Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, some pretty good thunderstorms rolled through early this morning.  Our rain gauge shows we received about 1-1/2″ of rain.  We must have had some strong winds as well, as a few of our chairs on the deck got blown over.  We definitely needed the rain as most lakes in the area are down by about a foot.  The rain should have helped cool water temps as well, as they were steady in the upper 70s.  The bite has been fairly good for most species, while others have become quite difficult to find and catch.

Musky–Musky have been active, and anglers moved a lot of fish on spinnerbaits in the weeds, and smaller twitch/crankbaits in and around weeds and shallow structure as well.  Anglers should target musky on deeper weed edges anywhere from 8-12 FOW.

Northern pike–Pike have also been active, mostly on smaller bucktails, spinner baits and small Rapalas.  Look for pike in and around weeds as well anywhere from 3-12 FOW.

Walleye–Walleye have mostly disappeared on the lakes by us, as the bite has gotten tough.  Deep running presentations should work on most lakes, while on some lakes they hunker down in the weeds and are tough to fish out.  Crawlers harnesses, lindy rigs and other slow moving live bait presentations are great choices right now.  For weed walleye, jigs and minnows or plastics can work.

LMB–Largemouth have been hitting everything from wacky rigged plastics to small musky baits.  Buzz baits and top water frogs are seeing action too.  Look for bass in shallow weeds such as lily pads, reeds, and other emergent vegetation.

SMB–Smallies have been hitting wacky rigged plastics and also top water baits such as Whopper Ploppers.  Look for fish on or near structure, whether its rocks or weeds that are adjacent to deeper basins.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Panfish are still in and around weed beds, and using live bait such as crawlers, leaf worms, and crappie minnows are great options.  Smaller baits such as beetle spins, and mimic minnows can be great options too.  Gulp! minnows are another solid option if you prefer not to use live bait.  Look for panfish anywhere from 6-12 FOW.

That is all I have for this week’s report.  Not a whole doing as we are in the summer doldrums as far as fishing goes. Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, we just wrapped up a fantastic week right here on Lost Land Lake at Northland Lodge Resort with lots of friends, lots of laughs and lots of fish!! Looks to be a fantastic weekend of weather this weekend. Mid and upper 70s, not as humid and just enough breeze. Monday and the later half of the week look like chances of rain, but time will tell on that. We are still under an Air Quality Alert and it has been quite hazy the last few days. The last few nights have been down to the 40s which has been great for sleeping and keeping the water temps in check. Water temps on most lakes are in the upper 70s and a few hitting the low 80s.

Musky–The musky bite has been decent, although most anglers are not putting as much pressure on ‘skies with the warmer water temps. My nephew managed his first musky on a #4 Mepps in Purple. We moved a few other fish on bucktails, but didn’t get anymore in the bag. All of the fish we saw were in weeds anywhere from 6-10 FOW.

Northern pike–We had some decent Northern action towards the end of the week, also in weeds, although quite a bit shallower than their cousins. Most of the pike came in 6 FOW or less. Spinner baits and wacky rigged plastic worms were working for pike.

Walleye–Walleye seem to be in the summer doldrums as I have not heard of many anglers catching walleye, and we did not see any either. Given the time of year and water temps, walleye are most likely rooted in weeds or hanging on deep rocks depending on the lake. Slow trolling bottom bouncers or lindy rigs with crawlers or leeches should work well.

LMB–The largemouth bite was HOT this past week. We caught a boatload of largemouth mostly on weed edges in 8-10 FOW. Almost all of the bass we caught were on wacky rigged senko style worms. Color didn’t matter, just let the worms sink and sort of twitch them through the weeds.

SMB–We caught a handful of smallies on these same spots and presentations as the largemouth. It seemed like any kind of plastics rigged and fished in slightly deeper water worked well.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–The panfish bite was pretty decent and most of those fish were found in weed beds as well. We saw thousands of small gills schooled up on shallow sandy areas close to weeds as well. We caught most of the panfish on small jigs tipped with scented plastics, beetle spins, and waxies or leaf worms under a float.

Have a great weekend everybody and we will talk soon!

Greg