July 15th, 2025
***Fishing Report***
Walleye - Walleye reports this last week have some anglers finding walleyes sliding back up in water as shallow as 5-6 feet. Here jigs tipped with half a crawler, leech or paddle tails and pitched to the shorelines has been very effective for anglers. Clearly not all walleyes are doing the same thing, especially this time of the year, so reports continue coming in of anglers finding walleyes with spinner rigs tipped with crawlers or leeches and worked off the edge of sunken islands, transition areas, points and weedlines in that 10-15ft of water range. There have been a few reports of trolling crankbaits working but that remains on the slow side yet. Perch, firetiger and gold color baits have been the way to go.
Smallmouth - Smallies continue to be the safe bet for many anglers as they continue to be aggressive after all these fronts keep moving through the area. As usual for this time of the year, top water fishing continues to be very good before 9am, for smallies. Anglers should be looking to current areas, large boulder flats and down trees for the most consistent action. Once the sun gets up anglers should be adjusting their tactics to wacky worms, chatterbaits, square bills, and spinnerbaits to keep catching smallies. Reports of smallie catches out around sunken islands continue to grow. Oftentimes these are some of the biggest smallies in a system.
Panfish - Both crappies and sunnies are being found right in thick weedbeds right now. Jig and twisters have been a safe bet here for both fish, but any kind of live bait definitely is working here too. If weeds are nonexistent on your lake look at downed trees. Not all downed trees are created equal so some will hold fish while others hold nothing at all. White, pinks and blues have been the best colors for panfish.
Stream Trout - Rainbows trout were easy pickings for anglers trolling small trolling spoons and/or small crankbaits over deep water. Good rule of thumb is that the brighter the better. Trout can be anywhere in 5-40ft of water so pay close attention to your depth finder. Anglers fishing from shore reported a little slower fishing than usual. Here nightcrawlers, fished 5-10ft under a bobber, red/gold kastmaster spoon or 2” white twisters were getting the job done.
Lake Trout - Lake trout reports were few and far between this last week, but this isn’t to say anglers aren’t catching nice lake trout. Large trolling spoons fished behind downriggers in 30-50ft of water were very effective. Anglers fishing from canoes mainly have been aggressively vertically jigging with heavy 5-6” tubes, while drifting over deep water.
Pike - Small pike continue to be a common catch for many anglers right now. Buzzbaits or large topwater baits fished early in the morning have been very exciting for early morning anglers. Like with the smallmouth, by 9am this bite cools off and if you want to keep catching pike, you go subsurface with large spoons, spinnerbaits and large minnow baits. Weedlines, mouths of shallow bays and areas where water comes into the lake, have been the best areas to fish.
A proud angler stands tall on the boat holdin' up a massive trophy smallmouth bass caught July 15th, 2025 in the Ely MN area near the BWCA – this bronzeback giant's dark back and golden-olive sides sparkle under the bright blue sky, big head gapin' wide with flared gills and spiky dorsal fin as he grips it tight in his light shirt, cowboy hat on, sunglasses glintin', boat deck with gear, calm lake water lappin' the hull, tall pines towerin' along rocky shores and islands in the backdrop – classic Northwoods summer scenery. The winning lure? A Strike King Spinnerbait – those flashy Colorado/Indiana blade combos thump and flash, cast to weed edges, rock piles, points, or shallow bays in 5-20 feet, slow-roll or burn with pauses to mimic a fleein' crayfish or baitfish, and smallmouth explode on it, especially sunny days when they're aggressive near structure feedin' heavy on craws and minnows post-spawn as water temps peak. Strike King spinnerbaits shine for smallmouth here in the Ely MN area near the BWCA – sharp hooks, durable skirts, and vibration draw reaction strikes from bronzebacks holdin' tight to cover or cruisin' flats. The cowboy hat, pines, clear water – that's the thrill of BWCA boat fishin' with explosive spinnerbait action that brings heart-poundin' jumps and fights. These smallies mix walleye leech jiggin', northern pike spinners, lake trout deep, stream trout flies for full summer fun. Head to Arrowhead Outdoors, voted #1 Bait and Tackle Shop in MN, for Strike King Spinnerbaits, smallmouth jigs, tubes, and summer setups to chase giant smallmouth, walleye, northern pike, lake trout, stream trout, and more. July bronzebacks like this? Get spinnin'!