Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, just a tiny of bit of snow covering the grass at our house this morning and temps showed 27 on my truck.  I am seeing a low temp of 16 degrees tonight, however folks should not panic as we are back into the 40s and even seeing a 50 degree mark by next weekend.  Water temps are still pretty warm, as I am hearing low 40s on lakes such as Lost Land, Teal and Spider, and I saw 50.9 on Round lake when I was on it Tuesday.  Water levels are still way down on most lakes so use caution in shallow water or rocky areas. One more thing to note, is most of the public boat landing docks are now out of the water as well.

Musky–Muskies should really be putting the feed bag on for the next couple of weeks as water temps continue to drop.  Live bait is always a great choice this time of year and if you can find still green weeds and fish those deep edges of those, that is a good place to start.  Trolling can be an excellent way to reach fish off of the edges or out in the basins as big fish will chase schools of perch and crappie.  

Pike–Pike should still be in and around weeds, and still green weeds that are holding some oxygen are key.  Small suckers (either northern or musky) are good options for pike right now, and even throwing musky lures will catch pike right now.  Look for pike anywhere from 5-15 FOW.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been good on deep edges mostly on walleye suckers on a jig or under a slip bobber.  Target walleye right now anywhere from 10-20 FOW depending on the lake you are on and the type of structure it has.  Jig/plastic combos can be another great choice this time of year to catch walleye, just slow the presentations down a bit.

LMB–No report on a largemouth bite.

SMB–Not to sound like a broken record, but smallies should be in and around the same areas as walleye right now.  Deep rocky edges or transitions should hold both species and both will eat the same offerings anglers throw their way.  

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–We saw piles of bait fish schooled up in the basins out on Round lake on Tuesday when we were out.  Big schools of fish were kind of all over the water column with some schools closer to bottom and others suspended in the middle of the water column.  Most likely they were schools of perch and crappie.  Jigs and minnows worked through these schools are a great option to catch both crappie and perch right now as they are suspending out over deep water to get ready for the ice season.  Not much on bluegill and very few if any anglers are chasing them right now. 

Not a whole lot on a report these days but I will keep trying to get everyone some relevant info week to week.  It sounds like the woods are really starting to heat up with rut action so there should be a number of folks hunting right now.  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, a little bit of light rain last night looks to be the only precipitation we will see for the next week.  The weather is still very mild for this time of year with most of the week in the low to mid 50s.  Even the nights are staying pretty warm with only Wednesday night dipping below freezing.   The current weather is holding water temps right around 50 degrees on most lakes and water levels are way down making angling a little tougher than it should be for this time of year.  

Musky–The musky bite has been okay lately and most fish are hitting the net while fishing suckers.  Casting dive and rise jerkbaits, pull/pause rubber baits and trolling crank baits are also good choices right now.  Look for musky on deep weed edges or rocky edges/points/reefs adjacent to deeper basins.

Northern pike–Pike should also still be relating to green weeds and weed edges.  Any live bait or casting baits are fair game for catching pike right now as they should be aggressively feeding for winter.  Look for pike anywhere from 5-15 FOW on those edges.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been pretty good as of late with anglers doing well on deep edges on both live bait such as walleye suckers rigged under slip bobbers and running crank baits in that same water column.  Look for ‘eyes anywhere from 10-20 FOW depending on where the deep edge is on the lake you fish.

LMB–Still nothing to report on a bass bite. 

SMB–I have not heard much on a smallie bite lately as most folks just aren’t targeting them right now.  Smallies should be on deep rocks off of points or reefs.  Jigs/minnows or suckers or plastics are a good choice for targeting smallmouth right now.  Look for fish anywhere from 12-20 FOW on those deep rock edges right now.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–I have heard reports of crappie schooled up in deep basins right now.  Perch should also be schooling up in deeper water, but I haven’t heard of much of a report on a bite.  Very few anglers are chasing gills’ right now although they may still be relating to weeds that are still holding oxygen.  For crappie jigs and minnows are key.  Fish are in 15+ FOW so slip bobbers or just tight lined jigging is the best way to get down to fish.  

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon,

Greg