Fishing Report

Good evening from the Quiet Lakes, getting you the report tonight as we will be heading for Hudson early tomorrow morning.  It’s still cold and the forecast is not promising for any kind of snow accumulation for the next 15 days.  I am seeing (per the Weather Channel app) that we may see an inch or less on Sunday with single digits mid week and then a warm up for the end of the week.  The following week looks to be bitter cold with temps barely getting into double digits during the day, and below zero at night.  That will continue to build ice on top of the 13″+/- we are seeing on lakes currently.  Plenty safe for ATV/UTV traffic although I would be hesitant to drive any full size vehicles out there yet. The fishing has been pretty good and not much has changed as far as presentations go…..

Walleye/Pike–Walleye and pike can be caught on tip-ups and jigging bigger spoons/baits on shelves from shallow to deep water.  We caught both species tonight on tip-ups anywhere from 12-20 FOW rigged with sucker minnows.  Jigging presentations in these same locations can produce fish as well.

Crappie/Perch–The crappie and perch bite has been pretty good, mostly in basins with shallow water close by.  Bigger presentations such as a pinched off fathead minnow is working better than say waxies rigged up on a hook.  1/16th ounce jigging spoons tipped this way are producing big crappie.  

Bluegill–I have not heard much on a bluegill bite, but these panfish should be holding to shallow bays and weed beds.  Small tungsten or lead jigs tipped with waxies/spikes/plastics should all produce decent ‘gills right now.  

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, another arctic blast has a grip on us here in the Northwoods for the weekend. It looks like single digits today topping out at 8 degrees and -7 for a low tonight. Temps barely make it out of the teens for the next 10 days so we will continue to make ice. I am seeing a possibility of snow at the end of the 15 day forecast but that is ways out to say for sure. Let’s hope we do get some snow as we could certainly use it. We have mostly safe ice on all of the lakes in the area, but it is ice and never 100% safe. I know the Tiger Cat and Callahan lakes got staked for snowmobile trails this past week as well as the Spider Lake chain. I was told the Spider Lake chain had anywhere from 11-13″ of ice already and it’s just going to keep building. The fishing has been steady for those willing to put in the time on the ice.

Walleye–I got out on the ice on New Years Eve and we did pretty well on walleye using tip-ups at dusk anywhere from 10-15 FOW with a deep basin nearby. We were using walleye suckers under the tip-ups.

Pike–While we didn’t get any pike that day, they have also been hitting tip-ups rigged with either suckers or shiners. Anglers should set these tip-ups slightly shallower for pike and try to find weed edges more so than deep water transitions.

Crappie/Perch–Anglers have been finding crappie suspended out in the basins on most lakes (some lakes just don’t have a basin bite) and doing well on jigs or small jigging spoons tipped with waxies or minnow heads. Some anglers will use full minnows on the spoons as well.

Bluegill–Gills should be stacked up in and around weed beds or in shallow bays. Small jigs and plastics or waxies are the best option to catch bluegill right now. With no snow cover and good light penetration anglers should be able to find some weeds that are still green and holding fish.

Typical winter fishing pattern right now and should continue to be good with the ice conditions. Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg