Fishing Report

Good morning, a little bit of rain last week and a few pockets of showers by the bait shop yesterday have helped a little bit to bring the water level back up. I am hearing we have gained a couple of inches, but most lakes are down about 18″ from where they should be. It appears the only chance of rain this week is today at 50%, and then clear hot conditions until next weekend. The hot stable weather should really help fishing pick up and bring water temps back up a bit which are sitting right around the 70 degree mark right now.

Musky–A few more musky added to the board this week, and a healthy 48″ caught on a………beetle spin. Extra small baits seem to really be producing this year, so mix it up musky fishing if things aren’t working with standard sized musky stuff. Anglers can find fish in and around weed beds and any kind of structure that has shallow water and weeds close by.

Northern pike–A few pike reports this week as well, mostly while musky fishing and mostly on small bucktails. Look for pike in the 6-10 FOW range and use bucktails, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits to find fish.

Walleye–I was able to get some insight on a walleye bite this week and without giving up too much, these anglers were finding fish on deep weed edges with subtle approaches such as lindy rigs, crawler harnesses, and bottom bouncers to keep baits in the strike zone. Deep is relative from lake to lake but this should get anglers a good starting point.

Largemouth bass–LMB are still hammering top water baits such as buzzbaits and frogs. Bass are hanging around both emergent and submergent weeds so look for fish there and up on shallow sandy shorelines. If fishing deeper water for bass, small cranks and spinnerbaits seem to be working well.

Smallmouth bass–Anglers are still catching some nice smallies on leeches while walleye fishing so look for fish in those same areas. As I posted last week, ned rigs, drop shots and finesse baits are working as well.

Crappie–Anglers are finding crappie on deep weed edges and on offshore structures such as cribs. It sounds like minnows are the best choice for bait, with small jig/plastic combos also working.

Bluegill/Perch–It sounds like anglers are finding some bigger gills as of late and with this hotter stable weather coming in the panfish bite should continue to be good. Most fish are being caught off of the docks with chunks of nightcrawlers on small jigs/hooks.

Fishing is still not great, but getting better and the weather should help. If the fishing sucks, you can always go into town and check out the Lumberjack World Championships which are going on this weekend! Whatever you do, have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning, looks to be a decent week of weather on tap with the only significant chances of rain coming Sunday and Wednesday.  Temps look to rise into the 80s by the end of the week and next weekend.  Could be a hot one for the 63rd Lumberjack Worldchampionships.  Hopefully the fishing will warm up with the weather, it was a tough bite this past week for most species, although we did fill out our first musky board of the season so that’s a good sign!

Musky–Like I said the musky bite has been pretty good, lots of small fish being caught, although I have heard a few reports of some very large fish being seen.  The baits used to catch them so far this year have been all over the board, its been mainly small bucktails mixed in with a few decent sized crankbaits and back down to crappie/walleye jigs.  Anglers can find fish in and around weed beds and any kind of structure that has shallow water and weeds close by.

Northern pike–I have not heard as many pike as earlier in the year being caught, but they should still be active given the current water temps.  Look for pike in the 6-10 FOW range and use bucktails, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits to find fish.

Walleye–Either nobody is catching walleye or no one is telling their secrets on how they are catching walleye because I have not heard anything recently.  Given time of year and water temps/levels I would focus fishing on deeper structure where bottom transitions from hard to soft.  Deep rocks, deep weed edges with subtle approaches such as lindy rigs, crawler harnesses, and bottom bouncers to keep baits in the strike zone.  

Largemouth bass–Largemouth have still been active, lots of fish coming on spinnerbaits, frogs, and on both plastic and real worms.  Bass are hanging around both emergent and submergent weeds so look for fish there and up on shallow sandy shorelines.

Smallmouth bass–Smallies have been active on deeper rock structure so far this year on baits such as drop shots, ned rigs, deep diving crankbaits and live bait.  Deep is relative on all lakes, but look for where the hard and soft bottoms meet.  

Crappie–The crappie have vanished with walleye evidently because I am not hearing much on a crappie bite.  A few anglers have seen them on their electronics, but even then have struggled to catch them.  It sounds like the fish they did find were relating to the basins and some were found on cribs.  Pretty much had to drop baits right on top them to get them to bite.  

Bluegill/Perch–The panfish have stayed pretty consistent throughout the season so far, although most fish have been on the smaller side of the scale.  Most fish are being caught off of the docks with chunks of nightcrawlers on small jigs/hooks.  

It has been a pretty tough bite this past week, but it should improve with the somewhat stable weather coming.  When fishing gets tough, it’s usually best to simplify set ups and slow down and work over spots longer.  The fish are still there, sometimes you just need to hang baits in front of them longer to get them to eat.  

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg