Cottonwood Seeds Starting To Foul Your Line

58 degree surface water
4-6 Ft of visibility
June 2nd and 3rd is free fishing weekend

• Bluegills have started to spawn in the back waters. If you must fish the beds, take a kid fishing.
• Largemouth are finishing up spawning in the Mill pond and Beyer's Cove. These fish should be ready to feed on spinnerbaits and top water.
• Smallmouth are on the beds on the north shore. I saw a lot of spawned out females yesterday. The males are still guarding the eggs and will be on the beds for the next couple weeks.
• Walleyes should start to bite over the tops of the emerging weeds. Tom Marquardt had a 7# walleye on Saturday. His fish came out of 8 ft of water on the north shore. The east end is heating up fast this week and should really start to turn on.
• Lake Trout fishing has been very good on the days the wind doesn't beat you up. Mike Norton showed me a picture of 12 lakers and 21 ciscos two days ago. The trout action should be good through the month of June.
• Northern have been scattered and should start to hang over the new weed growth. This will pick up as the visibility improves in the next two weeks.
• FREE FISHING WEEKEND-You do not need a license or a trout stamp this weekend. All bag and length limits still apply.

Winds Are Keeping Us On Shore

54 degree surface water
3-7 ft visibility
Carp are spawning in backwaters

• Bluegills have been productive on the east side of the inlet and Beyer's Cove. The action has slowed in town and will start to pick up again with the new weed growth.
• Smallmouth and Largemouth are starting to bed and we all should practice catch and release at this time. This two week period should be immediate catch and release without any tournaments because the male bass protect/guard the nest. A lost nest only takes a short time to succumb to the predators.
• Walleyes are very active on the wind ward shorelines during this time. I saw some very nice ''eyes'' this week which were caught on Husky Jerks and Shad Raps. You may cast or troll to target these fish but boat control was very tough with the high winds we have encountered.
• Lake Trout are biting good to great in 30-70 ft of water but the wind made it very difficult to get a decent presentation. Minnows or small spoons are the bait of choice.
• The Sanitary District is placing a new carp barrier on the inlet bridge this week. The new barrier is on the lake side of the inlet and from my point of view, it appears to be very well constructed. The carp have already started to spawn on the back waters and due to the time constraints on the placement of the new barrier the weed growth is already being up-rooted by the carp, so we will have a lot of dying vegetation this year which will result in a methane problem. Live weeds do not smell bad but decaying vegetation will. This is a major filtration system for the main body of Big Green so we have to hang in there to keep everyone happy. We need the 300 acres of the inlet to be weed healthy for our fishery and the nursery of our young panfish, northern, bass, and all minnow species. This is the ''Head Waters'' of Big Green.
• We are working on developing a fund raiser for Big Green. We will need a name for our organization. I have been contacted by a large number of people who would love to help with volunteer work or funding. This is all about Big Green and why we love it. All funds will stay on Big Green.

VHS Found In The Winnebago System

52 degree surface water
2 Ft of visibility
Bass are spawning in the backwaters

• Bluegills are active in the shallow bays and backwaters. Waxworms and small worms are working on a black ant or an ice jig. The east side of the inlet was really good last week and should continue to produce fish through out the month.
• Largemouth bass continue to provide great action in the canals, backwaters, and Beyer's Cove. These fish are starting to spawn. Remember the male guards the nest in all the sunfish species (Largemouth, Smallmouth, Bluegill,etc), so you must practice catch and release when these fish are spawning or the nest will be lost. Bass tournaments this time of year are not a good idea because the fish are transported away from their nests and if they return the nest will have been raided.
• Smallmouth have started to move shallow this week and it will only get better as we go. The fish I saw today were not spawning but I anticipate it will start this next week.
• Walleyes have been showing up on the east end shallows this week. Not big numbers but some very nice fish. I weighed a fish just shy of 10# at the store Saturday and it was still full of eggs.
• Lake Trout have been biting very well in 30-70 Ft of water on the bottom. Shiners or Sutton spoons have been producing some nice fish.
• Northern pike are up in the weeds chasing the small perch and small bluegills.
• White Bass should be spawning on the east shore this week. I saw a small number of fish caught off the inlet bridge this week.
• VHS was found in the Winnebago system this week. Big Green flows into the Winnebago system. The virus will not make its way to Big Green by itself due to the dams. The virus will arrive in some one's boat or bait. The virus can kill between 20 and 80 percent of the fish depending on the time of year and health of the fish. It does not appear to wipe out total fish populations. The virus can affect fish in different ways, not always killing the fish. The reports out on the web, state that the virus is not harmful to people.
• The Green Lake Sanitary District and the DNR will plant the Brown Trout tomorrow. I will be working with Charlie Marks and fish manager Dave Bartz on a local organization which raises funds for Big Green and its fishery. All aspects of the fishery will be addressed and all funds will stay on Big Green.

Opener Is Cold And Rainy

44 degree surface water
3 Ft visibility
Brown Trout stocking this week

• Bluegills are biting pretty well on waxworms and black ants in the Mill Pond and Beyer's Cove, any of the back waters which are warm should provide some good action. I saw a 10'' gill today that weighed .87 #.
• Smallies are just starting to come up from their winter depths. Largemouth can be found mixed in with the bluegills.
• Walleyes are still spawning and should finish up this week with the warm temperatures coming in. The netting crews took only 5 days to harvest 6 million eggs.
• Lake Trout may be caught in 30-70 Ft of water and with the low water temperatures they may show up even shallower.
• Northern Pike are done spawning and are very scattered as they try to recharge their batteries for the summer. Any shallow weed bed or drop off should have pike.
• The Sanitary District has taken over the responsibilities for the trout rearing facilities. If one word were to describe their work so far it would be "wow". There is talk about the district running all the stocking on Big Green which is not a bad idea considering the VHS problem and,all the money raised at the fund raisers would be spent on Big Green. We would develop a fishery board which would discuss how the money would be spent such as : Carp removal-Walleye raising and stocking-Trout raising and stocking-Crib building and placement with gps coordinates-Northern Pike stocking or habitat improvement-and any other fishery item which donaters would like the board to address. Local organizations have helped fund the trout ponds for the Sanitary District this yr.- GLA , Mike Norton, Dennis Walker, City of Green Lake, and others which I am missing but can be added once I find out who they are. Walleyes for Tomorrow made a commitment at an August meeting in 2006 to send $1500.00 to the Sanitary District to help support the program. Apparently their was a miss- communication from the main chapter of WFT about the funds because they have not yet arrived with much prodding. The people of Green Lake sent Fond Du Lac $7000.00 last August and it appears we are not going to get a return on your money. I believe it is time for the fisher-people of Big Green to take a stand and work with Charlie Marks/Sanitary District. If the Sanitary District is going to be the ''Face'' of our lake, all money raised will be returned to Big Green!
• Lots of green slime. It is here early so hopefully it will be gone early.