Good morning, lots of precipitation this weekend although I would rather have it be in the form of rain! More snow in the forecast than rain and not a decent warm up until mid to late week. Fishing has been pretty good the last week with lots of guys/gals seeing musky/northern action on suckers. Water temps are right around the 50 degree mark.
Musky–Musky action has been good on both live bait and artificial baits. Both large and small offerings are catching fish as I had a customer put a 42 incher on the board on a Mepps 5 last monday!!! Suckers are in high demand and rather low supply right now, but if you can find them use them on weed edges/humps/points and anywhere you are seeing baitfish.
Northern pike–Hearing some reports of good sized northern pike also hitting big suckers right now. Smaller suckers rigged over the weeds will also work well right now for northern. If casting, throwing crankbaits, slow rolling bucktails/spinnerbaits, and using any kind of pull/pause or dive and rise bait are all good choices. Again look for green weeds or any other structure where you are finding baitfish.
Walleye–Slow down for the walleye bite and fish transitions from hard to soft bottom. Pitching jigs with suckers or plastics is a great way to target walleye right now. Pulling the jigs with lighter pops and letting it sit a few seconds in between will work better than snapping and getting reaction strikes. All of the fish are starting to set up for winter feeding habits and are not chasing baits like they do in summer.
Largemouth bass–Largemouth will still be relating to weeds and the best choice to target them is probably going to be live bait. Fathead minnows underneath a bobber can be great.
Smallmouth bass–Smallies can be on the same transitions as the walleye and using the same jigs/plastics will work to catch fish. Slowing down and working the tops of the transitions is key.
Crappie–I am hearing reports and last weekend I saw some crappie out suspended in the basin. Jigs tipped with crappie minnows or bare hooks under a float with a crappie minnow is an excellent choice right now.
Bluegill/Perch–Bluegill and perch will be mixed in the still green weeds on top of humps or bays. Small jigs tipped with waxies or plastics will produce good fish right now.
Another week of weird weather and not many guys/gals targeting anything other than musky so kind of light on the report. Pretty much everyone is out of musky suckers in the area so if you are traveling and reading this before you come up, you may want to transport them. Hope everyone has a great weekend and stays dry!
Greg