Dave B
07-29-2012, 09:13 AM
We got back from Camp late last night. Fished from Sunday through Friday. Water temps were in the upper 70s when we got there, got to 80.5 by Tuesday, and dropped down to 75.5 at the end of the week due to rain and East winds on Thursday. With the high water temps early in the week, a pretty good algae bloom was going on in Witch Bay and was starting to affect the east end of Andrews. On Friday, that had moderated nicely. Weed growth is very different this year. The Hayfields is largely weed choked (which is typical for this time of year), but the entrance to Trapper Shack doesn't have nearly as much weeds as usual, and the north shore of Moore Bay doesn't have nearly as much nice cabbage as usual. Most of the week, the temps were in the mid 80s or higher, but winds were out of almost every direction. The rain on Thursday really dropped the air temps. Ordinarly, I fish primarily for muskies. This year I was up there with family, so we fished for everything. Walleye were in their typical summer patterns and could be quickly located in the 25 to 32 foot ranges on most reefs and points. Groups in camp were catching 50 to 100+ fish per day hitting the spots in Andrews. Vertical jigging seemed to be what most people were doing, but we did see some bottom bouncing. We caught only 1 walleye (23") casting crankbaits on rockpiles. We were able to find some bigger walleye mixed in with the larger schools, but usually the bigger fish were either shallower or deeper. We got a 28" out of 40' of water, and had a 25" class fish on (but not in net) out of 25'. Worms were best, but fish also were caught on gulp alive leeches. Northerns were almost non-existent for us. We caught only a few while either fishing for bass or muskies. I suspect the high water temps had something to do with that. A few of our group spent some time casting the weeds in Witch Bay for little northerns with no success. Muskies were a challenge most of the week, but were coming on very strong at the end. We talked with a couple of guys from the Hunter family who had been there for 4 or 5 days before us, and they were catching fish, but weren't seeing many. In order to get fish, it sounded like they were down-sizing their baits substantially. We fished most of our best, typical spots on Sunday and didn't see a single fish. We started seeing a few on Monday and a few more on Tuesday. After the rain cleared out on Thursday and the wind settled down in the evening, the fish really seemed to turn on. We made contact with a 50"+ fish that night on jackpot, and then had 2 more 50"+ fish on (but not in the net) on Friday evening, and were seeing fish on the usual spots all day Friday. One of our group who stayed and fished Saturday morning had another 50"+ fish on before 10 a.m. yesterday. It seemed like the cooler water temps really got the fish up on the rocks and active, and really turned on the big girls. The big fish we caught was on a jackpot (pic attached if I can figure out how to do it), and the other big fish hit on double bladed bucktails. I suspect a lot of good quality fish will be caught in the next few days if conditions stabilize. The real highlight of the trip was the smallmouth fishing. Thanks to help from Frank, our group really hammered the bass. We litterally caught dozens and dozens of quality bass (15" and better). The biggest for the trip was an 18.5" fish, but had a number in the 17"+ range. The fish were still up on the boulder shorelines in 3' to 8' of water. LOTW is a truly world class fishery and the lake is always giving you something. You just have to be willing and able to take advantage of what the lake gives you on a given trip. One year we killed the big walleyes. Another trip it was big northerns. Other trips its been the muskies. This year, the highlight was deffinitely the bass. The best way to get dialed into what the lake is offering is to accept the help offered by the Witch Bay pro staff. Over the years they've been great to us, and this year was no exception. They turned us onto the bass. Speaking of staff, I saw one of the other posts where a guy said the new staff was great. I would like to echo that sentiment, but add a little. Gail and Steve do a great job, and they are able to keep and maintain good people around them, and each year add some new ones that carry on the tradition of excellent service. We all have lots of options when it comes to vacations and even places to stay on LOTW, but my group keeps coming back to Witch Bay in large part because of the people who work there. Thanks for another great trip.