Here's my report (fairly long version)
I haven't fished south of the causeway in almost 20 years, and never this time of year. I really didn't expect to do very well. Everyone tells me that this is going to be a tough time of year. I received a few pms (thanks) and headed South.
I met up with Mika at dawn and we launched out of bay 41. The air temp is 49..brr with clear skies and light winds.
We started slow trolling a variety of bbs and harnesses, with a few cranks tossed in. Through a variety of depths with no action. We decided that because of the cold front that they wanted something even slower. We decided to drift crawlers through the deep water and bang....catfish, soon thereafter another and another...but not one other species was caught. Fishless at 10am, we decided to drift over a sunken island and we were into crappies, big gills and perch pretty quick. We would just drift over it and back troll back above it. After a while, I decided that I would try a jig a caught a short walleye. A 19.5" followed shortly. Mika gets a bite on his jig and is fast into a walleye nearly two feet long. A few more shorts and a ton of gills and a half dozen perch and crappies hit the ice. All from the same spot.
Next morning, drifted and backtrolled crawlers got a nice smallie and a good crappie along with scads of gills. Trolled cranks and caught a channel cat. headed in at 9:30 and had breakfast. got 2 dozen minnows. headed once again to the same spot and drifted minnows and caught crappies and perch until I ran out of bait. Went back to nightcrawlers and got 4 short eyes and a few more crappies and perch Headed in to cut fish at 5. For the most part, I had better success on all species between 10 and 3 (WEIRD) My chart plotter was almost black over the area. I didn't get snagged nearly as much as I expected, and judging from what I caught, next year is going to be a banner year for eater walleye there.
All in all, including the smaller keeper walleye, 2 small channel cats to try, a few deep hooked gills, I managed enought decent crappies and perch to feed 19 people on Saturday night with just a few left over.
Had fun, and I'm sure the inlaws will get the cabin again next year. And I'll be there....w_w.