Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, right around 50% chances of rain today and Monday, however the rain Monday looks to bring a cold front and we will see temps drop from the mid to upper 80s into the low to mid 70s after that.  It looks like we will end the week with pretty good weather with abundant sunshine and temps right around 80 degrees.  Water temps have skyrocketed on the surface as we have had hot sunny days and much less wind.  I was out Tuesday night and we were seeing 78 on Little Spider and I have heard the same for the Quiet Lakes as well.  Personally I would say its still safe to musky fish as those are pretty much surface temps and that even a foot or two below is going to be much cooler, however this time of year we need to take extra precaution with fish handling/pictures/etc…..if you are an angler who has caught plenty of musky maybe skip the measurement and pic and just release it.  If it’s your first fish or PB congratulations!! Try to keep the fish in the water in the net, get all of the measuring devices and tools you need to get the fish unhooked ready and get the camera ready before you take the fish out of the water.  Then a quick hold, measurement and pic and get the fish back in!  

Musky–The musky bite has been decent lately and fish are still on the small to midsize bait bite.  Bucktails and top water baits should be what anglers first throw for ‘skies right now and if you aren’t finding active fish on those, slow down with baits such a Suicks or pull/pause baits.  Look for fish on the deeper break lines off of shallow structure.

Northern pike–Pike have been active and still hitting most everything thrown at them.  Spinner baits, jerk/crankbaits, and any kind of live bait as well.  Look for pike on shallow structures such as weeds/timber and even rocky shorelines that have weeds close by.

Walleye–Not sure if anglers are mostly targeting other species or not, but the walleye report has slowed way down.  A few fish coming up at dusk and hitting leeches and a couple reports of fish being caught deep while trolling crankbaits.  Anglers should fish summer patterns for walleye on the lakes they are on as it appears fish are starting to relate to deeper water.

LMB–The bass bite has been good on multiple styles of fishing.  Crawlers have been the best way to catch them with live bait, while top water baits such as frogs and whopper ploppers have been great.  Lots of anglers have done well on plastic worms as well either ned rigged, wacky rigged, or the traditional texas rig.  Largemouth are in and around shallow weeds and lily pads right now.

SMB–Smallies have been hitting the net on live bait such as leeches and jigs and plastics ned rigged. Work baits deeper as fish seem to be relating to bottom on deep week/rock transitions.  Drop shotting may also work for smallies right now.

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Anglers that are finding crappie say the bite has been hot, with both good size catches and numbers being caught.  Fish are mostly being caught on crappie minnows and plastics of that same size.  Bluegill and Perch have been mixed in with crappie right now and anglers are finding them all in that 6-10 FOW range in and around weed beds.  As the water warms the crappie may head to deeper water and school up, but for now they are relatively shallow and predictable.

That’s all I got for this week.  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon!

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes,  we hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday!! It does appear we have decent chances of rain Sunday through Tuesday and then we see temps climb and stabilize into the 80s from mid week on.  Overnight temps look to also stay warm which should really help the bite.  Fishing has been very hit or miss, with many anglers struggling to find any consistent pattern to stay on fish.  Water temps are still hovering right around the 70 degree mark.

Musky–The musky bite has been fair to decent I would say, small bucktails still seem to be getting it done.  Fish are still holding on shallow weeds/structure.  As temps warm up the top water bite that is starting should really pick up.  

Northern pike–No change on the pike report, they are still eating anything and everything that is thrown their direction.  Small baits, large baits, and live bait have all been catching pike.  Anglers should target pike in shallow weeds and any shoreline shallow structure.

Walleye–The walleye bite has been tough to say the least.  The midday bite has been better than the evening bite, and personally I think that is directly related to the lower water temps we have for the time of year.  Fish still seem to be shallow and relating to weeds than you would typically see right now.  As temps warm up and the lakes warm up fish should start to push deeper and be found on typical summer structure (rocks, deep sandy points).  There have been some unconventional catches of walleye the past week on musky baits so don’t be afraid to throw bigger jerk baits, or crankbaits right now. If you prefer live bait, leeches seem to be the top choice.

LMB–The largemouth bite has probably been the best bite so far this year, with anglers doing well on everything from crawlers, to spinnerbaits, to topwater frogs getting it done.  Look for fish in and around shallow weeds, lily pads, and reeds.  

SMB–I honestly don’t have a lot on a smallmouth bite right now.  It seems some anglers are catching them on live bait while fishing for other species.  Anglers targeting them are doing ok on Ned rig style baits and other jigs and plastics.  Smallies should be holding on deeper structure off of rocks and deep weed lines.

Crappie–Crappie action has been sporadic at best with no consistency to a bite.  A few fish here and there has been the norm from spot to spot from what I am hearing.  Minnows seem to be the best bait to use and cribs and other structures seem to be holding some fish.  On lakes with more of a weed bite, anglers should look for crappie in the 6-10 FOW range and use the same presentations.

Bluegill/Perch–Anglers have been doing some of the best catching of panfish right off of the docks as of late.  Fish are in shallow and pretty active.  Nightcrawlers under a float seem to be the ticket to decent gills and perch lately.  Look for fish in and around docks, and shorelines.

Fishing has still been tough and probably will be until these water temps come up a few degrees.  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg