ever reaches yours, and there are a whole lot more that help design them and bring them to market. Meet the St. Croix and SEVIIN team members who share a passion for crafting the “Best Rods on Earth,” as well as a passion for fishing that matches your own. They talk a lot about the what’s and how’s of making rods and reels, but most of them really just want to talk about fishing and swap stories!

 Plan Your Trip and Stay Up to Date
 
Anglers can learn more and stay up to date with St. Croix’s 2025 Customer Appreciation Day event by following St. Croix on Facebook and Instagram, or by checking back regularly at stcroixrods.com.
 
For all kinds of great ideas, information, and assistance in planning your travel to Northern Wisconsin, visit the Travel Wisconsin website.

About St. Croix Rod
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly producing the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major American rod company to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned while owning and operating duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls, Wisconsin and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph®, Mojo, and BASS X, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, and Rod Geeks.
 

Lake Hartwell Treated Me Wrong For the Fourth Year In A Row Two Years Ago

And it continued last year and again this year, although i did get big fish this year with a pretty 6.8 pounder!!

I seem to have a special jinx on Lake Hartwell. Last weekend, for the fourth Potato Creek Bassmasters tournament in a row, I came in one place out of winning some money. Every year I seem to come up just a little short. Last weekend was especially close.

In 17 hours of casting last Friday and Saturday 11 members of the club landed 91 keeper bass weighing about 142 pounds. There were 16 five bass limits in the two days and no one zeroed.

Glen Anderson won with ten bass weighing 21.37 pounds and Mitchell Cardell was second with ten at 18,64 pounds.  Third place went to Kwong Yu with eight bass weighing 17.12 pounds and his 5.31 pounder was big fish. Raymond English came in fourth with ten at 16.27 pounds.

I caught ten weighing 16.13 pounds for fifth. The club pays the top four places.

I camped at Hartwell State Park at exit 1 off I-85 in South Carolina, only 11.8 miles from the tournament ramp.  It was very peaceful and quiet until Saturday when some folks came to the site beside me. They had two dogs that barked constantly.

In practice I tried to find some kind of pattern but caught only a few small fish. And in the tournament, I never got on any kind of pattern.  On Friday I caught one on an underspin off a bridge piling, two on a Carolina rig on a gravel bank, and two on a whacky rigged worm on docks. 

On Saturday I saw some fish schooling on top and missed two on topwater but landed one on a Sebile swim bait.  Later I got two on a Carolina Rig on a rocky point, one on a shaky head on a rock pile and one on the whacky rig. Both days I landed my fifth keeper with less than 30 minutes to fish. 

My biggest fish was a pretty spot but it weighed only about 2.5 pounds. Both days my smallest fish were skinny spots that weighed less than a pound.  I just could not get a bigger bass to help out my weight.

Well, there is always next weekend and next year!

The Finest Four Weeks For Walleye Fishing Start In Early May In Michigan

The Finest Four Weeks

  • By The Fishing Wire

From now through early June is arguably the best stretch to score walleyes on northern natural lakes

By Jim Edlund

Muskegon, MI – Spring is here – and with it, great Walleye Belt opportunities to put the smackdown on marble-eyes, which are more easily caught during this period than throughout much of the remaining seasons.

While walleye season openers vary from state to state (some states remain open year ‘round), early-season walleye behavior is similar wherever you fish, following their annual spawning rite that occurs when water temperatures are between 42- and 50-degrees accompanied by the right length of day and night (photoperiod).

First, following the spawn, male walleyes will stay in relative proximity to shallow spawning sites up to the first major breakline for up to a month, feeding opportunistically. Contrary to belief, they are not guarding the spawn site; neither male nor female accompany the biological mass after the spawning process. After quickly depositing their eggs, female walleyes vacate to recuperate in nearby, deeper water, a process that can take days to weeks, only feeding when the meal is easy.

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The Finest Four Weeks 1

However, combine something like a simultaneous spot-tail shiner spawn in the same locations and you’ll find a mix of both smaller males and good-sized females ready to feed after the metabolic drain of the spawn. Match the hatch? You bet. In many places (like Minnesota) the most popular live bait for early-season walleyes are spot-tail shiners presented on jigs. They aren’t cheap, but can literally be worth their weight in gold. Of course, you can also trap/seine your own to save money, but make sure you pay attention to AIS and legal restrictions before doing so, especially when it comes to transporting your own trapped bait. 

What makes for a good spawning site?

A good walleye spawn site typically comprises gravel substrate that the eggs easily cling to and provide the space for current or wind action to fertilize the eggs once the males deposit their milt. Rivers, streams, and creeks attached to main lakes are all good walleye spawn locations (and the areas surrounding), as are windswept shores, banks, and points or reefs on lakes lacking tributaries in and out that walleyes can utilize.

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The Finest Four Weeks 2

Location

Focus on the aforementioned areas whether you’re in waders, on the bank, or in a boat. Gravel shorelines are a no-brainer and farther out, emerging weed beds in 3-12 feet of water are often gangbusters with post-spawn walleyes. Windblown shorelines, too, can be key, where wind stirs up the bottom, attracts baitfish, and brings in hungry fish. Especially as weeks progress following the spawn, start fishing a bit deeper on the sand flats, targeting both sides of the first break or any bottom transition areas of sand to rock or mud to gravel.

Presentations

Given predominant post-spawn water temps under 55-degrees, slower presentations often work best. A simple jig and minnow is a mainstay – especially with a spot-tail shiner – but you can also catch fish on other types of minnows or a soft plastic fluke or paddle tail, as well as classic hair jigs. Just don’t overwork your presentation, carefully making bottom contact and hopping or twitching the bait with a slow cadence. Given depths under 10-feet for much of the period, 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jigs are most often used. A lot of anglers prefer longer shank jigs with a bait keeper for hooking and keeping expensive shiners pinned.

Although jig and meat or plastic get the most play, don’t overlook stickbaits like X-Raps, original floating minnow Rapala, Mad Scientist Tackle Predator Jerkbaits, Husky Jerks or Storm Thundersticks – actually, anything with a long, minnow profile. Especially fished in lowlight or at night, walleyes will crush minnow-shaped crankbaits, which emulate what they’re eating – typically spawning spot-tail shiners or young-of-the-year perch. 

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The Finest Four Weeks 3

Power Hours & Technology

While you can catch post-spawn fish during calm and sunny conditions, you’ll need to keep your distance to prevent spooking them. In clear waters, fish can often be spotted via polarized sunglasses, but that usually means you’re too close. This is where technology comes in. 

Sure, you can use forward-facing sonar, but with walleyes hugging bottom in most of these shallow areas, you’ll want to switch your transducer to landscape mode rather than forward. 

Side Imaging is really the ticket when locating walleyes on large shallow flats. Look for smaller pods of fish between a couple and a dozen and they’ll most likely be walleyes. Drop a waypoint, creep up with your trolling motor on low, and start casting from as far away as possible. If you spot larger schools of fish, say, 20-50 fish in groups, chances are you’re looking at suckers and it’s best to move on and keep covering water. 

To further optimize your time on the water, fish early morning, evening, night, and during windy/overcast conditions. And given these conditions, don’t be afraid to fish really shallow – as in right near shore up to about four feet. If there’s one thing anglers have learned over past decades, it’s that there are a lot more walleyes up shallow than we ever thought. With natural lakes coming alive with weed growth, all kinds of biological matter stirred up by wind, and the presence of baitfish – if the minnows are in skinny water during this time, the walleyes will be, too. 

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The Finest Four Weeks 4

The Right Stuff

When picking out a rod and reel from the garage for early-season walleyes, it’s best to keep things on the light side. A medium-light power, fast or extra-fast action, 6’8” to 7’2” rod is perfect, typically paired with a 2500 or 3000 size reel for long casts. 

I’m a big fan of the budget-friendly DAIWA TD Eye paired with a 2500-size DAIWA TATULA MQ LT spooled with 10-pound braid and a 10-pound fluorocarbon leader. If fish are super shallow, I’ll carry the same rod with a 1000 size TATULA spooled with 6-pound monofilament and tie my jig direct, the buoyancy of mono providing some extra loft to 1/16- or 1/8-ounce jigs in such skinny water.  

Take Home

The bounty of shallow, early-season walleyes in natural lakes doesn’t last long – about a month after the spawn, so best get while the getting’s good. Following this period, you’ll notice fish on or past that first breakline, and fish behavior and subsequent presentations need to be changed. So, have fun during the month of May, keeping mind of lake-to-lake slot limits, regulations, and walleye year class densities to determine what you keep for the fryer. 

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The Finest Four Weeks 5

SPRING WALLEYE GEAR from WHITEWATER

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The Finest Four Weeks 6

NEW Riparian Jacket FEATURES:

The Riparian™ Jacket is a hardworking, two-layer rain jacket built for ultimate weather protection. Constructed from tough mini-ripstop stretch nylon with a smooth polyester lining, it’s designed for durability and easy on-and-off wear. A dual storm flap design, combined with a waterproof, windproof laminate, and fully taped seams, forms an impenetrable barrier against the elements. The three-piece hood features multiple adjustment points for a customized fit, while hook-and-loop cuff closures help lock out rain. Strategically placed reflective tape ensures visibility in low-light conditions. AquaGuard® zippered handwarmer pockets keep your hands dry, while two chest and two waist pockets offer ample storage for gear. A heavy-duty D-ring provides a secure attachment point for your safety kill switch cord, making the Riparian™ Jacket a reliable companion for any storm.

MSRP $269.99

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The Finest Four Weeks 7

NEW Riparian Bib FEATURES:

The Riparian™ Bib features adjustable suspenders with a silicone grip-enhanced design and low-profile buckles ensure a secure fit, so you can focus on the catch not your gear slipping. Constructed from durable mini-ripstop stretch nylon with a smooth polyester lining, these bibs offer flexibility and comfort, while leg zippers make them easy to slip on and off. A dual storm flap design on the main front center zip, along with a waterproof laminate, fully taped seams, and zipper storm flaps, creates an impenetrable barrier against wind and rain. AquaGuard® zippered handwarmer pockets provide a dry refuge for cold fingers or a secure place to store your belongings. Multiple reflective tape placements on the back and chest enhance visibility from all angles. Two spacious cargo pockets on the legs provide ample storage for essentials such as your phone, keys, or an extra pair of gloves, ensuring everything you need is within easy reach. The two Velcro waist adjustments allow you to dial in the fit for maximum comfort and secure wear throughout the day.

MSRP $269.99

About Whitewater

Whitewater performance fishing apparel gives anglers distinct advantages whenever Mother Nature’s unpredictability conspires to ruin angling adventures. Whether faced with wind, rain, snow, sun, or extreme temperatures, Whitewater apparel equips anglers with the ability and confidence to overcome the elements, so they apply their focus and energies on fighting fish, not the conditions. Whitewater is a brand by Nexus Outdoors, headquartered in Muskegon, Michigan, USA. Learn more and order at whitewaterfish.com.

Gun Safety Means Handling A Gun Correctly Not Restricting Law Abiding Citizens’ Civil Rights

Gun safety does not mean what gun banners try to make it mean. It is not about restricting civil rights!

Griffin Daily News headline: “Democrats call for special session to address gun safety laws.”  Anytime you hear “gun safety laws” you can be sure the truth is “laws that restrict the civil rights of law-abiding citizens but do nothing to stop criminals.” 

    Each time a mentally ill person uses a gun illegally, the Brady “ban guns” Bunch sends out a fund raising email within minutes.  They hype all kinds of new laws and beg for money to lobby for their passage.

Many times I have responded to their emails asking “Please tell me exactly how your proposed new law would have affected this crime.”  One time I got a response referring me to one of their lobbying groups but when I asked that group I got no response. I have never gotten any answer to my question.

The reason they don’t respond is they can’t.  Their proposed laws often have nothing to do with the crime they are hyping, and nothing they propose would make a difference.

The hype de jour is “ban assault weapons.” That was tried for ten years under the Clinton administration. Contrary to lies by gun banners, if you go to unbiased sources, it had no measurable effect.

From https://www.propublica.org/article/fact-checking-feinstein-on-the-assault-weapons-ban: “There is no compelling evidence that it saved lives,” Duke University public policy experts Philip Cook and Kristin Goss wrote in their book “The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know.”

If their ultimate goal is to outlaw all gun ownership, and a few admit it is, they should propose a law to do that.  Of course that would be unconstitutional and would be about as effective as the current ban on heroin or the experience we had with banning alcohol during Prohibition.

Just know “gun safety” means handling a gun correctly, not restricting law abiding citizens’ civil rights.