Fishing report 21 October 2023

Good morning, the middle of the week looks to be soggy with chances of rain Tuesday and Wednesday. Temps are still tolerable/even nice for fishing with highs in the low 50s and upper 40s. By mid week the overnight lows look to be just below freezing and that will surely start to turnover the lakes that haven’t yet. I have heard some reports that some of the lakes are in turnover now. Despite that, the fishing has been pretty good.

Musky–The musky bite has stayed solid with most fish coming on live bait. Dragging suckers along deep weed lines seems to be the ticket for ‘skies right now. Some anglers are throwing baits such as jerk baits, gliders, and bigger rubber baits such as Medussas and Bulldawgs.

Northern pike–Not much to report on a pike bite as I am just not hearing anything on that right now.

Walleye–It sounds like walleye are still sitting in deeper water in the lakes around here. Look for fish in 16-20 FOW, rig up a walleye sized sucker on a jig and get the bait down to them. It doesn’t sound like fish are too finicky now so you can work water fast to find fish.

LMB–I just don’t have anglers targeting either bass species right now so not a whole lot to go by. I would be working spinnerbaits/chatterbaits through cover for bass yet and look for fish in that 6-10 FOW range.

SMB–Again not much for angling intel on smallies, but I would look for them near the walleye. Deeper points, transitions in bottom and rocks should be holding fish. Jigs and minnows or plastics should entice smallies right now.

Crappie–The crappie were still schooled up and holding in deeper water the past couple of weeks, but with water turning over they may or may not be there anymore. Once turnover happens most fish try to find cover to hide from predators. Look for crappie in weed beds that still have some oxygen left in them and target them with a jig and a minnow under a bobber.

Bluegill/Perch–Bluegill and perch will be in these same weedy areas that still have some life. Chunks of nightcrawlers and crappie minnows rigged up on a jig tightlined or under a bobber should catch some fish.

That is all I got for this week. Its hard to say what the fish are going to do during the turnover period, but generally it is not great fishing during that time frame. I hope everyone has a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Fishing report 14 October 2023

Good morning, yesterday was nasty weather rain, wind, cold, another weekend of musky fishing weather!  I hooked up with a decent 35-1/4″ about 11:15 am so it made the day worth it.  The rest of the week looks nice with temps in the 50s and only a slight chance of rain Thursday and Friday.  Water temps are right at 50 degrees and will probably not change much with next weeks weather.  Not much else to report on other species as almost all of the anglers coming into the bait shop are musky hunting right now.  
 
Musky–The musky bite is hot right now, lots of anglers doing well on suckers and artificial lures.  From what I am hearing and seeing, fish are still pretty shallow working edges adjacent to deep water. The fish I caught and the fish we verified for another boat were both right on the weed edge and both on suckers.  
 
Northern pike–I did hear a few anglers catching some nice northern over the past week, some also on suckers but mostly on smaller bucktails and faster moving artificial baits.  Work these same edges and look for weeds that are still a healthy green to locate pike.
 
Walleye–Still had another angler who said they were finding walleye right off the dock in the evening so some fish are up shallow.  I had a few guys in this week that were fishing the chip and found walleye in deeper water of off points. So as the water temps keep dropping big fish are going to chase the forage so move around and try new things if you don’t find fish where you expect them.
 
LMB–No report on largemouth this week.
 
SMB–No report on smallmouth this week either. 
 
Crappie/bluegill/perch–Going to lump all of the panfish together this week because I am just not hearing much on a bite for any of these species.  The last I have heard was that crappie were still in deep water while gills and perch were mostly being caught in weed beds.  
 
It really didn’t change much from last week.  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.
 
Greg