Fishing Report

Good morning, the colors are definitely in full swing around here and mild/warm temps are favorable for driving around or hiking to different places and looking at them!  Aside from writing this while watching a lightning show and thunder/rain pouring down it looks like only a decent chance of rain on Wednesday this week with a big cold front coming in for next weekend.  Water temps are still hovering right around the mid 60s mark on almost of all the local lakes from what I am hearing from anglers.  The bite overall has been decent but not great, as I think these unseasonably warm temps are keeping fish from putting on the fall feed bag right now.  

Musky–Anglers are doing well with the musky action lately, most fish still coming on bucktails and top waters, while a few fish are coming on musky suckers.  I have had a few anglers tell me that they have seen some ‘ski’s just kind of hovering behind their suckers but not commit to eating them.  Fish are still in and around shallow weeds or shallow structure right now with these warmer water temps.

Pike–The pike bite has picked up some lately and most anglers are catching them while casting musky baits.  I also had one angler tell me they did catch a pretty big northern on a musky sucker, so it sounds like the pike are ready for the fall bite!  As with the musky, pike are haunting shallow structure/weeds right now.

Walleye–I have not got a whole lot of info on a walleye bite right now as most anglers that have been in are chasing musky, but from what I can gather anglers are finding walleye in deeper water and jigging aggressively for them right now.  

LMB–The largemouth bite has been good on live bait lately…..mostly walleye suckers and whole nightcrawlers rigged under a bobber and fished in and around weed beds.  I have also had lots of anglers all year telling me they are catching nice largemouth on inline spinners such as Mepps #3, #4s and #5s.  

SMB–It sounds like smallies are hanging in deep water as I have had a couple of anglers using slower presentations for walleye deep and catching smallies on those.  Deep rocks are where I would look for smallmouth right now.

Crappie–At least on the lakes by me, I am hearing the crappie are still set up deep and stacked up pretty good.  It sounds like 16-20 FOW is where anglers are marking lots of fish on their graphs and catching some nice crappie out of those schools.  Using jigs tipped with crappie minnows or plastics to get down to them seems to be the tactic to use right now.  

Perch/Bluegill–Honestly nothing to report on a panfish bite.  I’m sure there are a few fish still hiding in weed beds from predators and the perch might be schooling up out in the basins but I have had no reports from anglers targeting them.

That’s all I got for this week, too warm for my liking this time of year, but it sure is pretty to look at with the colors of fall right now. Next weeks musky report may or may not have much validity as I will be participating in the 45th annual Muskies Inc. Hayward lakes chapter tournament. Have a great rest of the weekend and we will talk soon.  

Greg

Good morning, lots of chances of rain have turned into lots of rain and looks to continue through the weekend.  Looks like from now until mid week will/could be wet.  Temperatures are also coming down a bit from where they were which will be great for fishing.   Water temps are hovering right around the low to mid 60s right now.  The bite overall has been pretty good with anglers finding all species of fish lately.

Musky–The musky bite has picked up again after that heat wave over labor day weekend.  Artificial baits on the smaller side are still producing fish, and the livebait bite is heating up as well.  Fish are all over the place, I am hearing some fish up shallow and others suspended off of structure.

Northern pike–I have had quite a few anglers in this past week that are catching northern pike on spinner baits, bucktails and other fast moving baits that cover a lot of water.  PIke are in pretty shallow water right now and related to weed beds or structures with weeds on it. 

Walleye–Anglers are finding walleye a bit better than they have the past couple of weeks.  Most are finding walleye in deeper water on transitions from hard to soft bottom.  That will vary from lake to lake, but I am hearing anglers finding fish anywhere from 10-12 FOW to 18-25 FOW depending on the lake.  Tightlining jigs or slip bobbers with walleye suckers or fatheads underneath them are working for ‘eyes right now.

LMB–The largemouth bite has been good lately and anglers are catching them with multiple fishing styles.  Spinner baits are working for fish not relating to shore lines, while topwater baits such as whopper ploppers are working for bass that are still up in shallow weeds.

SMB–Not a great report on smallies, but they probably haven’t moved much from where they have been the last week or so.  Water temps should be cooling down with the rain and cooler temps coming so smallies will most likely push a little deeper over the next week or so.  Crank baits, jigs/minnows, and even ned rigged plastics worked down to where the fish are at will trigger strikes.

Crappie–From the reports I am getting, the crappie are hanging in deeper water right now.  Look for fish around 20 FOW and drop jigs tipped with crappie minnows to get down to them.  

Bluegill/Perch–Haven’t heard a whole lot on the panfish bite lately, but anglers should focus on still green weed beds for perch and bluegill.  Leaf worms or waxies rigged underneath a bobber drifted through weed beds will still put some fish in the live well.  

Have a great weekend everyone and we will talk soon.

Greg