Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!  First and foremost to honor the fallen and never forget the sacrifices they have made for our freedoms.  A close second is musky opener!!  Looks like some chances of rain all weekend, but we will see.  Cooler temps to start the week and then evens out in the low 70s to end the week. Water temps on the quiet lakes are still in the low 60s and the bite has not been easy.  Anglers have had better luck down on the Big Chip where water temps have warmed up faster.

Musky–Anglers should start this years musky season in and around weedy bays where panfish are congregated for spawning.  Lots of bait in one area means more predators in that area looking to feed.  Any and all baits will work for opener so start with what you have confidence in.  I truly don’t believe you have to start small as many anglers fishing crappie and walleye have already had musky smack or eat fish as they were getting them to the boat.  If they will eat a 10″ crappie or 14-15″ walleye right now they will eat a 9″ crankbait or Bulldawg or Medussa in the regular sizes. That being said, I would present my baits at different speeds to trigger bites.  Pull blades a little faster or slower and let minnow/twitch/crankbaits pause a little longer in between pulls.

Northern pike–Pike should also be in weedy bays or big weed flats right now.  They will certainly eat any musky baits thrown their way, but also bass sized spinner baits, smaller crankbaits and of course any sized minnow under a bobber or on a jig.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been up and down for a lot of anglers.  Some are finding them in shallower water related to weeds and shallow structure while others have found them out in deeper water off of rocky points and deep structure.  Husky jerks, Rapala BX minnows, and other minnow baits have been good lately.  Live bait always works with walleye suckers doing well and leeches starting to pick up.

LMB–Bass have been active and hitting a lot of live bait such as crappie minnows and fathead minnows under a bobber.  I haven’t heard of much of a bite on anything else yet.  Look for largemouth in warmer bays on the Northside of lakes that get the most sun.

SMB–I don’t have a lot on smallies just yet, but a few walleye anglers have tied into them up shallow right at dusk.  Bottom transitions from sand to rock would be good places to start and skirted jigs with trailers, or deep running crank baits will trigger active fish.  At low light/dusk flip a slip bobber out with a minnow or leech and see what happens!

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–The crappie bite has been sporadic at best and I don’t believe they have spawned on the quiet lakes just yet.  Anglers are still finding them in 6-9 FOW and nobody has seen them stacked up shallow yet.  By the end of this week that should change.  Crappie minnows are the best choice to catch them right now.  Bluegill and Perch should be in and around shallow weeds as well with the warming water temps.  Crawlers, minnows, and small artificial baits will all catch fish right now.

Have a great holiday weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, the weather looks to be all over the place this week, with highs today topping out around 80 and some scattered T-storms in the mix. Pleasant Sunday at 70 but a big cool down by the end of the week with highs in the upper 50s and lows in the upper 30s.  Rain also looks to hamper any outdoor activities as Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday all show at least 60-90% chances of rain.  Memorial weekend looks decent with temps in the mid 60s and less than a 50% chance of rain next Saturday, but that is a little far out to make an accurate guess.  Fishing has been pretty solid overall so let’s jump in:

Musky–Musky opener is next Saturday, but some inadvertent catches from other anglers are showing Musky are relating to mostly shallow weed bed/flat areas and actively biting smaller baits.  Yesterday I watched an angler on the chip have a big fish escort his crappie all the way to the boat for him.  That was right off of a bog so pretty shallow water and on the smaller size for bait.  

Northern pike–Pike have also been in and around shallow weeds and are eating just about everything.  Anglers are catching them on all sorts of live bait from nightcrawlers to walleye/northern suckers and on smaller baits such as Rapalas and Beetle spins.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been a little bit tougher than the rest.  I have heard reports from last weekend until yesterday of anglers finding walleye pretty deep.  Deep is relative as it relates to lakes, but it sounds like fish are relating to structure adjacent to basins.  Look for deep points, mid lake structure that has deep water around it and deep weed edges in bays.  Live bait such as suckers and leeches are working as well as deep running crank baits.

LMB–The largemouth bite has seemed to taper off a little bit and a few anglers have seen them up on beds already.  Sight fishing largemouth on beds is a blast and using drop shot worms or wacky rigged worms is a great way to target them.  Simply find some beds, look for fish protecting them and drop either style in front of them and most likely you will get a strike!

SMB–I apologize but I do not have much of a report on smallies right now.  They really aren’t being targeted and I haven’t heard many anglers catching them while fishing other species.  I would think they would be in close proximity to walleye right now on deeper structures that have rock to sand transitions.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Anglers are doing very well panfishing right now for all species, and in most lakes fish are shallow.  Look for fish in 2-6 FOW and I would start with live bait.  Crawlers and crappie minnows are hot right now and fish are hungry!  Artificial bait such as Gulp! minnows on the same set ups as live bait can be excellent right now too.  Other options include small beetle spins, small mimic minnows, and even small Rapalas will work.

That is all I have for this week.  We will be out at the Lake Chippewa Campground helping with Fishing Has No Boundaries so stop out and say hi at this great event! Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg