We’re in the final stretch of the 2007 Lake Wissota fishing league. Sully and I found a much more difficult than anticipated bite on the upper part of the Chippewa River last night. We were greeted by really high flows, presumably the result of all the rain our area experienced the previous night. While these conditions normally set up a great bite on current seams and in slack water, we had a lot of difficulty getting fish to commit. Once dam operations ceased, we finally started to connect with fish, primarily walleyes, in deeper holes. Vertically-jigged crawlers on heavier-than-normal jigs were the ticket for us. Pitching and dragging didn’t do the job last night….those neutral to negative fish weren’t interested in chasing anything down.
Sully figured out the vertical presentation a little sooner than I did (or maybe I’m just more stubborn than him), and he turned it into his first paycheck of the season. I said that my goal was to put him in the winner’s circle, and I almost made it…Sully scored a second-place finish. He was beat out by a guy who (among other things) popped two Leech Lake strain muskies, the first two I’ve seen come from the stockings that were made over the past several years. These fish looked to be in the upper 20-inch class, and were dressed in the beautiful spotted patterns of the Leech Lakers rather than the typical Wisconsin strain bars.
One more league night next week, and I’ll have the chance to fish with Kevin Krumenauer who will be subbing for Sully while Sully is up on the boundary waters. Sully is well positioned for a top-10 finish, and as long as I can get a few fish in the boat, I have a chance to walk away with the Championship for the 2007 season. The standings for week 9 can be found here.
