Go to Namakin and go deep with Lindy’s or go to Sullivan Bay and fish the weeds.
Go to Namakin and go deep with Lindy’s or go to Sullivan Bay and fish the weeds.
X2! Was up all last week on Namakan & did pretty good in the 17′-24′ range. Rock to mud transitions. @grubson will have more detailed info for what worked for us. He pretty much lived in his boat last week being the cabin captain. I just fished 
My advice is to break down one area of the lake. Look at each basin area or shallow bay as a lake in itself. There are fish to be caught all over the park but you’ll need a few different presentations depending on where you are too be successful. There are fish still shallow in cabbage weeds in the shallow bays but these fish are tough to get unless it’s windy or cloudy. I like trolling cranks or spinners for these fish.
The deep reefs, rock piles, and points are holding the biggest concentration of fish right now but they seemed to be in tight schools. Try to find transition from boulders and broken rock to mud in deep water 15-30ft. Live bait rigs moving SLOW got the most attention for me last week. Sometimes leeches sometimes crawlers.
For me last week the bite was good but not great, finding fish was easier than getting bit but with some patience and experimenting with speed and colors I was able to get plenty of fish. Lots of fish in the protected slot and lots of keepers as well.
Beanman, PM me if you want. I could suggest a couple areas to continue your hunt.
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Just my opinion of course but…Unless you like mosquito bites and dead heads I’d stick to fishing in daylight hours in VNP. The fish bite all day.
I’ve never fished Namakan but was told that the walleye are black like your pic suggests. On Kab, they are golden in color. Anyone know why this is? Both lakes are connected….correct? Nice report guys….i need to get back up there again!
I’ve never fished Namakan but was told that the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye are black like your pic suggests. On Kab, they are golden in color. Anyone know why this is? Both lakes are connected….correct? Nice report guys….i need to get back up there again!
They come in all colors on Namakan, black, gold, green, even blue! It depends on the part of the lake, depth, and water clarity.
I’ll post a bad pic of a gold fish that came from Namakan last week, shallow weed fish.
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Sounds like your putting in your time, sometimes the bite is just tough for a bit. I’d make sure your fishing the windy side of the reef/island/point where its blowing into if possible. If Namakan is an option, it always seems to be a better bite in July and August than Kab. My go-to is a lindy and leech, and slow this time of year.
Sometimes all you can do is plug away. Give it 30-45 minutes and move to the next spot if nothing. If your marking fish come back and hit them later/earlier in the day, they gotta eat sometime. If you want to try something different, try trolling some deep divers over 30-35′ of water (I prefer a mud bottom). The ones I’ve caught this way are usually “overs” but they’re fun.
I’ll be up on Namakan for 5 days starting Saturday. Hope they’re on the bite when we get camp set up 
Thanks guys, I flopped backwards in my boat last night due to a slippery vinyl floor(and being in a hurry) and landed on the edge of my rod locker. Can only only take small breaths and it hurts like hell to sneeze but I’d like to fish tomorrow since it’s our last day up here. I’ll let you know how it goes. Due to my rib injury I’ll probably be sticking to live bait fishing. I don’t care about not catching a lot but my kids aren’t patient like their old man.
Hey everyone, I didn’t get to fish on Namakan for more than 10 minutes because the kids were whining about it being too hot. I visited the Dr this week and did fracture one of my ribs in my fall, and it’s still bothering me quite a bit, but at least I haven’t sneezed for a few days : ) I threw together a video for the kids and thought I’d share. Note that this isn’t really my taste for music but I can’t throw a bunch of hard rock into a family vacation video. https://youtu.be/nayf7XzbTSI
Beanman,
Like other have said, sounds like you are trying different things and looking at areas. The July/Aug. bit on Kab or Namakan is generally good but fish are usually scattered. I tend to fish and move, or as Dutchman said…trolling cranks or lead lining can be very effective (although knowing where and how the structure sits is crucial). Clouds and wind help during these hotter summer times. Water temps are peaked. ONE thing I often see with guests pulling lindys or spinners is moving to fast, or catching a fish and moving down the shore 1/2 mile…WORK THOSE SPOTS! Go back and forth several times.
Love the information everyone else said…Namakan will have less crowds, but Grubson said “fish can be found all over the park”. Pay attention to the conditions and the structure you find or even don’t find fish…try sand and shallows, if I haven’t caught a couple fish there, next is reefs and deeper water structure…then maybe speed changes or presentation…
Hope that helped and I wasn’t rambling to much!
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