Mayflies in July

 

While fishing on Hungry Jack Lake this week I was amazed by the amount of surface activity disturbing the otherwise calm water. At times the lake appeared to be alive with splashes and swirls erupting around our boat. I tried throwing a top-water lure, but the voracious little bass that were causing all of the commotion had mayfly on the menu—and nothing else.

Despite the hatch, we managed to catch a couple of 16-inch walleyes for dinner and their bellies were stuffed full of mayfly slime. Fish are opportunistic feeders, especially the smaller fish who can pack on some effortless calories during any type of underwater bug hatch. The muddy bottom bays with light wind exposure host the largest concentrations of hatches for the mayfly. The adult flies look like a giant mosquito with a long tail and are typically found hovering above the hatch site in large swarms.

Fishing can be tough during a massive bug hatch like this but there are a few tricks to catching a few despite the “all you can eat” buffet of suspended larvae. The first thing to understand is the tendency for bass and walleyes to suspend off of the bottom while eating the larvae. Trolling spinner rigs with night crawlers can produce more bites since these fish are already off the bottom.

It might seem obvious, but I tend to avoid areas that look too “hatchy.” There are plenty of bigger fish using rock piles for their hunting grounds, and these fish are less affected by the bug hatch. Saganaga walleyes are starting to show up on the big lake rock piles in search of minnows, herring, or anything else that moves. They don’t become hawgs by eating larvae alone, they need something with calories to become trophy-size.

The first walleyes to show up on the main lake rock piles are usually big and hungry. They migrate from the shallow bays to these shallow rock piles to get strong and healthy by eating fattier prey, such as dwarf herring or smelt. Emily Forseth caught a 31-inch walleye that fought like a 40-inch northern pike while fishing with us on the Fourth of July. It took long runs and lunged for both of our anchors when given the chance, like it had been caught before.

Hawg walleyes fight hard when the water is warm and their metabolism is high. I see this same scenario on Northern Light Lake as well. The walleyes that are still being caught in the spring time spots are getting skinny but the fish caught out in Trafalgar Bay, that are full of minnows, are chunky and strong. The mayfly hatch is a good source of calories for the smaller fish, but the big ones are heading out to cooler waters chasing after the temperature sensitive baitfish. The minnows follow the zoo plankton, the fish follow the minnows, and we follow the fish… so who is following us?

Hawg Report

Saganaga Lake

Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218-388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.