This month, we will see the water warming and species becoming more active. The only problem is, as the weather gets nicer the pleasure boaters will be out again in force. For the weekend angler this means getting out early in the morning before the traffic gets heavy.

May is the time to catch a bunch of nice bluegills, and these can be found in channels, shallow bays and weed beds. An ultra-light spinning rod, a spincasting rod and reel combo, a cane pole or fiberglass model will all work for these fish. A pole will eliminate the need to cast and then you can vertically drop your bait into a hole. When you get a bite, just pull straight up and swing the fish into the boat. I use 4-pound-test monofilament line in a low-vis green

For bait, red worms, waxworms or small garden worms on a plain hook are all deadly. You can also use small ice-fishing jigs baited with a waxworm or a red worm. For catching larger-sized bluegills, a baby leech is a big bluegill-killer. The north ends of lakes have nice weed beds and the weedy channels attract a lot of bluegills. Channel Lake, Lake Catherine and Lake Marie can are excellent choices. There are also some good channels on the south side of the Chain that also hold a lot of bluegills like Ackerman’s off of Fox Lake, The T-Channel off of Pistakee Lake and Carpenter’s off of Nippersink.

Largemouth fishing is really good throughout May. And as water warms, the fish in the main-lake areas will complete their spawning ritual. If you like to bed-fish you can usually catch a few on black plastic lizards, a favorite on the Fox Chain. A variety of soft plastics can work too such as tubes and craws. You can also search shallow back channels and bays for post-spawn fish defending the small fry. A double-willow leaf spinnerbait fished through the area can result in explosive strikes. An original Rapala Minnow twitched on the surface can also draw exciting strikes. Square-billed crankbaits, swimbaits and bladed jigs can all be deadly too.

Cover water to find the active fish and try the main-lake weed beds, which will also start producing numbers of nice-sized bass. Every lake on the Fox Chain can be good for largemouths. The shallower south ends of lakes will have warmer water and darker water; the north-end lakes are cooler and clearer.

Walleye fishing is consistent now. Pulling live-bait rigs over gravel flats and main-lake points is a great presentation. To rig it up, use a medium-light-action spinning rod. Berkley FireLine in a 6-pound test is ideal as it cuts through the water and helps you maintain bottom contact and gives an excellent feel with minimum line out. You can use either a three-way swivel to a two two-way swivel to create a three-way rig. Using two two-way swivels seems to reduce line twist better. For a dropper, you can use a jig from 1/16 ounce up to 3/8 ounce depending on the depth and activity level of fish. Use monofilament line to tie the rig too. Trilene XT at 8- or 10-pound test should be ideal. From your jig, tie a 10- to 14-inch section of line to a two- way swivel. This is the dropper part of the rig. Tie up a bunch and store them on a rig keeper. For the leader, use a plain hook and a bead, a floating jig head, a plastic twister tail or a snap and a small minnow bait like a number 5, 7 or 9 Floating Rapala. Tie this to a 3- to 5-foot section of line to a two-way swivel. Again, you can tie up a bunch of these and store them on a leader keeper. To tie the rig, run your main line through the hole in the swivel on your dropper line and tie one knot to the swivel on the leader line—you now have a deadly three-way rig. You can bait your rigs with nightcrawlers, leeches or minnows. You can also slowly pull this rig while maintaining bottom contact. This rig can also be pulled with great precision along weed edges and breaklines.

For trolling, concentrate on water 8 feet deep and shallower. Rapala Shad Raps, Berkley Flicker Shads, Storm Smash Shads and Salmo Hornets are all ideal. You can run all flat lines or you choose to run some baits off planer boards. This is also a great way to put multi-species fish in the boat. Nice eater-sized walleyes between 14 and 18 inches are common on the Fox Chain, and taking some home for a nice dinner is a delicious bonus.

Muskie fishing really begins to take off with warm weather. The north-end lakes are the best because of the natural larger weed beds. Channel, Catherine, Marie, Petite, and Bluff are by far the best.

Small- to medium-sized bucktails, such as the Bucher 500, Musky Meyhams Baby Girl, Mepps Musky Killers, and the Rizzo Whizz, are great early-season choices. For topwaters, the Bucher TopRaider, Cisco Kid Topper, and small walk-the-dog-style baits like a Zara Spook are deadly and are for fishing over weeds. A 6-inch minnow bait can be used for twitching over weed pockets. On sunny days, lures with chrome finishes really shine, but if it’s cloudy, use more natural colors like a perch, a sucker or a walleye. In really dark waters, use a firetiger, an orange or chartreuse.

Another presentation that heats up at the end of May and into June is shad-bait trolling. Bagley Monster Shads and Rapala Super Shad Raps are two favorites. There are other brands that should also work as well.

Flat-line trolling should include six rods with no problem for two anglers. Muskies trolling rods with line-counter reels spooled with 80-pound-test super braid is ideal. Petite, Bluff, and Lake Marie are the best lakes for this presentation. Start out trolling shallow from 4 to 5 feet and then progressively work deeper until fish contact is made. Trolling speeds from 3 to 7 mph are common, but experiment with speed and with depth. When you catch one, try to duplicate what you have done to accomplish multiple-fish days. On good days it’s possible to catch five or more muskies. Their population is strong right now with fish at 40 inches.

Throughout the month you can catch white bass on windy points or in the Fox River. The channel catfish seem to be caught all over and provide awesome sport. The crappies, for the most part, are gone from the shallows, but once they are found in deeper water they will still bite well with almost no fishing pressure.

The Fox Chain is heating up now so take advantage of the opportunities.