Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, for the most part we have stayed dry and this weekend looks to be no exception! In fact, today and tomorrow are both showing mid to upper 60s with at most a 6% chance of rain (which could mean we will see precipitation for sure, if anyone has listened to weather forecasts long enough😆). It does appear we will get a decent amount of rain Tuesday and Wednesday and then a little bit of a cold snap with high temps in the 40s for the rest of the week. A few overnight temps dip below freezing during the week, but shouldn’t have any impact on the lakes at all.

Some good news for anglers is that the DNR guys are installing piers at all of the public launches in the area, I know for sure LLL and Clear Lake (Spider Chain) have been done but can’t speak for any of the others. I know water levels are going to be a concern for many anglers and while most lakes are a little low, most are fishable without issue. The Chippewa Flowage is still way down although I have read posts that Xcel energy has cut off flow as much as possible and people are optimistic it will be at full pool by opener in a few weeks.

I still haven’t much intel on fishing as there still has not been many anglers out, but that should change with the weather getting nicer. My guess would be crappie are starting to push up into shallower water and getting ready for spawn. Look for green new vegetation and fish deep edges of those beds. Bluegill and Perch should also be in close proximity to those spots as well.

DO NOT FORGET that last year’s licenses are now expired! If you are heading up or heading out to fish be sure to get a ’24 fishing license, nothing worse than starting the year off on the DNRs bad side! You can order them online or stop in at Happy Hooker Bait & Tackle and purchase them there!

That is all I got this morning, have a great weekend and we will talk soon!

Greg

Good evening from the Quiet Lakes, giving you all an early report as we will be down in Balsam Lake bright and early for a volleyball tournament. Temperatures look to be on an upward trend, along with some rain Sunday through Tuesday. Those two things should take care of any remaining ice or snow we have in the area. It will hopefully also bring some much needed precipitation to the area and help get these streams and rivers flowing. The snow and wind we had the past week really put a damper on anglers getting out to fish as I have not heard of anybody going out at all.

There is still time for you to get gear ready before the crappie spawn really starts to heat up. Rods, reels, line and tackle should be rigged up and ready to go (especially pinkie jigs for crappie!). You will also do well on small Northland Mimic Minnows and the smallest sized Beetle spins. And after many years of my dad outfishing me, a simple gold #6 Aberdeen hook rigged with a crappie minnow under a bobber is a staple go-to for getting slabs in the boat.

I apologize for another short report, but this weather has been absolutely brutal for fishing. Just when it started to look good, we got reminded of March winters here in the Northwoods. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Talk soon,

Greg