Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, some nasty thunderstorms came through last night and brought some wind, rain and crazy lightning.  Our rain gauge is showing we got around 1″ of rain, and from what I saw from a few pics of downtown Hayward, lots of vendors lost tents.  Very unfortunate downtown.  It is supposed to get extremely hot today and tomorrow topping out in the mid 90s.  Next week looks like it could be a wet one as well although we do get reprieve from the heat on Wednesday and Thursday with highs in the 60s and 70s.  Fishing has picked up some for a few species, while others are still not cooperating.

Musky–The musky bite has been tough, with fish still favoring smaller baits from what I am gathering.  Work weed beds and shallower rock flats with downsized bucktails, smaller minnow/crankbaits or even smaller rubber baits.  

Pike–PIke action has been consistent and pike are still hammering almost all baits thrown their way.  Spinnerbaits, inline spinners, crankbaits and live bait are all producing pike for anglers.  Shallow weedy bays and weed beds are key to finding pike.  Bass and walleye sized baits seem to be the size pike want right now.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been tough lately, and they are hunkered down in deep weeds or on deeper rock transitions.  Leeches seem to be getting hot as the bait to use, and with this warm weather should be excellent moving forward.  Simple jig/leech presentations vertically jigged over the side of the boat, or slip bobbers cast out with leeches towards bottom should produce fish.  

LMB–Largemouth have gotten active again, and they are up in shallow weeds such as reed beds, lily pads, and fallen timber.  Plastic worms, and even top water frogs should really start to get good with the hot weather and water warming up.  Cast towards shorelines and get baits deep into weeds.

SMB–Smallmouth bass have been caught on deeper rocks off of main lake points, and reefs.  Jigs/minnows, leeches or plastics will all work right now to catch smallies.  Look for fish anywhere from 10-20 FOW off of these deeper rocks.

Crappie–The crappie bite has gotten much better over the past week and anglers are having success on crappie minnows under a bobber.  I have heard some reports of fish suspended out over basins and others in the weeds.  Target fish with baits anywhere from the 4-10 FOW range depending on the lake.

Bluegill/Perch–I have not heard too much on a bluegill or perch bite, but anglers should see success off of docks and shoreline areas with downed timber or sparse weeds.  Nightcrawlers and leaf worms are great choices, as well as small jigs and plastic baits.  

Fishing is picking up a little bit, but these thunderstorms may have fish in limbo.  I hope everyone who enjoys Musky Fest the rest of the weekend is able to stay cool!!  It’s going to be a hot one!  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, yesterday was a soaker and from our rain gauge we got almost an inch of precipitation over the last couple of days.  It looks to be over for today, but we have possibilities on Monday and Friday this week.  Today looks to be another chilly one for June, with a high temp of 57 degrees.  The rest of the week looks to warm up into the mid 70s which will hopefully bring the water temps up a few degrees and get fish more active.  I was out on Thursday and we had water temps of 66 degrees, but the rain and cloud cover may have dropped that a little bit as of right now.  

Musky–I would not say the musky bite has been hot, but anglers are seeing fish and getting some in the net.  Smaller baits seem to be working better overall, but a few anglers have moved fish on bigger rubber baits as well.  Fish had been holding to typical summer spots, but this cold front may have pushed them just off of main areas of focus.  As the weather warms up, we should see fish move back up into these summer spots anywhere from 5-15 FOW on rocks, weeds, and mid lake reefs.

Northern PIke–Pike have still been active, and we managed one little hammer handle Thursday night.  He ate a small bucktail, but I have heard reports of pike eating most anything hitting the water.  Look for pike in 3-15 FOW in and around weeds, shallow bays, and anywhere else with structure.  

Walleye–The walleye bite has been hit or miss, fish are where they should be for this time of year but they have been mostly neutral or negative as far as aggression towards baits.  Live bait seems to be working best, and jigs and minnows are still working better than leeches.  Look for walleye on deeper rocks or those deeper bottom transitions.  Deep weed lines can also be good spots on certain lakes.

LMB–Largemouth have been active, mostly on artificial baits.  They haven’t quite moved up into shallow weeds and anglers are catching more suspended fish vs. the top water bite.  Live bait such as crawlers or bigger minnows may catch fish in and around weed beds as well.

SMB–Smallies have been on typical spots such as deeper rocks off of points and reefs, and a few anglers have found them up shallow and catching them off of docks.  Kind of depends on the lake you are on and the typical structure of that particular lake.  Night crawlers and leeches seem to be most effective for smallies right now.  

Crappie–The crappie bite started off pretty good early in the week, but as the rain and cold moved in they scattered and anglers struggled to find them.  It sounds like they are still mostly relating to weeds more so than the basins.  Crappie minnows or small plastics under a float seem to be working best right now, as well as small baits such as beetle spins or mimic minnows.  

Bluegill/Perch–Panfish have been in and around shallow weeds and that should continue.  Docks and shorelines with vegetation can also be great spots this time of year for gills and perch.  Small jigs or hooks tipped with waxies/plastics/crawlers or minnows are great options for bait.  

That is all I have for this week’s report.  These weather patterns have the fish kind of all over the place, but we look to be on an upward trend for temps and that should help the fishing a bit.  We here at the bait shop wish all of the dads out there a Happy Fathers Day tomorrow!  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg