Fishing report 26 August 2023

Good morning, it looks like mild temps and cool for the next fifteen days, and do I dare say little to no precipitation!? Seems like every time I write that we get some rain every day. We got NONE of the super hot weather they were talking about last week here which kept the water temps at a good range. I am hearing right around the low 70s on most lakes right now. I am told water levels are also in a good spot and close to normal for this time of year. I was out on a local body of water Wednesday night and the water seemed a little low but not terrible. The fishing is hit or miss right now but this next round of stable weather should help that.

Musky–The musky bite continues to be good, we have filled the 2nd board and have a few fish down on the 3rd already! The bite hasn’t changed a ton as yesterday I had a couple of guys catch a nice 35″ fish on a Mepps musky killer. Fish still seem to be after smaller baits, although I have heard of a anglers having success on bigger baits such as Medussas and Bulldawgs. Fish still seem to be hovering around shallow weed cover from what I am hearing.

Northern pike–I don’t have much for a specific pike bite as it seems most anglers are catching them while fishing other species. Mostly bass and musky anglers that are having pike hit those lures. Shallow weed beds seem to be holding the most pike right now.

Walleye–I was fortunate enough to get out Wednesday night and chase walleye. We found fish deep and did pretty well trolling crankbaits. We marked a lot of fish we didn’t catch and almost all were suspended around balls of baitfish. My guess would be slowing down and using bottom bouncers/harnesses or lindy rigs along bottom would work well too.

LMB–I haven’t heard a whole lot on the largemouth bite in the last week or so, but with water temps where they are and most all other species being caught in and around weeds, bass should be relating to weeds as well. Look for lily pads along shorelines and work spinner baits, frogs and poppers. Working plastic worms in and out of weed beds can be great also. For suspended fish work spinner baits, small inline spinners and chatterbaits.

SMB–Not a whole lot to report on a smallie bite. I know they were hitting on topwaters for the last couple of weeks but not sure if that is still happening. Fish should be in deeper water right now stacked up on rocky bottoms off of points/humps that extend out into the basins. Deep running crankbaits should do well for smallies right now.

Crappie–Like I said we found piles of marks suspended deep on the graph and most likely those were crappie or other panfish. I have heard other anglers finding crappie out in the basins as well. Working small jigs close to bottom seems to be catching crappie right now.

Bluegill/perch–Bluegill and perch are still in shallow water and crawlers and leaf worms seem to be the most popular way of catching them. Waxies aren’t too far behind as far as live bait goes. Small jigs under bobbers in and around weed beds seem to be the way to go.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and we will be back next week with another report!

Greg

Fishing report 19 August 2023

Good morning, we got a lot of thunder and lightning the other night, and about an 1-1/2″ of rain. Nothing severe to report around here which is good. The week ahead looks good with temps in the 70s and 80s and very little chances of rain. The water levels have come up nicely in the last few weeks from the rains we have gotten and temps are holding in the low 70s on the lakes right now. The fishing report is kind of all over the place so let’s get into it…

Musky–The musky bite continues to be good as we only have 2 open spots on our 2nd musky chart. Almost 70 fish since opener, and I know others have been caught that didn’t make the charts! Lots of fish are still chasing bucktails and faster moving baits, and also have guys doing well on bigger rubber baits such as medussas and bulldawgs. It sounds like musky are still up pretty shallow and relating to weeds and other shallow structures.

Northern pike–The pike bite hasn’t been as hot as it was but anglers are still seeing pike here and there. Most anglers are getting pike on bass/musky stuff right now including spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, topwater frogs and small bucktails. Pike are also related to shallow weedy bays for the most part from what I am told.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been tough around the quiet lakes lately but I have heard a few reports of fishing being found in deeper water out in the basins. Trolling crankbaits to find active fish is a good way to start and if that doesn’t work slowing down and drifting/trolling with bottom bouncers and crawler harnesses or lindy rigs should also produce fish.

LMB–The largemouth bite is still hot with anglers catching bass on just about everything. Topwater baits are still working as are spinner/chatter baits and even live bait. Walleye suckers seem to be catching the bigger bass as far as live bait goes. Most anglers are finding bass relating to weeds also whether its weed beds in bays or lily pads along shorelines and even pockets of bullrushes.

SMB–The smallmouth bite has been excellent lately with fish hitting everything from small jigs to topwater baits. Fish seem to be holding in deeper water but coming up shallow to feed. Look for rocky/sandy shorelines that drop off to deep water.

Crappie–The crappie bite has probably been the toughest one lately. Many anglers are struggling just to find decent crappie and the ones that do aren’t having very much success catching more than just a couple. It sounds like they are schooling up in the basins and moving a lot. Work baits like small beetle spins, or jigs with platics/minnows down into the schools and pick them apart.

Perch/Bluegill–These panfish have still been pretty easy to catch in shallow weeds and off of piers and docks. Crawlers and leaf worms still seem to be getting it done for both of these species. I’m not hearing anything on any great sizes of panfish but they are consistent and can provide a nice fish fry after a day on the water.

Greg