May 19th, 2026
***Fishing Report***
Walleye - Water temps reached 53 degrees this last week and with that minnows continue to be the name of the game for walleye anglers. 4-12ft of water near current areas or shallow rocky flats, continues to be the best depth for walleye right now. Anglers should expect this bite to continue this next week, but signs of change are already being reported. Anglers fishing shallower lakes where water temps reached 57 degrees, leeches out produced minnows. Here paddle tails and twisters also out produced minnows. Gold, pink and black/orange were top selling colors this last week.
Smallmouth - Many walleye anglers reported this last week that smallmouth bass are really starting to show up on their hot walleye spots. Bass anglers should be looking for rocky shoreline areas that get a good amount of sun. This warms up the water a few degrees warmer than surrounding areas. Square bill crankbaits and suspending minnow baits have been red hot for triggering bites. Anglers should focus their efforts in 5-12 feet of water.
Pike - Pike fishing continues to be on the hit or miss side. When anglers get into the right bay, it's lights out! Get into the wrong bay, it’s really, really slow. Heavy winds are likely to blame here as the wind turns up the water and keeps it from warming up. The largest suckers, you can find or frozen baits like herring, smelt or alewives, fished under a bobber, have been very effective in the right bays. If bobber fishing isn’t your thing, large minnow baits or spoons have been catching their fair share of quality pike. Anglers should continue to focus their efforts in sheltered bays in 5-12 feet of water. Water coming in is a big plus.
Panfish - This up and down weather and high winds has made the panfishing challenging For anglers. Anglers focusing on shallower, dark water lakes have been having the best success this last week. Dark water and sheltered bays help warm the water as much as 10 degrees warmer than bigger lakes. This much of a difference means panfish are much more active. Anglers had great luck fishing with crappie minnows or small tube jigs, under a bobber near downed trees or warm bays on the northside of lakes.
Stream Trout - Stream trout reports were few and far between again this week, likely because high winds don’t make it very enjoyable to sit on the shoreline or in a boat. The few reports we got were of a slow bite. Nightcrawler fished about 4-8ft under the bobber, caught some nice trout. If the wind was blowing too hard, floating a crawler off the bottom, about 2-4ft was also effective on trout.
Lake Trout - Lake trout fishing reports were also few and far between. High winds again were to blame. Anglers reported that when they were able to get out over lake trout waters the fishing was pretty good. Anglers trolled black/silver or blue/silver deep diving crankbaits were very effective. Key depths were 25-40ft of water.
A young angler holds up two giant walleyes caught last week on an Ely area lake. Early open water fishing is producing good walleyes in the Ely and BWCA area. This is a customer we helped out recently and he put together a solid catch. Whether you’re after walleye, smallmouth, northern pike, or lake trout, the bite is on. Swing by Arrowhead Outdoors – voted #1 bait and tackle shop in MN – for fresh bait, jigs, line, and everything you need to get after them.