Tommy Zinda, Arkansas and Wisconsin, Fishing Reports and Conditions

FISHING REPORTS: (for even more information, check out the FORUM page)

5/5/08 Well, another opening game fish season began this past weekend. Ice off on all area lakes came just in time. Small lakes of 300 acres or less were ice free up to a week before Saturday with the largest of lakes out only on Thursday, some on Friday. Heavy rain Friday cleared ice from even the largest lakes. Very windy and cold temps only in the mid to high 30s were seen Saturday and kept many anglers home. Sunday was a bit better with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s, but again, very windy making boat control tough. Surface water temps area wide ranged from 41 to 47 degrees on most lakes. Fishing success was moderate to good depending on anglers' experience. As usual, area flowages led the way. Both the Willow and the Rainbow Flowages have about normal water levels and that's a great plus. Staff guide Kenny Breezer reported a decent bite on the Willow with nice keeper eyes both days. My choice was the Rainbow on Sunday as I sat out Saturday due to the inclement weather. Pat and I popped a fine limit of male eyes from 16 to 10 inches, with an additional few keeper northerns and a bass that we, of course, released. Surprisingly we did much better on Rapala X Raps than we did with our jig and minnow combos. Staff guide Dave Lang and his sons remained on his home water of Minocqua Lake both days and reported moderate success on eyes. A dear friend and client Steve Goetsch had his annual outing with his buddies on Lac View Desert in Phelps over the weekend and reported real good success there, too. Surprisingly, we all found the walleye spawn to be pretty much over. Both Kenny and I on the flowages caught all males, no females at all. On the Willow, Kenny said all males were dry, but on the Rainbow, half of the nice males I boated were still full of milt and actively looking for more females. On the other hand, the guys on both of the big lakes boated mostly all spawned out females in the 18 to 26 inch class. That was strange, in that you would expect just the opposite with the warmer water of the flowages. One thing was the same regardless of what water you fished. All fish caught were very shallow in water of only 2 to 6 feet close to deeper breaks. Also, the windy shore lines did much better than where the wind was not blowing. For some reason, northerns were not on a major bite, but those that were caught were full of perch when cleaned. The few who were out for crappie over the weekend did pretty well in shallow bays using plastics in old weeds. I guess the most surprising thing to me is the fact that the walleyes have just about completed their spawn already with the colder than normal water temps this year. Even though the big lakes still had ice as late as Friday morning, the shorelines were ice free for almost a week and feeder streams were ice free, too. This allowed eyes to move shallow and find the 42 degree water temps necessary to spawn in. For the next week or so you will continue to find your eyes in this very shallow water. Very little new green weed growth will be seen for a week or two, but look for old cabbage. Either rocks or this old cabbage will produce the best. On dark water, the bulk of your eyes will remain very shallow all day. On clear lakes, they will back off into 10 to 15 feet on clear sunny days. Continue to play the wind and fish the areas the wind is blowing into, as this wave action keeps the fish shallow. On flowages especially, cast Husky Jerks and X Raps as well as using traditional jigs and minnows. This opening week is a slow week for me in guiding and my son Brad from Appleton is joining me. We will be checking out a lot of different water and of course I'll share our success with you through this report. See ya next time. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Monday, May 05, 2008 at 07:52:32 (CDT)

4/29/08 Well folks, here I am back in the Northwoods of Wisconsin a couple of weeks early this year. The record floods in Arkansas sure put a damper on our bite there. Predictions from the Army Corp of Engineers are for water in Greers Ferry not to recede to normal until possibly mid-summer. We traded beautiful weather in the 70s, green grass, leaves on trees, flower, etc, for sub-freezing and snow when we got back to the Northwoods. However, that gave me some time to get lots of chores I've put off for years done around the house before the big game fish Opening Day on May 3rd. Speaking of Opening Day, the colder than normal spring here has delayed ice off on our 3600 lakes in Vilas and Oneida counties. In the past couple of days, we have seen ice off on most lakes 300 acres in size or less. There is little hope to see the large lakes like Tomahawk or Trout to be ice free by opening day, though. The good news is we will have plenty of open water to fish this weekend. Walleyes, of course, will be just beginning their spawn, but northerns will be done spawning and very active. With the walleye spawn just beginning, action will be found in shallow water, mainly on rock shore lines or points. Active males will be the main bite for a week or two, but you will score a few spawning females, too. Actually, a week of early ice off or a week of delayed ice off like this year makes very little difference in the bite in my opinion. All opening weekends are about the same year after year. The type of water you pick for the opening week of fishing will be the key on how to score big. Dark water or flowage water will find eyes remaining shallow all day long close to spawning rock areas. If clear water is your choice, look for eyes to be very shallow at night and back off into 15 to 20 feet adjacent to these rock areas during the day. No question that 1/16 oz jigs and fat head minnow combos will produce the bulk of your catch. Leeches will be at a premium this year as ice still covers Minnesota lakes where the bulk of our leeches come from. Anyway minnows will still far out produce leeches until at least mid May, as leeches naturally will not swim freely from the mud until that time. The other method that will produce a lot of fish is casting shallow running crank baits like Rapala Husky Jerks or X Raps in shallow water. Again, your choice of water will be critical in successful use of this method. Dark water will produce night or day, but clear water will only produce at night. For best results on very early season eyes, pick the numbers lakes for action on smaller fish. It's true, big, deep, clear lakes will produce a few trophy females but don't expect a lot of action on those types of lakes until spawning is complete for a week or two. My choice for Opening Week will be area flowages or at least river type water in lakes that are fed by rivers. Of course, flowage landings will be very crowded opening weekend, but those of you who can spend weekdays angling will find plenty of room to do your thing. As usual, you will find very, very little new green weed growth yet. If you do find any green sprouts at all in your favorite water, there is no question you have a hot spot. Sometimes even old weed growth from last year, even if brown cabbage, will hold fish. In lakes without wood or rocks, old weed growth is the only structure forage fish can hide in from predator fish. If walleyes are tough for you opening weekend, target northerns or jumbo perch. Both are done with their spawn and will be hungry and feeding aggressively. Another species to target is crappie. They will be actively feeding in very shallow bays with warmer water than the remainder of the lake. Simple 1/32 oz jigs tipped with small twister tails under a bobber will work very well. These crappies will be in and out of these bays as they will follow perch fry and other minnows that are present in these shallow bays. One day you will enjoy a fast bite, the next you won't have a hit. So move around a lot until you contact a feeding school and you will limit out. After a very long winter for most of you, it's time to get excited and join us in the Northwoods to celebrate another fishing season. Come on, catch the good life with us in beautiful Northern Wisconsin. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 09:24:56 (CDT)

4/15/08 Well folks, as much as I hate to, we've decided to throw in the towel a couple of weeks early and head back to the frozen lakes of Northern Wisconsin. The game fish season opens there on May 3rd and should be a good season there. With the heavy snow melting we should have a much needed increase in water in our lakes there after a number of drought years. The lake here remains at an all time high and almost impossible to fish. It's a sure thing that the lake will not see normal depth until well into mid summer. Most all Corp Parks are closed and only a very few landings are useable to access the lake. White bass is the only species right now that are predictable, still spawning in the far reaches of feeder arms. Once these fish finish their spawn and move back into the main lake, even they will be hard to locate. With all the additional water, game fish are extremely scattered and hard to locate. Regular hot spots are simply void of fish at this time. With all the flooded buck brush and trees in shallower water, these game fish are every hard to access. Species like walleye and cat fish, which rarely surface feed cannot be reached on bottom due to all this heavy cover. Even the best of snagless lures and jigs will not penetrate this cover. Bass, white bass, and hybrids that will rise to the surface to feed are the species to fish for. Surface hard baits that run no deeper than 4 feet, used over the tops of this cover will produce. We have been picking up a few scattered walleye by using jigs and crawlers right on the edge of the heavy brush in 17 to 20 feet of water. However, a consistent bite has note been found. The bulk of the fish are tucked back into the cover and inaccessible. All the strange weather here this entire season has made this a tough winter with only a few stretches of hot fishing. My associates, Cody Smith and Tommy "Toad" Cauley, will keep you informed throughout the summer months as to fishing progress on Greers Ferry. In the meantime, until my return here on Nov 1st, I'll be reporting on my Wisconsin fishing. To all my southern friends, see ya'all soon. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 07:42:40 (CDT)

4/10/08 Conditions on the lake have changed very little with all the recent rain and storms. If anything, conditions are worsening. We will see record high water here for sure this year. 483.93 is the record set back in 1973 and water is still rising here. Water remains very muddy in the whole north portion of the lake. Debris and tree limbs are every where and unpredictable as wind pushes those logs all over the place. Fortunately, the entire south portion of the lake south of the narrows has much clearer water and much less debris. Most of our lake landings are unusable, but enough remain open to get to any portion of the lake. Fishing as a whole has been very unpredictable for all species except white bass. The very high water has scattered schools of game fish. Most every species is right in the flooded trees and buck brush. This makes it impossible to get to the bottom in anything shallower than 25 feet. Even the best weedless jigs will not penetrate those jungles. With all that wood structure for game fish to feed in, normal mid lake rock bars and points are void of fish. Areas where we always mark bait fish and game fish year round are absolutely void of any fish at all. Live bait slow presentations I use almost exclusively are worthless. Therefore, slow trolling shallow running hard baits, like Rouges, X Raps or Husky Jerks have been the ticket for me. Troll them right on the edge of 20 foot buck brush tops and you will score fish. Trolling is working because it's necessary to contact these game fish, as they are very scattered and not in tight schools like normal. Yesterday for the first time, we witnessed buffalo carp bumping sides of boats in major marinas and beginning to spawn. This is a full week or two behind schedule this year. This signals the best fishing is just ahead. We are producing 1 or 2 walleyes and a couple of bass and even a cat fish or two every day. But certainly not smokin' 'em as normal in April. The one very bright spot has been the spawning white bass and hybrids. The far arms of all major feeder streams and even minor arms are clean and white bass are up in big numbers. However, each day is different. Weather fronts and water current have been changing things day to day. One day you will see surfacing of spawning fish all over in shallow buck brush. The next day, not one surface at all! On the days they are active, easy limits are being taken. These days a 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig and 3 or 4 inch twister tail will kill them. Color preference change, too, but purple or yellow seem to work best. On the days that are tougher, troll an X Rap in silver or grey ghost color in 10 to 20 feet of water over the tops of the heavy buck brush cover. On these days, the active fish are scattered and you will contact prespawn fish moving to spawning areas or those that have finished their spawn and are moving back down river. Again, expect white bass to be your main bite for now and enjoy the action while it's here. See ya next time. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 10:11:53 (CDT)

3/30/08 Well folks, not a lot of good news here on Greers Ferry. The lake remains over 13 feet over normal pool with all the flooding. Additional rain is falling at the time of this report. Possibly up to 5 inches the next two days. Not what we want to hear. Because the White River is at 100 year flood stage, no additional water can be let into the Little Red which flows into the White. I had hoped by this week the water would recede, but it will not. Because the lake level cannot be dropped, very murky muddy water remains on the entire north portion of the lake,through the Narrows, and into the big south portion all the way to Cove Creek. At that point, water clears to the dam. The north portion of the lake remains littered with leaves, branches, and, yes, even whole logs which are simply just floating around out there. As the wind switches, so does all this debris. Be careful, as hitting one of those logs could be disastrous in a bass boat running 70 mph. The one piece of good news is up all the main and minor feeder arms. Water is now 57 to 60 degrees and flushed out with clear water. You can reach the farthest reaches of these arms with ease. White bass and hybrids are up into as little as 3 feet and in a full spawn. Any where around buck brush is producing limits of big fish as fast as you can cast to them. 1/4 or 1/8 oz jigs and plastics are really producing with shad color sassy shads probably the best of all. Our choice has been Rapala X Raps in silver or white colors trolled or casted using an erratic retrieve so they don't run any deeper than 4 feet. When the fish hit, it is with a vengeance and those whites are nice. Most in the 2 lb or better class. Other than this species, all other fish are very scattered and hard to locate. We have been finding a few walleye and bass up these arms, too, but can't seem to find a concentration. So, all is not doom and gloom if you're satisfied with white bass. I expect this action to continue for at least a week or two. Hopefully this rain will stop and lake levels will drop, but I don't foresee this in the near future. Well, it's time for me to hit the water. See ya next report. Good Fishin'
Tommy Zinda <tadpole@g2a.net>
- Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 07:25:42 (CDT)