Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, it looks like we have an excellent weekend of weather on tap for the unofficial “end of summer”. A high of 80 today and then slightly cooler for Sunday and Monday. Thursday looks to cool down more and bring some rain but that is about it. The fishing slowed down a little bit over the last week, as we had some pretty good thunderstorms, lots of rain, and a major cold front early last week.
Musky–The cold fronts last week definitely had an effect on the musky bite. Lots of anglers were seeing followers or fish high in the water column but not eating. Those who caught fish seemed to do so on mid sized baits and in heavy cover. Fish were holding tight to cover and hitting baits on the pause. Fast moving baits such as bucktails will find active fish, however with the cooler weather slowing presentations down is not a bad idea. It is that time of year that dragging meat can start to be effective. Personally I think water temps are still a little warm for that, but we do have some musky suckers in stock for anglers wanting to fish live bait. Target ‘skis right now in and on weed edges or rocky points or timber.
Northern pike–Pike have still been active although it seems like they are all on the smaller side. Bass sized baits have been the most productive to catch pike so far this year. Pike are still holding in weed beds anywhere from 4-10 FOW and should continue to do so regardless of what the weather and water temps do.
Walleye–The walleye bite has been slow at best. Walleye have been scattered both deep and shallow, with smaller fish seeming to be on shallow structure and bigger fish holding a bit deeper. Jigging with minnows/walleye suckers is working to catch shallow fish, while deep running crank baits or crawler harnesses trolled at a slow pace is working to find deep fish. Look for edges and transitions in bottom structure in both cases.
LMB–The largemouth bite has been pretty good on a topwater bite yet. Frogs are working the best around lily pads and bulrushes, with prop/poppers/walk the dog styles working the best off of docks around dusk.
SMB–Smallies can be found on deeper rocky points and shorelines. Anglers are having some success on plastics ned rigged or wacky rigged, however we have had a good number of anglers in that have caught them on topwater baits such as Whopper Ploppers. Throw the top water baits on that same structure and hold on as top water strikes are no doubt the most exciting way for fish to eat baits!
Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Anglers are finding success in and around weed beds for all of the panfish right now. Small tube jigs, Beetle Spins, Mimic Minnows cast out and retrieved are all catching panfish. Live bait in the form of minnows or chunks of nightcrawlers under a float will also trigger strikes from panfish. Look for fish in the weeds anywhere from 3-12 FOW.
I forgot to mention above that water temps are holding in the low 70s right now from what I am hearing. We hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and doesn’t work too hard!
Greg