Fishing Report

Good morning, MUSKY season is upon us!!!  First and foremost, take some time to thank/honor our veterans this weekend.  Their sacrifices allow the rest of us to enjoy the woods/waters and recreate how we choose.  Looks to be great weather for a while with a +/-50% chance of rain in the middle of the week.  Temps will be in the low 80s and upper 70s for the week as well.  Water temps are in the low to mid 60s so all of the fish should be active and it should make for a great start to the musky season.  It sounds like most of the panfish have spawned out and are still up in shallow water.  

Musky–The musky bite should start off strong as we have good water temps, consistent weather and lots of bait fish up shallow.  I would start with fast moving baits such as bucktails/spinner baits and slow down to glide baits/jerkbaits if you are getting no action.  I would also start shallow and work towards deeper edges.  Weed beds should be a great place to start your hunt for musky this year.

Walleye–The walleye bite has slowed up a bit from the opener and it sounds like fish are moving a little deeper.  I am hearing reports of fish hanging around structure or points in the 10-15 FOW range.  A few anglers are finding jigs with crawler chunks or minnows to be productive.  I have also heard trolling crankbaits in that depth range is working as well.

Northern pike–Pike are still up in the shallows chasing and eating panfish as they are just now in a post spawn.  With the water warming up, casting a spinner bait or shallow diving crankbait can also be fantastic for pike this time of year.

Crappie–A majority of the crappie have spawned, but most are still in shallow water.  I would look for fish in 3-8 FOW and around the emerging weed beds.   Most crappie are still being taken on bobbers and hooks or small jigs with crappie minnows or fatheads.

Largemouth bass–Largemouth are also up shallow in some of these smaller bays most likely feeding on minnows and other small baitfish.  Most likely bass are hitting simple setups like a bobber rigged with a bit bigger plain hook, sinker and good sized chunk of nightcrawler.  Spinner baits will also start producing well for LMB right now.

Smallmouth bass–I have not heard much on a smallmouth bite, but my guess would be anglers will be finding them on and around the same areas where they would find walleye.  Look for rocky points or sandy/rocky shorelines that head out into deeper water.  Jigs/crankbaits and even drop shot rigs can all produce right now for smallies.

Bluegill–Bluegill will be stacked up in shallow weeds right now and should still be active as they are starting a post spawn (for the most part).  Keep the rigs simple with a bobber/hook/crawler.  Folks are also doing very well on small jig/plastic combos as well i.e. cubbies, beetle spins, mimic minnows…..

Perch–I have not heard too much about a perch bite, but my guess would be some will be found in shallower weeds, while some may be holding a little deeper along rocky points or deeper rock/gravel bars.  Set ups with bobbers/hooks/crappie minnows always seem to work well for perch.

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon!

Greg

Good morning, most of the rain they were calling for Thursday and Friday either missed us or happened overnight so didn’t hamper too many activities!  We are currently under a frost advisory while I am writing this, however we look to be in the 70s and even an 80 degree day in there for the 15 day forecast.  A lot can change in that amount of time, but certainly warmer temps and very little precipitation is showing now.  While helping out with Fishing Has No Boundaries on The Big Chip yesterday, I was able to get some great info on fish locations and where we are at with the crappie/bluegill spawn so here goes for the fishing report.

Walleye–The walleye bite has slowed up a bit from the opener and it sounds like fish are moving a little deeper.  I am hearing reports of fish hanging around structure or points in the 10-15 FOW range.  A few anglers are finding jigs with crawler chunks or minnows to be productive.  I have also heard trolling crankbaits in that depth range is working as well.

Northern pike–A few pike came in during the contest and one had what looked to be a panfish in its belly.  Pike are most likely up in the shallows chasing and eating panfish as they are concentrated in one area for spawning.  I think most anglers were catching them on the same jigs/hook/bobber set up they were for panfish although casting a spinner bait or shallow diving crankbait can also be fantastic for pike this time of year.

Crappie–A lot of the participants at the FHNB event yesterday brought in some nice crappie.  Surprisingly a lot of the females still had eggs so I’m not sure the crappie have fully spawned out yet.  Most anglers were finding them in the shallow bays in calm water (we had a pretty good NW wind yesterday) so they are definitely up there getting ready to spawn.  Most crappie were taken on bobbers and hooks or small jigs with crappie minnows or fatheads.

Largemouth bass–Largemouth are also up shallow in some of these smaller bays most likely feeding on minnows and other small baitfish.  I don’t have a lot of reports on catches, but I have talked to a few anglers that have seen them up shallow and a few participants yesterday brought some in.  Most likely bass are hitting simple setups like a bobber rigged with a bit bigger plain hook, sinker and good sized chunk of nightcrawler.

Smallmouth bass–I have not heard much on a smallmouth bite, but my guess would be anglers will be finding them on and around the same areas where they would find walleye.  Targeting smallmouth seems to be more of a summer sport up here, but they are catchable now and should be relating to a little bit deeper water.  Look for rocky points or sandy/rocky shorelines that head out into deeper water.  Jigs/crankbaits and even drop shot rigs can all produce right now for smallies.

Crappie/bluegill/perch–LIke I stated in my opening crappie are up in shallow water 4-8′ and getting ready to spawn. I am going to lump them all together for this post as they are all being caught in the same areas.  Most are hitting the simple setups of bobbers/hooks/minnows and fish are aggressive right now.  I heard a few boats yesterday had catches of 25+ fish during the day.  The limit on the chip is 10 panfish per angler per day so most fish went back, but it shows that they are territorial and the bite is good!

That should do it for this weeks’ report, pretty simple fishing right now as most fish are aggressive and active.  If you can find them, most likely you will have a good day of fishing.  With the stable weather that looks to be happening for the next week or two, patterns should stay the same if you get on fish.  If anyone is in the Hayward area today (Saturday May 20th) stop out by the Lake Chippewa Campground this afternoon and see what Fishing Has No Boundaries is all about!  It is a great event, and we hope to see you there!

Have a great weekend, take care, and we will talk soon!

Greg