NHS FISH REPORT

Everything you need to know to plan your FISHING TRIP to Boulder Jct.

NHS RESOURCES

NHS PRO STAFF

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PRO TIPS

LAKE INFO

WEATHER

Fish Report

Spring: May 22nd– May 25th

LAKE CONDITIONS

Water temps are steadily climbing through the 50s. Temps will vary lake to lake but with the warmer weather trending, water temps should hit 60 quickly.

FISH REPORT

THE RECENT SCOOP

The holiday weekend is starting off with a bang! Local anglers and guides are reporting excellent walleye and musky catches across the Lakeland area over the past few days. The fish are settled into highly predictable late-spring patterns, and a major holiday warm-up is about to send the action into hyper-drive.

Musky - EXCELLENT / ACTIVE SHALLOW PATTERNS

Pattern: The early season bite is holding strong. Muskies are locked into shallow cover, patrolled heavily in 3–7 feet of water inside dark-bottom bays, near downed shoreline timber, and around the first emerging green weed beds.

Top Tactics: Stick with smaller spring presentations. 6-inch glide baits, small bucktails, and twitch baits are producing the most follows and strikes. With air temps climbing over the weekend, an erratic retrieve with frequent pauses will trigger the most aggressive fish.

WALLEYE - HIGH ACTIVITY / POST-SPAWN FEED

Pattern: The post-spawn feed is rock solid. Walleyes have transitioned off the spawning shorelines and are stacking up heavily on 8–15 foot gravel bars, rocky points, and first breaks.

Top Tactics: Jig and minnow combos (walleye suckers or fatheads) remain the top producer. During high-sun periods, slide down the breaks or target the windward shorelines where bait is pushed. In the evening, switching to slip-bobbers on shallow rock flats is the ticket.

PIKE - VERY AGGRESSIVE

Pattern: Pike are patrolling the shallow reed beds and emerging lily pad stems in 2–5 feet of water.

Top Tactics: High-action baits like gold or silver spoons, inline spinners, and shallow jerkbaits are getting crushed. This is a fantastic, highly reliable choice for non-stop action all weekend long.

PANFISH - GOOD / SPAWN WATCH

Pattern: After an early-season temperature stall, the crappie spawn is primed to break wide open. With a massive warm-up hitting this weekend, expect crappies to flood the shallows and actively get on the beds in shallow wood and reeds over the next 48 to 72 hours.

Top Tactics: Downsize to a 1/32 oz. jig with a plastic split-tail or a live crappie minnow under a sensitive pencil bobber. Target sheltered, north-shore bays where the water catches the most sun.

Largemouth Bass - Largemouth open

Pattern: Both species are actively staging for the spawn. Smallmouth are holding on secondary rocky points and gravel structure in 10–18 feet, while Largemouth are pushing into shallow, woody bays and backwater marshes.

Top Tactics: For Largemouth, try a chatterbait or swim jig ripped through the new vegetation

Smallmouth Bass - CATCH & RELEASE ONLY

Pattern: Bass are starting to stage for the spawn. Smallmouth are holding on deeper rocky points (10–15 feet).

Top Tactics: Hair jigs and suspended jerkbaits are working beautifully for Smallies.

PRO-TIP FOR THE WEEK

"DOCK ETIQUETTE": Ramps will be busy. Be courteous: pull into the staging lane to unstrap, load your gear, and check your plugs before backing down the ramp. Once on the water, remember that shallow spring muskies and spawning panfish are incredibly spook-prone. Keep your big motor back and rely on your trolling motor to quietly sneak into the strike zones.

Good luck this weekend, stay safe, and enjoy the holiday on the water!