Fishing Report For Green Lake, WI

Current Fishing Report: Poor To Fair

A lot of walleye are being caught using new technologies, cutting down on the time it takes to locate them. Forward-facing, and side scanning, sonar is assisting anglers, fishing from a boat, to locate fish. Fishing is better as anglers can focus on areas with good numbers of fish. This is true for either trolling or casting. Anglers fishing from the bank still have to search the old fashion way, via test casting, until a school is located.

WINTER. This Winter, fishing for walleye has been pretty good, as it has been for the last few years. Before, during and after the ice, anglers report catching them in the main basin area, in 15 to 30 feet of water, along deep creek channel edges, rocky humps and ledges. Steep drops in the area toward the dam are also producing during these cold months. These same areas in 10 to 20 feet of water are classic spots during the ice fishing season. They primarily feed on small fish, staying close to the bottom. After ice-out blade baits, jigs, swimbaits, spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners, all work while deep trolling or drifting.

SPRING. Early Spring brings warming water in the shallows, and draws walleye here to feed, especially rocky areas and inlet channels. In Spring, work points, drop offs, submerged structure, rock ledges, and wind-blown flats adjacent to deeper water. The upriver end of the lake, around Silver Creek and Spring Creek, or on in-lake gravel bars is where many walleye spawn, starting in late February. Here, in 6 to 8 feet deep, they will spawn once the water warms to the mid to high 40's. When they are shallow, bright colored jigs, tipped with minnows or nightcrawlers typically catch them. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits are also working when walleye are up shallow. Afterwards, they move to 10 to 15 feet deep around points, flats, shoals and ledges, nearby shore, often staying in close proximity to their spawning locations. Main lake drop offs tend to produce some nice fish.

SUMMER. Water temperatures rise notably in Summer, and walleye fishing is good if you can get your bait deep enough. Early in Summer, walleye tend to concentrate in 15 to 20 feet of water. As Summer develops they descend in deeper water, around 25 to 30 feet deep. Throughout Summer, early in the morning, and from dusk to long after dark are good times to catch walleye a little shallower. At those times they move slightly shallower to feed in low-light conditions. Night fishing is often good in Summer, as well. When the bite is slow, grubs and nightcrawlers, fished just off the bottom typically catch walleye.

FALL. Fall brings cooler temperatures to shallow water, drawing walleye and baitfish into coves and bays. Walleye continue to be a major draw for anglers, even as the weather cools. Locals report catching nice walleye on long points, flats along the river and creek channels, and structure off shore. Annually, anglers report good results fishing deep weed edges and points in 12 to 20 feet of water. Jigs, swimbaits, spoons, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits are all historically good for catching walleye this time of year. Early in Fall finds them in 12 to 20 feet of water, in late Fall they hold 25 to 30 feet deep. Dragging jigs, bottom bouncers, or worm harnesses with nightcrawlers or leeches, around ledge drop-offs catches walleye fairly consistently. Watch for the bigger walleye to be slightly deeper than the majority of the school.

Current Fishing Report: Good

WINTER. Ice fishing for lakers varies from year to year. On good years, quite a few monster lake trout are caught. Lakers weighing 10 to 15 pounds are already being caught, and the rest of the winter should be just as good as prior years. Favoring water temperatures in the 40's, lake trout are now finding areas to their liking 40 to 60 feet deep under the ice, and 40 to 100 feet of water without ice. They often suspend 40 to 50 feet above deeper structure. They will typically stay at these depths throughout the cold months. Sharp drop offs into even deeper are hot spots for lake trout. Learning these areas before the lake ices over, can help you identify the better areas for ice fishing. Patient anglers willing to work slowly with spoons, jigs and bait can catch some nice lake trout through the ice, or in open water.

SPRING. After ice out, trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, completes the cold-water season. Spring weather finds lake trout, along with their food supply, in 30 to 60 feet of water. Because they are a bit shallower, Spring is an ideal time to catch big lakers. Inlets and in-flows of fresh water draw lakers to feed. They are caught in areas of the lake which have deep water, next to shallower, feeding spots. Shallow trolling, or fishing from the bank, is often good during Spring. Jigs and spoons catch the majority of these big lakers. Slow trolling with leaded line or downriggers allows small crankbaits and spinners to be worked in deeper water, which also produces some nice fish. Later in Spring they typically drop into deeper water, around 60 to 70 feet deep.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout to hold around the thermocline, generally in 70 to 120 feet deep. Early and late in the day, lakers may feed slightly shallower. Generally, they prefer to stay around the thermocline, throughout Summer. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps, points and ledges in the main basin, but are often caught in the deeper water around this structure. Heavy spoons and jigs, as well as very slow trolling, with leaded line or downriggers, produce many of the lakers being caught during Summer. In late summer concentrate on channel edges, troughs, and main lake humps.

FALL. Lake trout will be returning to relatively shallow water, as Fall weather cools the shallows first. They spawn in the Fall, and for a few weeks can typically be found 40 to 80 feet deep on gravelly points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish, perch or small trout are good choices. Cloudy days, early mornings and early evenings are the best time to catch big lakers. Later in Fall they return to 50 to 100 feet deep, or deeper. Spoons, jigged vertically within the target depth can entice bites along depth changes. Trolling at a quick pace with spoons, brightly-colored jerkbaits, and spinners, with a variety of rigging methods to get these lures to run deep. For big lakers, use larger baits.

Current Fishing Report: Slow To Fair

Smallmouth bass fishing is currently experiencing good results using the latest high-tech fish finders and forward-facing sonar. Especially anglers who fish from a boat, are improving their catch rate. Even when fishing is slow, it's easier to catch them when you know exactly where they are holding. The advent of new lures and equipment has also improved success for anglers fishing from the bank as well. Savvy anglers, who study smallmouth movements and patterns, continue to catch nice fish, even without the new technology.

WINTER. Winter has isolated smallies around deeper structure, points, flats and creek channels, often suspending in open water above these features. Before, during and after any ice fishing season, they can generally be found from 15 to 22 feet deep. Locals report catching nice fish around Blackbird Point and Pigeon Cove. Jigging spoons, tube baits, drop-shot worms, jigs and Ned rigs are tempting smallmouth to bite in deep water. I like to work these deeper haunts very slowly, as the bass are somewhat sluggish. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring. Smallmouth fishing can be very good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days.

SPRING. After ice out, when water temperatures rise into the 50's, smallmouth move from deep wintering spots to shallower water, just outside spawning areas. They feed heavily in 10 to 15 feet of water at this time, and are typically caught on jerkbaits, crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, and crayfish imitating plastics. Once water warms into the high 50's, they move into shallower water, 6 to 12 feet deep and create nests in gravel or sand areas, then lay their eggs. Some of the better spawning areas include protected, shallow flats and points along the north and south shores. Females then move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move into 15 to 25 feet deep, and feed aggressively. Crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, plastic worms, spoons and swimbaits are catching smallies during this period.

SUMMER. Smallmouth bass typically feed shallow early and late in the day, in 3 to 8 feet of water. They are being caught on topwater, crankbaits, swimbaits, Ned rigs and tube baits. Smallmouth bass here feed on crawfish, gizzard shad and small sunfish. They prefer rocky or gravel bottom areas, as this is where crayfish live. Popular Summer holding areas include rip rap at the dam, as well as rocky points, humps and structure near the thermocline. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, humps, and ledges around 15 to 20 feet deep. Often these deeper fish tend to school, so finding them can deliver some fast action.

FALL. Once Fall arrives smallmouth move into coves and bays 8 to 15 feet deep. They thrive in the cooler, shallow water, which is an ideal environment for them. Locals report that tube jigs, and drop shot rigs with small worms or shad shaped plastics, are popular in 10' water or deeper. Worms, jigs, deep-diving crankbaits, swimbaits, and slow-rolled spinnerbaits, are also successful, when bass are shallow to mid depth. Later in Fall, smallies move to slightly deeper water, around 10 to 20 feet deep.