Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, the weather last week was HOT, the upcoming week looks to have a pretty big cool down.  A big cold front Monday with lots of rain predicted.  Highs won’t make it out of the 70s according to my weather app.  That will be good news for the water temps but may hurt the fishing a bit.  We were seeing water temps mostly in the upper 70s all week.  We didn’t boat any musky but had a few follows and a big miss on a fish that came out of the water for a Suick.  All other species were cooperative for us, as we had a big fish fry for everyone last night!

Musky–Like I said above we did move a few musky but didn’t get any into the net.  We saw them on both fast and slower moving baits.  Bass sized spinner baits seemed to be the size they preferred and we also saw a couple nice fish on topwater baits and a Suick thriller.  All of the fish we saw were around shallow weed beds or points adjacent to weeds.  

Northern Pike–We caught enough pike to feed an army, I think total for the week was 24 or 25 fish.  We kept most of them aside from a few small hammer handles.  PIke were mostly caught on spinnerbaits and bucktails.  All of the pike were caught in shallow weed beds or shallow bars with weeds on top.  

Walleye–We targeted walleye a little bit and had some success on leeches jigged around rocks.  The surprise walleye catch we had was my nephew catching a nice 22″ fish on you guessed it…….a bass spinnerbait on a deeper weed edge.  Wouldn’t have been my first guess when his rod doubled over, but I was happy to get the net under it!!  Both fish we found were in about 12′ of water.

LMB–Our group got some big bass throughout the week as well, both above the 3lb mark.  One on a spinner bait and the other on a bucktail.  These big bass were also in the weed beds we were fishing for musky and pike.

SMB–We managed a few nice smallies as well as some average ones.  The average ones came on leeches jigged deep and the biggest one came on a Whopper Plopper first thing in the morning off of a rocky point that extends into deep water.

Crappie–Some of the anglers in our group found some nice sized crappie on weedy shorelines in shallow bays.  Small jig heads and plastics were all that was needed to catch them.  Cubby mini-mites and tattle tails were the best choices for baits.

Bluegill/Perch–We didn’t find many big bluegill or perch, but the kids caught a bunch off the docks around the resort.  On the boat a few were mixed in the weed beds we were fishing for crappie in.

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, I would say summer is finally here….for anyone who likes hot weather you will enjoy this week.  Looks like mid 80s just about everyday with the only significant chance of rain on Monday.  Slight chances Wednesday and Thursday but most of the storms lately have either missed us or not lasted very long if it hits us.  The rains we have gotten have really helped keep the water temps in check, making it much easier on fragile fish (think Musky).  It sounds like water temps are mostly in the high 70s right now on most of the lakes in the area.  

Musky–The musky bite has picked back up a little bit this past week.  Anglers are seeing multiple fish a day if they put the time in, and a few more have been added to the board.  Smaller baits still seem to be working best and fish are in and around weeds.  Look for fish in anywhere from 6-12 FOW.

Northern pike–Anglers are still doing well catching pike, mostly on spinnerbaits, rapalas, and small bucktails.  These fish are also in and around shallow weed beds in anywhere from 4-12 FOW.  

Walleye–Walleye have pushed into deeper water and anglers are doing well on jigs tipped with live bait such as leeches, fathead minnows, and walleye suckers.  With ‘eyes being in that 15-20 FOW range, trolling crankbaits or lindy rigging/bottom bouncing set ups should work as well.  Look for fish on those deep transitions of hard bottom to soft.

LMB–The largemouth bite has been consistent and these warm water temps have largemouth in shallow and around lily pads and other shallow weed beds.  Poppers, buzzers, and frogs to catch these shallow fish.  For any suspended fish, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and crankbaits or live bait will work.

SMB–Smallies are kind of mixed in the water column right now.  A few anglers have found them deep, while others have found them around 8-12 FOW.  Live bait such as crawlers have been working as well as jigs/plastics such as ned rigs.  

Crappie–Crappie have been in shallow weed beds and anglers are doing well on minnows and small baits such as Beetle Spins.  Look for fish anywhere from 6-10 FOW.

Bluegill/Perch–I have not heard much of a bluegill/perch bite, however with high water temps panfish should be shallow as well.  Look for fish hiding in cover whether it be weeds/timber or cribs.  Leaf worms and crawlers have been the ticket to get fish in the livewell.

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg