Steiger Lake

[pikehunter78]

I'm gonna be fishing Steiger in Victoria for the first time this year. I usually get out there a couple of times a year, but hadn't had the chance yet in 07. Any reports? Has the weather/low water effected the vegetation growth, water condition or fish patterns? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

[chief]

Steiger is weedier than usual. Which is to say there's more floating gunk than in years past. The east side, in particular, is very tough to fish (even from a "slop" perspective), and, what was a nice little inside weed edge here is now crud. I suspect some of this is wind related, with the breeze stacking junk on the winward shores. On Steiger, wind has been known to relocate huge chunks of bog/cattails, essentially creating new shorelines. It was just 3 years ago that the launch was inacessible due to blockage by a hundred foot square of this stuff. On the other hand...the fishing here is still very good, and northerns, in particular, have been solid all summer. Trolling the weedline always works for all species, and all weed edge presentations are reliable here. The launch is is good shape for all but the largest boats.

[pikehunter78]

Thanks!

I got out there and took my Dad along. The water was definitely a little more cloudy and weedy with the low water and lots of hot sunshine for the algae. I have to say, you're correct as far as the fishing goes, though. it didn't seem to affect the bite.

Pulled in a couple of Northern in about 15 feet off the weedline, one was about 4 lbs, the other was just bigger than a hammer handle. But the catch of the day goes to my dad who maybe fishes once a year. He tied into a 5 lb Largemouth--it ate a 7 inch sucker minnow. I have a great picture but haven't figured out how to upload to this site yet. Not bad for a guy who fishes once a year I've seen some good bass get pulled from Steiger but that was by far the largest.

Other than that the fish were active. I tried some top-water lures at dusk and got a lot of roles and wakes. Not to mention a ton of surface activity all around the boat in general.

Not bad for 3 hours of fishing!