Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, a little bit of light rain last night looks to be the only precipitation we will see for the next week.  The weather is still very mild for this time of year with most of the week in the low to mid 50s.  Even the nights are staying pretty warm with only Wednesday night dipping below freezing.   The current weather is holding water temps right around 50 degrees on most lakes and water levels are way down making angling a little tougher than it should be for this time of year.  

Musky–The musky bite has been okay lately and most fish are hitting the net while fishing suckers.  Casting dive and rise jerkbaits, pull/pause rubber baits and trolling crank baits are also good choices right now.  Look for musky on deep weed edges or rocky edges/points/reefs adjacent to deeper basins.

Northern pike–Pike should also still be relating to green weeds and weed edges.  Any live bait or casting baits are fair game for catching pike right now as they should be aggressively feeding for winter.  Look for pike anywhere from 5-15 FOW on those edges.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been pretty good as of late with anglers doing well on deep edges on both live bait such as walleye suckers rigged under slip bobbers and running crank baits in that same water column.  Look for ‘eyes anywhere from 10-20 FOW depending on where the deep edge is on the lake you fish.

LMB–Still nothing to report on a bass bite. 

SMB–I have not heard much on a smallie bite lately as most folks just aren’t targeting them right now.  Smallies should be on deep rocks off of points or reefs.  Jigs/minnows or suckers or plastics are a good choice for targeting smallmouth right now.  Look for fish anywhere from 12-20 FOW on those deep rock edges right now.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–I have heard reports of crappie schooled up in deep basins right now.  Perch should also be schooling up in deeper water, but I haven’t heard of much of a report on a bite.  Very few anglers are chasing gills’ right now although they may still be relating to weeds that are still holding oxygen.  For crappie jigs and minnows are key.  Fish are in 15+ FOW so slip bobbers or just tight lined jigging is the best way to get down to fish.  

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon,

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, looks like we are in for a pleasant week of weather in the Northwoods. We will top out at almost 60 degrees tomorrow and the rest of the week looks like it will hold in the low 50s. Overnight lows stay above freezing so water temps will probably not cool too much this week. Lakes are way down (some to draw down, others because we have not had significant rain) and most are right around the 50 degree mark for water temp. Most lakes are at some point of the turnover or just getting into post turnover. Fishing has been pretty good and should only get better as we continue into late fall.

Musky–The musky bite is picking up and most anglers are seeing fish on live bait. Musky are starting to push off of the deeper edges of weeds and rocks in 8-15 FOW. Casting baits like Suicks, Warlocks, and bigger rubber baits such as tubes or bulldawgs or medussas will produce fish as well.

Pike–Pike are hitting musky baits and smaller musky suckers in and around still green weeds. I was out Wednesday of last week and we managed a nice pike off of a rocky point in about 10 FOW. That fish hit a musky bait right in the first turn of the figure 8.

Walleye–Anglers are doing well walleye fishing trolling crankbaits. We caught 3 last night trolling #5 Flicker shads down to about 15′ and I have heard other reports of anglers doing well trolling right now. Fish the deeper rocky points/reefs and run baits 12-18′ down.

LMB–No report on a largemouth bite and probably won’t be until ice starts to form!

SMB–I have not heard much on a smallmouth bite either, but smallies should be on deep rocks and using jigs and walleye suckers or minnows are good bait choices right now. Look for smallies anywhere from 12-20 FOW right now.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Panfish are starting to push into deeper water and school up. Minnows are the best choice for bait rigged on a slip bobber or jigged over the side of the boat. Look for most panfish anywhere from 8-15 FOW.

That is all I have for this week’s report. Not a ton going on right now and will probably get slower from here until ice up. although I think we have some time left before that happens! Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg