I have two words for my fishing trips so far this year. RAIN OUT!
Man, that weather hasn’t been cooperating! It seems like every day I have time off, it rains or at least looks like it’s going to!
Now, I am not complaining. We need the water. Every drop is needed to fill our reservoirs up! As far as the water levels, Pineview and Causey are spilling. Which means there is a lot of water flowing into Willard right now! That is great news!
In fact, they have put more water in Willard this year, than they have since I started working here at Smith and Edwards. That means the fishing is going to be completely different this year.
Fishing in High Water Levels
The last few years, the forage fish have not had any cover to hide in and have been pushed to open water. Well, with the higher water this year, there is plenty of cover for the minnows to hide in. This is good and bad as an angler.
This is a good thing because there will be plenty of shad and other forage fish for food the next few years.
The bad news is that this year, the wiper and walleye will be spread out and hunting for more prey. That translates into having to troll longer and farther distances to find fish. That can be a pain and a bit discouraging.
Never fear though, rumor has it that with high water comes BOILS, which are super fun to fish! One can hope, right? We will have to wait until probably July and August to see if we get boils this year, but here is what we should expect for June fishing!
Fishing Willard Bay
Fishing at Willard should really start to get good in June if you can stand the bugs. Mosquitoes will be in full force, so pack the bug spray.
Another good option is the new Huk Gear shirts or Under Armor shirts that we have in stock. They are long-sleeved but breathable, and have cooling technology in them. Check our fishing shirts out!
As far as lures and bait, mussels will continue to be great from shore. Also, try some Rapalas and other shad imitating lures around the submerged structure. Wiper and walleye will be hanging out close to the vegetation, waiting for shad to stray from cover.
People are still catching crappie from shore as well. Rapalas in the shad black and silver or blue and silver should work great. Click here for Rapalas and more lures.
If you are having trouble finding walleye, you may need to run a bottom bouncer and worm harness. With the new high water, the walleye will for sure be deeper most days. Don’t forget the planer boards either! They can be the difference from catching fish and not!
Have you seen the pelicans at Willard yet?
Fishing Pineview & Mantua
Bass fishing should really be picking up at both of these reservoirs in the next few weeks. I have had reports of bass on beds and some that haven’t made it to their beds yet. Definitely a great time to try and catch some good-sized bass from shore or boat.
We just got in our new line of Zoom baits in and any of the colors will be worth trying. The flukes are a great swim bait that can drive bass crazy. You should also try pitching some brush hogs or Carolina rigging a lizard as well. All are proven ways to catch fish all summer long!
Show me what you catch!
The annual Free Fishing day is coming up: Saturday, June 11th. That’s the same day as our Range Day event – so go fishing in the morning, send me a picture with #smithandedwards so I can see it and add it to the Braggin’ Board – then head out to the Perry Three Mile Creek Range to shoot our guns & ammo. Have a great month out there!