Fishing Reports

FISHING WITH THE GUIDES  with George Langley.  

Week of  5/4 to 5/11 25

FISHING WITH THE GUIDES with George Langley

What a fantastic start to the 2025 game fishing season! After a stretch of unpredictable openers in recent years, this one felt like a true return to form. The weather was nearly ideal - although we had a couple of cold mornings Saturday and Sunday, generally we saw mild temps, calm winds, and sunshine all Day Sunday. The fish responded just the way we hoped they would. In fact, for the first time in quite a while, many anglers were making second trips to the bait shop by Saturday afternoon.

Lake levels are higher than we've seen in recent years, and most landings are in great shape. You’ll even spot the first signs of green weeds starting to grow on some lakes - another good sign for what's to come. Water temperatures ranged from 48 to 55 degrees depending on lake size and sun exposure, which puts us about two to three weeks ahead of last year.

Walleye fishing was especially strong throughout the area. Most lakes had fish off the shorelines already, with them finished with their spawn and aggressively feeding. Large minnows like tuffies or bigger walleye suckers were working, but many anglers also had success with leeches. All in all, there was consistent action, especially for those who adjusted their depth throughout the day. Some anglers reported good numbers holding in the deeper holes on the Eagle River Chain, while others found success moving shallower toward evening. As the weeds start to reestablish, we can expect walleyes to move into that developing cover in search of food and shelter.

Northerns were active as well, particularly in shallow bays, around brush piles, and anywhere there's early-season weed growth. These guys are always eager after ice-out, and a lot of them are caught by walleye anglers – which can be frustrating, but it’s a good change of pace! We saw a lot of action with big minnows like chubs or larger walleye suckers.

Bass surprised more than a few people this weekend, with smallmouth and largemouth both cruising the warm shorelines. They're not spawning yet, but they're definitely feeding up, checking the beds, and can be caught on stickbaits and smaller jigs. Leeches work great for these fish, too.

Crappie activity picked up over the weekend, too. Fishing on the Chain we saw them transitioning between deeper holes and shallow wood cover, particularly during the warmer parts of the day on Sunday. With a few more sunny days, they’ll be coming in for the spawn. Now’s ta great time to target them. For best size, try using larger fatheads instead of crappie minnows.

Bluegill are still a while out from spawning, but they’ll be up shallow soon. Expect them to move in over the next week or two as water temps climb up – hopefully! When they do, shoreline fishing for gills becomes some of the most accessible and fun action of the year. Anyone can do it, from any pier in the area.

All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better opener. This is shaping up to be one of the best springs we’ve seen in years. With temperatures predicted to remain on a slow and steady Spring increase, and nighttime temps above freezing, we could see lakes heating up quicker than usual. Now is a fantastic time to get out there and enjoy the quiet on the lakes before the Memorial Day crush of traffic hits. The month of May is pretty magical out on the lakes.

Good luck and good fishin’!