Page 11 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 6/24/2015

OutdoorsPage 11 June 24, 2015

al SHALLOW THINKERS

Clear Lake Washburn finds walleyes are changing locations
0900
Several other desirable fish species continue to improve, a correspond-
Clear Lake are currently cruising the shallows, as ing increase of aquatic vegetation
0-606-3552 well. During recent outings I’ve also should continue to promote spawn-
encountered largemouth bass, crappie, ing success and enhance the survival
Clear Lake perch, yellow bass, white bass, chan- of young and growing fish for de-
757 nel catfish and bluegill. Ongoing lake cades to come.
enhancement efforts are clearly paying
, Clear Lake off and it’s exciting to see a healthy bal- Enjoy more outdoor tales online
88 ance of species diversity returning to at Washburn’s Outdoor Journal at
Clear Lake. As water quality indicators iawildlife.org/blog.
Lake • 357-8118
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ore
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Washburn unhooks a 16 and one-half inch Clear Lake walleye taken in less than four-feet of water. Lake anglers are still encoun-
s tering good numbers of walleyes in shallow water near stands of bulrush and around docks or boat hoists. Photo by Florida angler,
Rolly Neve
., Clear Lake
17 Populations are moving to summer habitats

•High Speed Internet by Lowell Washburn Live walleye photo by Lowell Washburn.
•Phone There are a lot of deep thinkers
•Digital Cable TV in this world. Personally, I’ve never “In addition to prowl the shallows in and around emer- Come Home to
•Business Solutions been afflicted with the condition; have walleyes, increasing gent rush beds. During a memorable
•Wireless never once been accused of having deep numbers of Clear late afternoon outing last week, a guy Country Meadow Place
•Home Security thoughts. Lake’s most fearsome fishing just down the shoreline a bit
Though rarely considered a desir- underwater predator (didn’t catch his name) was “attacked” Let our staff mow your lawn, cook your
eet • 357-2111 able trait, there are times when being a -- the mighty by a monster musky while fishing an meals, clean your apartment
w.cltel.com shallow thinker pays off. The past few muskellunge – are opening inside the rushes in just three and do your laundry
days of walleye fishing on Clear Lake also beginning to feet of water. The battle was short. Af- Available Now!
mation has provided a dramatic example. prowl the shallows ter conducting an explosive run and
ertising Everyone agrees that fishing has in and around launching a boiling spray of water, Ask about our monthly special
ge call been phenomenal at the lake this year. emergent rush beds.” the toothy brawler deftly severed the
the: Walleyes have been cooperating with an eight pound line within seconds of be- Enjoy massage therapy, music therapy,
aggressive nonstop bite lasting for sev- -incher -- all in less than four-feet of ing hooked. Although the adrenaline walking club, gardening club, socialize,
131 or eral consecutive weeks. But overall suc- water. charged contest had been brief, the sur- Live 2 B Healthy and
porter.com cess has recently begun to lag somewhat In addition to walleyes, increasing prised angler had apparently gotten his “EMBRACE EVERY MOMENT.”
as summer heat and humidity move in. numbers of Clear Lake’s most fearsome money’s worth. The fisherman was still
Although catch rates are still respect- underwater predator -- the mighty plenty excited as he attempted to relate Call Kimberly Boyd, Manager, to schedule
able, larger fish – the ones anglers seek muskellunge – are also beginning to his story a few minutes later. At that your tour today! 641-423-7722
most -- are beginning to change loca- moment in time, I doubt that a full
tions. As populations move to sum- dose of horse tranquilizer would have 17396 Kingbird Ave., Mason City • 641-423-7722
mer habitats, anglers are encountering done much to calm his nerves. His ex-
increasing numbers of sublegal (short) treme encounter was just one example [email protected]
walleyes which means a lot more sort- of why Clear Lake can be an exciting www.countrymeadowplace.com
ing while working toward limits of fish place to fish!
exceeding 14-inches. Many fishermen
are settling for one or two ‘keepers’ Grissom says…
these days. Some are returning to the Be sure to check your
boat ramps empty handed. It’s obvious vehicle’s owner’s manual for
that the freewheeling spring free-for-all specific recommendations for tire
is ending. Time for anglers to reevalu- replacement for your vehicle. Some
ate tactics, which is where ‘shallowness’ vehicle manufacturers recommend
enters the summer fishing scene. 6 years, some recommend 10 years
Many anglers assume that all wall- as the maximum service life for
eyes scatter to deeper waters as soon as tires, including spares.
humid summer weather arrives. They
don’t. Some walleyes actually move to
shallower areas where food rich stands
of emergent bulrush attract and harbor
bountiful supplies of forage fish. For
anglers willing to probe these extreme
shallows, the results can be surprising.
Several days ago, gusty winds had
turned Clear Lake into a cauldron of
rolling whitecaps. The heavy chop
was giving local anglers -- which in-
cluded my brother Sterling -- a merci-
less pounding. Unable to locate fish in
the heavy waves, my brother eventually
moved to the lee shore where fishing
along the rushes provided a more man-
ageable solution. Casting his lure into
a mere three feet of water, he promptly
hooked into a couple of legal fish, in-
cluding a thick backed 19-incher. If
howling winds hadn’t forced him to the
calmer shoreline, those fish might still
be swimming in the lake.
A couple of days later, the lake
was once again engulfed in whitecaps.
Fishing alone, I remembered my broth-
er’s recent experience and decided to
explore the shallowest waters. Keep-
ing it simple, I began short casting a
1/16th ounce yellow jig head tipped
with a minnow. Fish responded al-
most immediately and it only took a
half hour to capture the makings of a
walleye dinner. The following morn-
ing, an hour and a half of shallow wa-
ter fishing produced even better results
when, in addition to several 13-inchers,
I also hooked five legal walleyes includ-
ing one line stressing 21 and one-half