Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, T minus seven days until fishing opener for ALL species including musky this year. Smallies are the only ones anglers cannot harvest as their season is not until mid June, the exact date I don’t recall offhand. We got some much needed rain Thursday evening into Friday morning and with the snowpack we had this year, lake levels look to be in great shape. I have been installing docks around the Quiet Lakes the last few days and if the shorelines are any indication, water levels are back to normal. They are calling for quite a bit more rain this weekend and the early part of this week with slightly cooler temps in the 50s. If the forecast for the opener holds true, I am seeing a high of 60 with partly cloudy skies. Could be a great weekend to kick off the season!
Just a friendly reminder to all anglers coming up for next weekend to renew their fishing licenses for the 2026 season. It is pretty simple to do online, however there are numerous places around the area that have DNR stations for license renewal (including hunting licenses, boat/atv/snowmobile registrations). Another thing I have noticed driving around the lakes is the number of trees down. Cabin/home owners or even buddies coming up to friends’ cabins for opener may want to bring some gloves and chain saw if they have them as some driveways may be blocked.
Water temps are still pretty chilly and I have not seen much for weed growth yet, however with normal water levels and somewhat of a normal ice out date, anglers should find fish in typical spots for the time of year. Post spawn walleyes will be off of mid depth edges during the day and coming up shallower at night. Perch/crappie/bluegill will be related to any new weed growth looking for places to spawn and for cover. Pike and musky can be found in these shallow areas as well. Musky most likely have not spawned yet and anglers will see them up very shallow this time of year. I personally will not be targeting musky until their typical opener Memorial weekend as I do not think pressuring a low density fish with already bleak reproduction rates is a good thing for the fisheries (but that’s a discussion for another time) but I am not sure how much luck anglers will have any way with muskies this early. I don’t think they will be expending much energy chasing lures down until they are in a post spawn period.
That is all I have for this week’s report. I just want to say good luck to the anglers who may be driving next weekend and don’t get to see the report, or anyone I may or may not see at the bait shop next weekend. I hope everyone has a great start to their Northwoods season! Have a great weekend, stay dry, and we will talk soon!
Greg