Trophy fishing at Silsby is great all spring and summer long. However tactics do change throughout the season. If you like sight-fishing in the bays and catching high numbers of fish then early spring is for you. If you like the good weather, fishing the weed beds and catching the heaviest fish of the year than the summer months would be more to your liking. Below we give you a basic description of what to expect during both times. Whether you choose the spring or the summer we are sure our trophy pike will create exciting memories.

June Fishing

Ice-out varies from May 20th to June 5th with the average being May 30th. Due to cold fronts that come in and out of the area, temperatures can range from 35 - 80 degrees, so bring layers of clothing.

The trophy pike are in flat shallow bays & river mouths. The big post-spawn female trophy pike are looking for the warmest bays. Find the warm water and you have found the active monster pike. This is the time of the year when sight-fishing is best as the trophy pike will be in the shallow bays sunning themselves.

The suckers spawn in and around the rivers and creeks usually starts a feeding frenzy for trophy pike. This time of the year we usually have the best success with smaller baits such as medium sized Johnson spoons, Daredevils, Mepps #5, Blue fox #6 and slow wobbling crank baits such as the Manns Minus One.

When the fish are inactive, a slow presentation of a streamer fly is just the ticket to turn those fish into bitters.

On all three lakes, Walleye are in 3-6 ft. of water and at the mouths of the many rivers and creeks. Bring 1/4 - 3/8 oz. jigs in white and chartreuse for all the walleyes you desire

July & August fishing

This time of year the weather is more stable. Fishing becomes more consistent with temperatures averaging 50 - 80 degrees. There are fewer cold fronts thus fish are less affected by the weather. This far North, the water stays cool so there are no mythical "dog days."

On Silsby and High Hill lakes, pike stay in the thick cabbage weeds in depths of 6-10 feet. Fish the edges of the cabbage and you'll catch trophy Pike. At his time the 45" pike that weighed 20 pounds in the spring are now 25 pounds and full of energy as their metabolism is at the highest peak due to foraging since ice out. This is the time to catch the heaviest fish of the year and many of our guests seeking the bubba bean trophy pike come year after year during the summer months!

The lodge record pike of 53.5 inches was caught in mid-August in the weeds. The big females have big meals on their diet at this time of the year so bring lots of big baits such as large Johnson Silver Minnows, Large (Musky size) Tandem spinner baits, Stick baits like Bobby baits, Reef Hawks, Suicks, and Mann's minus one super stretch.

Walleye are 10-12 feet deep and in the weeds, around reefs or points and caught easily with jigs and twister tails along with crank baits. They will also attack your traditional pike baits.