Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, it surely is going to be a chilly start to the fishing opener this morning as I am seeing frost on the roofs and temps hovering right around freezing as I type this. A mostly sunny sky weekend with highs in the 60s is a pretty great start to get things rolling for the season. The weather looks pleasant all week, ranging from the 40s to the 60s. A few nights the low dips just below freezing which will help the water from warming up too quickly, in my opinion a good thing! Water temps may have also dipped a few degrees as we have had some cooler nights this past week, but they should be somewhere around 50 degrees if I had to guess.

Musky–The musky season is also underway in the northern part of the state, and from what I have seen installing docks anglers should find musky up shallow in the warmest bays of the lake. Musky should be in the full swing of spawning right now. The old adage is to start with smaller baits this time of year, and use faster moving baits to locate fish. If anglers are seeing a lot of following fish, but no biters they should switch up to baits that hang or pause. Focus attention to shallow weeds or rocks that are holding some heat anywhere from 3-12 FOW.

Northern pike–Pike should be mostly spawned out already, however anglers should find pike in and around shallow newly green weeds praying on bait fish that are in there for pre-spawn and finding cover to hide. Walleye sized minnow/jerkbaits such as Rapala Husky Jerks, or Berkley Hit Sticks should be great options for pike right now. Bass sized spinner baits will stay weedless and catch pike as well.

Walleye–Walleye should be mostly spawned out, and anglers should find them on typical post spawn spots. On most lakes that will be rocky areas with sandy bottoms adjacent to deeper water. Anglers should find walleye pushing up into or onto shallow flats and the sun hits the horizon in the evenings. On low light days, anglers may find those fish pushed up shallow mid day as well. Jerkbaits, minnow baits, and live bait are all great options for walleye right now.

LMB–Anglers looking to target largemouth right now should find them in the warmest bays around weed beds. Spinnerbaits would be a great option to work the water column and search out big bass.

SMB–Smallies should be in the same territory as walleye right now, but holding tighter to deeper rocks and bottom than the ‘eyes do. Running small crank baits bounced off of bottom will work for smallies, as will live bait.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Anglers should find panfish looking for cover and or spawning in and around weedy bays or weed beds. Crappie will be in weeds starting to spawn or spawning and anglers should do very well on simple bobber/weight/hook combos rigged with crappie minnows. Perch should also be in these areas and may still be spawning or just on the tail end of their spawn. I have always had great luck catching perch while crappie fishing using the same set-up as listed above. Some ‘gills will be mixed in the weeds and anglers may have luck with small chunks of nightcrawlers or redworms underneath a bobber on a small jig or hook. Bluegills surely will not be spawning as water temps are way too cold, however they will be in weeds hiding from predators.

That is all I have for this week’s report. Good luck to all of the anglers that are up to start their season! I’m sure Nelson Lake and town will be busy with the governor’s opener happening over there. Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, T minus seven days until fishing opener for ALL species including musky this year.  Smallies are the only ones anglers cannot harvest as their season is not until mid June, the exact date I don’t recall offhand.  We got some much needed rain Thursday evening into Friday morning and with the snowpack we had this year, lake levels look to be in great shape.  I have been installing docks around the Quiet Lakes the last few days and if the shorelines are any indication, water levels are back to normal.  They are calling for quite a bit more rain this weekend and the early part of this week with slightly cooler temps in the 50s.   If the forecast for the opener holds true, I am seeing a high of 60 with partly cloudy skies.  Could be a great weekend to kick off the season!

Just a friendly reminder to all anglers coming up for next weekend to renew their fishing licenses for the 2026 season. It is pretty simple to do online, however there are numerous places around the area that have DNR stations for license renewal (including hunting licenses, boat/atv/snowmobile registrations).  Another thing I have noticed driving around the lakes is the number of trees down.  Cabin/home owners or even buddies coming up to friends’ cabins for opener may want to bring some gloves and chain saw if they have them as some driveways may be blocked.  

Water temps are still pretty chilly and I have not seen much for weed growth yet, however with normal water levels and somewhat of a normal ice out date, anglers should find fish in typical spots for the time of year.  Post spawn walleyes will be off of mid depth edges during the day and coming up shallower at night.  Perch/crappie/bluegill will be related to any new weed growth looking for places to spawn and for cover.  Pike and musky can be found in these shallow areas as well.  Musky most likely have not spawned yet and anglers will see them up very shallow this time of year.  I personally will not be targeting musky until their typical opener Memorial weekend as I do not think pressuring a low density fish with already bleak reproduction rates is a good thing for the fisheries (but that’s a discussion for another time) but I am not sure how much luck anglers will have any way with muskies this early.  I don’t think they will be expending much energy chasing lures down until they are in a post spawn period.  

That is all I have for this week’s report.  I just want to say good luck to the anglers who may be driving next weekend and don’t get to see the report, or anyone I may or may not see at the bait shop next weekend. I hope everyone has a great start to their Northwoods season! Have a great weekend, stay dry, and we will talk soon!

Greg