Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, we have had a few rain showers over the past couple of days but nothing significant. According to the forecast, we may see some more this afternoon and tomorrow but we should be in the clear after that. The rest of the week looks great with temps right around 70 degrees. Lows down into the 40s at night should help bring the water temps down a little bit as well. The hot, sunny weather to start last week really boosted water temperatures; most lakes are in the upper 60s, and I have even heard of a few areas on some lakes reaching around 74. That is WAY too hot for mid-September fishing, and that has reflected in the bite.
Musky–A few anglers have been moving fish on live bait, but artificial baits are still a better choice right now. Bucktails, jerkbaits, and shallow-running crank/twitch baits would be some baits I would be throwing. Bait fish will be pushed up into shallow cover, such as weeds/timber/rock, and muskies won’t be far behind them.
Pike–Pike action has picked up a bit with the warmup and anglers are catching them on live bait, plastics, and top water baits. Look for pike in and around shallow weeds and target them with any kind of baits mentioned above. It is getting later in the year, so key in on still green weeds that are holding good oxygen.
Walleye–The walleye bite has been almost nonexistent on the lakes by us, mostly because anglers are focused more on musky right now, but also because walleye are tight to cover and hard to fish out of it right now. Look for walleye on deep weed edges on certain lakes, and deeper hard to soft bottom transitions on others. Jigging plastics or walleye suckers are great options right now.
LMB–The warm weather has bass active, and anglers are doing well catching them on nightcrawlers in and around large weed beds. Plastic worms and top water baits should still work for largemouth as well right now.
SMB–Smallies should be set up on rocky points or bars right now. Work the deep edges of these spots with minnows or plastics. On some lakes, smallies may be slightly shallower and related more to deep weed edges than rocks.
Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–I don’t have much on a panfish bite, but again, this warm-up should have fish pushed up shallow and back into cover. Jigs and minnows worked under a float are great choices for crappie and perch, while chunks of crawlers under a float can be key for gills.
That is all I have for this week’s report. Downtown Hayward could get busy today with Fall Fest, especially if the weather holds out. Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.
Greg