St. Germain Area Report May 22

[Pete Stoltman]

Today was quite a mixed bag as I went out to do some scouting with no particular target in mind. Water temp was hovering from about 60 to 62 degrees. Crappies were all over the place in shallow water. Most of these were in water from 1 to 4 feet. Downed timber and docks were absolutely loaded with fish. There were about a gazillion little guys but every now and then was able to pick off a decent sized crappie. Also found largemouth bass hanging in the same areas around the crappies and some lurking in the emerging weeds. Most of the bass I took were on a 1/16 oz. jig with a white twister tail. Fish were not biting agressively and found most fish hitting on a pause during an erratic retrieve. Managed to land a couple decent largemouth but a lot more in the 10"-12" range. If I were going out to target those crappies I would probably suggest using something like a Mini Mite or tiny jig with a one inch twister tail. Smaller crapppie minnows would do the job too. The fatheads I brought were probably bigger than most of these fish wanted to deal with. I tried some small leeches to see if they would respond to those but they didn't want anything to do with them.

Next tried some rock bars to see if smallies were active. I had one fish follow right to the boat but didn't strike. That was it for smallmouth action. I think the temps aren't warmed up enough for them just yet.

Later tried a walleye spot and managed a couple of decent eyes and a nice perch in that mix. Got a surprise by boating my first musky of the season. It was a little guy about 26" that absolutely slammed a fathead minnow on a jig. Not a monster fish by any means but a load of fun on light rod and 6 lb. test mono.

Looks like things should shape up to be a pretty good holiday weekend. Good luck to all and be safe out there.