We are definitely transitioning into the summer fishing season now. The water temps are hitting 70 degrees almost anywhere you go, even on the main lake on the East End, and we are starting to catch fish more consistently out on main lake shorelines and points. The bays still hold fish too, of course, but we're not completely limited to that game anymore. Most active fish are still rather shallow, however, so I'm still sticking to that 6-12 feet range most days.
The primary weapon of choice now for the foreseeable future is the bottom bouncer and crawler harness, which brings back the old "which color spinner" competition amongst all fisher people. I'm not a huge color guy, but sometimes it matters, and for what it's worth our boat has had the most luck with small to medium size and orange, green, or blue spinners in standard water clarity and some hammered gold when the water is a bit dingy. We're also cranking up the speed now around 1.2 - 1.4 mph.
I'm also having more success with perch-colored crankbaits as those little guys have started getting more active, especially along weedlines. Sometimes I'll pull only cranks, but typically it's a bonus fish thing where we throw one out way back as we troll spinners and take turns bringing in the occasional crankbait fish along the way.
It can still be a little challenging finding consistent spots with consistent bites, but as the fish continue to sync up into these summer patterns, that should only get better and better each day now. Some days we still have to move around a bit, but it's becoming easier to catch fish in multiple locations.
If you're thinking about a trip, now is definitely the time, and things should be pretty good now right through August! We still have some July spots open and a good chunk of August, so drop us a message, and let's go fish!