Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, this weekend looks to stay pretty nice weather wise with a high of 50 and sunny today and 40 and sunny tomorrow. The week looks to cool down and bring some rain late week. We look to stay above freezing during the day until around the 27th and then we really start to drop in temp. Plenty of fishing to be had for anglers that want to get out! Not many folks out fishing anymore so the report may be pretty thin.
Musky–I was fortunate enough to get out all day Wednesday on an area lake to chase some fall fish, but we got skunked. Had a couple of fish come up and harass our suckers but nothing eating any baits. Such is musky fishing…. We were throwing bigger rubber baits, dive and rise jerkbaits, and minnow baits. We mostly fished deep edges and steep shoreline breaks. Suckers should really be the best over the next couple of weeks as we wind down the open water season.
Pike–Nothing to report on any pike catches, but pike should be in and around any weeds that are still green in shallower water. Look for pike anywhere from 5-12 FOW and throw everything at them. Smaller crank baits, live bait, and even spinner baits slowed down on the retreive can all catch pike right now.
Walleye–Not many folks targeting walleye right now either so if that’s an anglers preferred fish to chase they will likely have good spots to themselves. Walleye suckers jigged around deep structure or worked under slip bobbers is a good place to start. Deeper rock transitions from hard to soft bottom, or deep weed edges in roughly 10-14 FOW should be key locations holding walleye. At dusk those fish should move up onto shallower flats chasing baitfish, so anglers should work those shallow transitions as well.
LMB–Still no reports on a largemouth bite.
SMB–Nothing to report on a smallie bite, but targeting them should be very similar to targeting walleye. Look for smallies on those same deep rocky transitions as walleye and use the same live bait or jig/plastic combos as well.
Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Nothing to report on a panfish bite either, although from what we saw on Wednesday panfish are schooled up in basins right now. Find the shcools and use jigs and minnows or plastics to target fish.
That is all I have for this week’s report. They will probably get shorter until we get some ice! Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.
Greg