Elkhart Lake
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Elkhart Lake Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Bladed Jigs
Structure
Docks
Forage
Bluegill
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Finesse Hair Jigs
Structure
Docks
A Little late in getting this posted, many smallmouth were still on beds as of this outing, caught a few blind casting and slow rolling the hair jig. Saw some nice muskies just sitting up shallow at the mouth of turtle bay. Had 2 smallies over 3#. Hoping they get set up in the usual summer spots soon!
Species
WalleyeSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Shakey Heads
Structure
Docks
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Finesse Hair Jigs
Structure
Docks
Had a tournament in the pouring rain. Fish still don't seem to be set up for summer. Caught my limit shallow, with 4 of 5 fish coming from docks. Caught one on a weed edge in about 5'. Finished 3rd and won big bass with the pictured bass. All of our fish including the 5 weighed in were caught on a black Feider Fly by Outkast tackle.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Wacky Rigs
Structure
Docks
Water Temperature
77°
Was mainly catching them under docks but also did find the outer edge with livescope and was catching them also in 15-17 FOW
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Crankbaits 13'+
Structure
Ledges
Water Temperature
74°
tried Big Elkhart in the hopes of finding some of the big Smallmouth bass on Sunday morning. Bite was slow, hooked one nice smallmouth on a sandy weed edge in about 17' of water on a strike king baby z too on a ned head but it got off about 10' from the boat. Then tried a football jig and drop shot on the edge of the main lake sand bar that yielded just a few small largemouth. The excitement for the day came when I tried tossing a Strike King 6XD crankbait in chartruese perch and caught a 24" walleye! Also hooked another sizable fish that shook the hooks before I could get a look at it. Water wasn't as clear as Elkhart usually is, had some color I believe may be due to the storms that passed through the day before.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Ice Fishing Jigs
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Insects
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Structure Jigs
Structure
Humps
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
74°
Morning started off slowly catching a few short bass on finesse baits on weed edges. The bite picked up late morning when some cloud cover worked its way in. Working drop offs in 14-19 feet of water with strike king jigs with rage craw or structure bug trailers worked best. Strike king series 5 crankbait and red eye shad also produced a few fish. Had a large musky grab a nice smallmouth my fishing partner was reeling in until it snapped the line. He also raised a larger musky to the boat side on a football jig, it followed a few figure 8’s before getting spooked.
Species
MuskieSeason
Winter
Technique
Lipless Crankbaits
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
51°
I used a Yoyo retrieve over the top of submerged vegetation. This big fish took me for a bit of a ride because of the light line I was using and I followed it with my trolling motor until it tired enough to net. A nice way to end my season on Elkhart Lake.
