Fishing in the greater Ely area remains hot!
Despite some crazy weather patterns, many Packsack anglers have found success on Fall Lake, Newton and Pipestone Lakes. Plenty of large Walleye are still being caught. There were reports of some nice 22-25-inch Walleye were caught on Jackfish this last week, while one angler even pulled a 27-inch bug eyed monster from the Power Dam here on Fall Lake! While not all anglers are getting their limits, they are finding enough to eat. Walleye are still biting in 10-15 feet of water though the water temps are beginning to rise, and I suspect they will be moving to deeper water. Most folks are transitioning over to leeches versus minnows simply because the leeches are hardier in the warming water. Plastics have also been working for anglers fishing in areas where fresh bait is harder to carry.
Northern Pike are aggressively hitting spoons and spinners with a vengeance! Packsack anglers are finding the 32-38-inch range with ease on Fall Lake and Back Bay, while the 40-inch plus fish seem to take more finesse.
The small mouth bass are still on their beds in shallow water. Casting about anything at the shoreline seems to be producing fish, though many anglers are having the best luck with plastics like tube jigs and worms. Please keep in mind, releasing those large females full of eggs will help ensure a healthy smallmouth population.
Our paddlers fishing the non-motorized lakes have been having great success this last week as well. Crooked Lake remains a legit fishery, with most reports of large pike and walleye coming out of Thursday Bay. Multiple reports of some great walleye and bass have been caught on Wood Lake this last week as well. And, our first trekkers into Ella Hall were certainly not disappointed, multiple large 18+-inch large and smallmouth bass were caught as well as multiple 30+inch pike.
Anglers fishing the Ely are this next couple of weeks should be prepared for the bass action to remain steady through the spawn and post spawn. Pike should remain active while the walleye will begin to seek their summer homes.
Best of luck everybody and keep your eye on your own bobber!