Water Temp 72 degrees
CRAPPIE:
Crappies are just starting to transition out to the edge of deeper mud flats but are in pods more so than schools at this point. Find crappie in 25-29 feet near cribs and brush piles. To find these structures, you have to put in the time to drive around using sonar. Over the years, the Rainy Lake Association has put these cribs all along the lake, and they are usually clustered together when found. This is where crappie spend their summers, so they won’t be far from them as they transition to their fall haunts. Once crappie are located, using small plastics and a 1/8 ounce Northland Fireball Jig or Puppet Minnow will work well. On windy days, you can sit right over top of them, but with little to no wind, it’s best to stay a minimum of 25 feet away from the fish. The bigger crappie generally hang higher above the cribs but go down below the school as they head to deeper water. When casting to crappie at a distance, less movement is best, so pendulum the bait over the schools with minimal jigging. When the fish get finicky, a good trick is to use a 1/8 ounce Fireball jig, attach a short 8-inch leader to the stinger hook line tie, and then tie a small 1/16 ounce hair jig to that. The 1/8ounce Fireball jig helps get the light hair jig down to the fish faster, and you can actually end up getting doubles on the same rig at times.
WALLEYE:
Rock reefs and rocky points are still holding fish in 22-29 feet. If it’s a reef that gets pressured, the fish will often hang just off the reef over open water but remain at the depth they were when occupying the structure. These fish respond very well to a 1/2 ounce Northland Smeltinator jig head paired with a 4-inch Northland EyeCandy paddle tail swimbait. A great all-around lure is a 1-ounce Northland Puppet Minnow snapped back to the boat across the rocks. With their faster fall rate, these heavier lures have been triggering hard reaction strikes from some of the bigger walleye.
Report from Donnie Obert of Obert’s Angling Adventures
https://www.facebook.com/p/OBerts-Angling-Adventures-100062745956538
