CONCHAS LAKE

 fishing was good using worms, small poppers and curly tail grubs for bluegill. Fishing was good using tubes, chigger craws, top water lures, crank baits and jerk baits for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. Fishing was very good trolling crank baits for white bass. Fishing was very good using crank baits, jig and minnow combinations and night crawlers for walleye.

Brush Island

 Minnesota side, there were real good reports off of the points near Brush Island and the red buoy near Brush in about 15-20 feet. There isn't much happening on the Flag Island flats yet since there were no bug hatches this week with the colder weather. There is still good fishing on the NW point of Garden Island and Little Oak is also reporting good numbers. They've had good luck with bottom bouncers and a spinner in about 15 feet of water.

Fish Finders

Developments in technologies that allow us to better find and see structure and fish below the boat, see fish and structure to the boat’s sides and navigate to fishing spots have allowed anglers to be much better at finding fishing spots and fish. Plus, these technologies can now be combined into a single unit.The Raymarine a128 unit I use lets me customize the touch screen to display up to four windows at once. My display shows windows that give me surface to bottom views of structure and fish, a window to view to both sides of the boat and a window to allow me to navigate using a Navionics map.  

Detroit River fishing

 The Michigan DNR reports that the walleye bite has slowed with the exception of the very early morning hours, and the best catches in recent days have come from the Canadian side on the northern section of the river. A heavy white bass run has those fish hammering any baits in the water in the lower stretches of the river. The white bass fishing has been outstanding from the River Rouge downsteam.

Spinner baits

 A good idea is to get a map of the lake or river this will show you how deep the water is and if there are any old roads that have been covered over. You should fish the areas that have been filled in near the dam with rocks and gravel. large mouth bass will look for craw fish that hide in the rocks. Bass will follow bait fish into the cover along the shore lines. If you are fishing from a boat make sure to be quiet as you approach these shallow areas. large mouth bass are very sensitive to sound.
  Try and use baits that look like what the bass are feeding on. Spinner baits are good to use near falling trees. Make sure to tip them with some kind of worm. In the gravel areas jerk baits and artificial baits that resemble cray fish will produce bass. If you are fishing grass beds try using baits that look like frogs.  Texas rigged plastic worm works well near shore lines especially near a drop off. Your fishing gear shoud be a spinning or spincast rod and real with eight pound test line depending on the type of cover you are fishing for large mouth bass.
  Try different color combinations with your bait. The closer you come to what the bass are feeding on the better. Make sure to vary your retrieves. Try a slow retrieve and use a jerking stop and start to simulate a injured bait fish. There are many different combinations a fisherman can use to catch large mouth bass.

Ely area fishing

Ely area: decent fishing in the area, with walleyes taking minnows in 6-8 feet of water. “White Iron Lake is doing very well, and Shagawa, too,“Some guys are getting big northerns up to 42 inches using suckers for bait, and I got a report off of Newton Lake of some 14-inch crappies being caught by some folks who were fishing for walleyes using jigs and minnows.anglers casting Rapalas along the shorelines have been having mixed results catching smallmouth bass

Jig fishing is great on Leech Lake

When fishing, look to the shorelines and points that the wind is blowing into and start shallow, 5-10 feet in sandy and gravel areas. Live bait is great on the opener; I prefer to use spot-tailed shiners, rainbows or fatheads.Jig fishing is great on Leech Lake this time of year but Lindy rigs also work great. With the water so clear on Leech Lake, the jig colors I prefer are chartreuse, dark green and multicolored.When fishing in shallower water depths, stay with an 8-ounce jig or weight on your Lindy rig. Drifting is a preferred way to fish on Leech Lake, but if there is not enough wind, trolling works well also.If it’s very windy, a drift bag can make a huge difference in your ability to stay on fish. Always be safety-minded and watch out for other fishing boats.

Broken Bow

Broken Bow: April 26. Elevation above normal, water 67. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass good on Alabama rigs, spinnerbaits and plastic baits at 4-8 ft. along flats, weed beds and shorelines. Crappie good on grubs, tube jigs and minnows at 3-5 ft. along weed beds, standing timber and shorelines. Flathead, blue and channel catfish good on crawfish, sunfish, stinkbait and live bait at 10-15 ft. along channels, the river mouth and river channel. Some of the best panfish angling of the year takes place around opening weekend. Crappies are usually in the shallows and are frequently in the spawning mood. Bluegills are also shallow and will readily suck in small jigs under a bobber.
For the first time, opening day anglers will be able to target both largemouth and smallmouth bass on a catch and release basis. This option provides a great opportunity for anglers who want to feel the tug on a line more than they want to clean and eat fish.