A CRANKED UP APP, AN OLD PANFISH & MORE BLIND MELON

Coming off the nicest weekend of the summer, fishing reports are blowing up with more time on the water (and fish coming out of a post-spawn funk across much of the state) resulting in better catches throughout the region.  The Minnesota muskie opener produced a few noteworthy fish as well that made their way across the interwebs and twittersphere. Check out those items and more in today’s Daily Edge!

DAILY CONDITIONS:

WEATHER:
Warmth continues until weak front lowers temps a bit early Tuesday morning.
Today: Mon 6/5 – Still warm, slight chance of thunder late? Hi 89, Lo 55, Winds SE @ 16 mph.
Tomorrow: Tue 6/6 – Winds shift to NW, chance for rain first half. Hi 80, Lo 60, Winds NW @ 11 mph.

SOLUNAR:
Monday, June 5, 2017
Sunrise: 5:49am Sunset: 9:33pm
Moonrise: 5:46pm Moonset: 4:11am
Overhead: 11:16pm Underfoot: 10:54am
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (87% Full)

EDGE HOUR: 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.  The lunar times just aren’t in our favor today, but a shift in the weather will align with a rising moon to give you a bump in the action just after work.  Otherwise, get up early for moonset and sunrise or stay out late for the overhead moon.  The evening shift in the wind and rising cloud cover should  make the more accessible 5 pm hour better as well.

DAY RATING:

THREE THINGS

GET CRANKIN’!   Need crankbait dive data?  There’s an app for that.  Precision Trolling Data’s app (a bit pricey, but my guess is it’s a fraction of the cost of that bait collection of most trolling junkies) for both android and iOS can set your phone up with the dive chart for a vast array of crankbaits. You can select the varieties you use the most and have the info available at a click.  The company also caters to the print-it generation with stickers that can be easily applied to a crankbait box, so you’ll have the info at hand as soon as you pop the lid!

OLD ‘GILL.  After Blair Chapman’s “record” walleye from Wood Lake in 1959 (another story altogether), did you know that the second oldest state record in North Dakota is the bluegill?  The record of 2 pounds 12 ounces has stood since 1963, caught by Bud Hystad of Velva, ND from Strawberry Lake in McLean County on October 17 of that year. Having seen but a handful of 10, 11 and 12 inch pannies, it’s hard to imagine a bluegill that weighs nearly three pounds, particularly this far north. No length measurement was submitted with Hystad’s record.

DRY DAYS AHEAD.  Keep the sprinklers going and hope for the best for hatching upland birds, as dry conditions will continue to dominate the forecast.  NOAA’s 8-14 day precip models show below average rainfall for much of the state for the next week-plus timeframe.