Fishing Report and Top Bites in the West for May 10-31, 2024
WALLEYE: In general, walleye nationwide are pretty much 100% done with spawning. In the majority fisheries, the walleye are just starting to enter their summer patterns. What does this mean? It means separation. Your large and adult females will now move into suspended waters and will remain there until fall. Your younger fish and males will move onto structure and will be feeding. Top Techniques for fish on structure: Once walleyes first move onto structure we do best jigging for these fish from the first 10 days to about 2 weeks. Fishing a 3/8oz jighead and a 3” paddle tail in a neutral color like grey or white is a great approach. Routinely hit bottom and hop the jig 4” to 8” off bottom as you cast and jig. Once the fish are in a pattern on structure and have been there 10 to 14 days, the concept or approach to fish with bait comes in. Various techniques of live bait rigs like a Lindy rig or bottom bouncer with a revolve hook do well. Leeches or night crawlers are a great approach.
TROUT: Rainbows and cutbows that are native to the fishery will spawn in March and early April and be 100% post spawn by now. Stocked rainbows and cutbows spawn later and, pending conditions, will spawn in late April and early May. These stocked species are just wrapping up spawn now and slowly entering there summer patterns. As these fish enter their summer patterns you have two techniques or styles to catch them. Across the Rockies heavily including Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, these fish will have two feeding patterns. In the mornings roughly from 6am to 1pm these fish will be 100% focused on big life feeding on midges in 8-14 feet of water and majority of the feeding happens just off bottom as the midge larva starts to swim up. Still water fly fishing is the best option to catch these fish. If you don’t want to fly fish then the next best option is to swim 2.5” tube jigs just off bottom. Once you reach afternoon you typically get a breeze or wind that will stop the big hatch and therefore take that food source away. Once that food source is gone the fish then switch to feeding on a variety of food and hunt for food. We typically see the fish move up to the top portion of the water column at this time and are looking up. Casting and retrieving spoons is the best technique. Lures such as Kastmasters, Tasmanian Devils, or Bass Pro Flashy spoons are best. Long casts with a quick retrieve and an aggressive snap is key.
PIKE: Pike will spawn in April and are in a post spawn state by mid May. These giant predators are cold, tired, and grumpy. They typically look for semi deeper water to find a consistent temperature to hold in. I look on 10’-18’ and typically find them
In the middle of the water column. The trick to catching them is fishing a LARGE and SLOW presentation. Large 7” to 10” stick baits are best. Trolling is typically the ideal technique to get these large stuck baits to the desired depth but casting is an option. The main goal is to cast or troll and move the bait slowly. No twitch and minimal action is key. They want a big meal and they don’t want to work for it.