Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, it seems we are definitely on a rollercoaster so far this winter as far as the weather is concerned. Temps dip a little bit this weekend with highs just into the 20s with slight chances of snow showers. We may get up to 38 Tuesday with a wintry mix of precipitation and then a high of 14 on Wednesday with clear skies. The end of the week looks to bring measurable snow as I am seeing around an inch of snow each day and 1-3″ of snow Thursday night into Friday. It sounds like the snowmobile trails have stayed in very good shape considering the warm up. There is still some slush on the ice when you get off of the snowmobile trails on the lakes, so anglers using ATVs/UTVs should be mindful to not get stuck! Fishing has been pretty slow for most species.
Northern Pike — Pike have not been as active as anglers might expect lately. Anglers should still find pike set up on shallower structure whether that weeds, points, bars, etc. Tip-ups or auto rigged rod holders such as jaw jackers or Clam predator setups with suckers or shiners under them can be great for pike. Look for pike anywhere from 5-15 FOW in and around these structures.
Walleye — Walleye have been lethargic and neutral as I have heard anglers working hard to jig walleye up and getting a lot of false flags on tip-ups. It seems walleye are holding pretty tight to the bottom anywhere from 8-20 FOW depending on the lake. Anglers should employ jigging and at least a dead stick or tip-up set up in tandem to catch more walleye.
LMB/SMB — I have not heard of any kind of a bass bite, though largemouth should be active tripping flags eating the suckers or shiners under tip-ups. Look for largemouth to be related to weed beds or closer to shorelines, while smallies can be jigged in deeper rocky/sandy spots.
Crappie — The crappie bite has been decent, but it comes in pretty short windows of action. Crappies are set up in basins right now anywhere from 12-25 FOW or deeper depending on the basin in the lake. Smaller jigging spoons or jigs tipped with plastics or minnows are standard fare for crappie right now.
Perch — Perch should be set up on edges adjacent to deep water, whether that be deep weed transitions, rock transitions or points or bars that extend into deeper water. Small spoons and aggressive jigging work excellent for catching perch.
Bluegill — Anglers can find bluegill also on edges, although they should be related more to shallow weed edges rather than deep edges. Look for pockets of weeds or inside turns to catch gills. Small jigs tipped with waxies/spikes/plastics are pretty much a staple for catching bluegill.
That is all I have for this week’s report. Not a ton of good info and I apologize for that. Unfortunately anglers can’t MAKE the fish bite!! Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.
Greg