Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, another arctic blast has a grip on us here in the Northwoods for the weekend. It looks like single digits today topping out at 8 degrees and -7 for a low tonight. Temps barely make it out of the teens for the next 10 days so we will continue to make ice. I am seeing a possibility of snow at the end of the 15 day forecast but that is ways out to say for sure. Let’s hope we do get some snow as we could certainly use it. We have mostly safe ice on all of the lakes in the area, but it is ice and never 100% safe. I know the Tiger Cat and Callahan lakes got staked for snowmobile trails this past week as well as the Spider Lake chain. I was told the Spider Lake chain had anywhere from 11-13″ of ice already and it’s just going to keep building. The fishing has been steady for those willing to put in the time on the ice.

Walleye–I got out on the ice on New Years Eve and we did pretty well on walleye using tip-ups at dusk anywhere from 10-15 FOW with a deep basin nearby. We were using walleye suckers under the tip-ups.

Pike–While we didn’t get any pike that day, they have also been hitting tip-ups rigged with either suckers or shiners. Anglers should set these tip-ups slightly shallower for pike and try to find weed edges more so than deep water transitions.

Crappie/Perch–Anglers have been finding crappie suspended out in the basins on most lakes (some lakes just don’t have a basin bite) and doing well on jigs or small jigging spoons tipped with waxies or minnow heads. Some anglers will use full minnows on the spoons as well.

Bluegill–Gills should be stacked up in and around weed beds or in shallow bays. Small jigs and plastics or waxies are the best option to catch bluegill right now. With no snow cover and good light penetration anglers should be able to find some weeds that are still green and holding fish.

Typical winter fishing pattern right now and should continue to be good with the ice conditions. Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, we hope everyone had a great Christmas! The rain started last night and is still coming down lightly as I type this.  This will not be great for the lakes, although most lakes had at least 8-10″ of ice so I don’t think it will make them unsafe, just a mess until it freezes back up.  A few customers told me yesterday afternoon that there was already significant water on the ice, so when it does re-freeze it will most likely be glare ice with no snow cover.  It is supposed to get cold by the end of the week with temps in the teens and single digits, however I see ZERO snow in the forecast for the 15 day.  Another absolute horrible start to the snowmobile season two years in a row.  Fishing has been fair to good the past week or so and that should continue as long as the ice stays safe.

Pike/Walleye–Both of these species are mainly coming on tip-ups anywhere from 10-20 FOW on the deep weed edges and rocky bottom transitions.  Tip-ups rigged with a single treble hook and a shiner or walleye sucker are all you need.  Generally anglers run the bait pretty close to bottom although it doesn’t hurt to set them at different depths in the water column.  If you set tip-ups in and around shallow weeds (which can work) you will most likely get more pike and largemouth bass.  Not a bad thing if you are looking for more action!

Crappie/Perch–Anglers should find crappie and perch schooled up out in basins more so than set up on shallow structure this time of year, although every lake can be different.  Small jigs and spoons tipped with waxies/crappie minnows/plastics or even pieces of minnow heads can be deadly for both of these panfish.  Look for fish in 15-25 FOW off of points or mid lake structure.  

Bluegill–Anglers should find bluegill in and around weeds whether it is a big weed flat or bay off of the main lake.  Try to find still green weeds as they will still hold some oxygen and small bugs and other things ‘gills will feed on.  Creek inlets can be good spots too as long as the ice is safe to navigate.  Small jigs tipped with spikes/waxies/plastics can all be effective for bluegills.  

That is all I have for this week’s report.  It sure would be nice to get some snow, or at least get cold and stay that way so the ice remains safe.  Have a great weekend and New Year’s, stay dry and we will talk soon!

Greg