Good evening from the Quiet Lakes, coming at ya with an early report as we will be down in Rice Lake early tomorrow morning, so Bryce can finish up his hunter’s safety course. It looks like the weather will start to dip into more fall-like temperatures as the week progresses, and we will have some lows below 32 degrees for a few nights as well. Water temps are cooling down with most lakes in the mid-50s, and cold nights will help that trend continue. We did get a little bit of rain the last few days, but we need way more to get the lakes back up to normal. Most lakes in the area are down close to a couple of feet, so if you are not familiar with the lake you are on, make sure to use caution. Fishing has been pretty good for the species anglers are targeting.
Musky–The musky bite has been pretty good, and the live bait bite is really starting to heat up. Suckers, dive and rise, glide baits, and big rubber baits with a pull/pause retrieve are catching fish. Work still green weeds, both on the shallow and deep edges. Fish will most likely be slightly deeper to start, but come in shallow to feed in low light conditions.
Pike–Pike have been active in and around shallow weeds as well. Working bucktails, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and live bait such as small musky suckers, northern suckers, or even walleye suckers can produce pike right now.
Walleye–The walleye bite has still been pretty tough, but with falling water temps, walleye should start to move into fall transition areas of the lake, such as deeper rocks, deep weed edges, and other structures adjacent to the deep basins of the lake. Jigs tipped with fathead minnows or walleye suckers would be great live bait choices, while jig and plastic combos should produce for artificial baits.
LMB–I have no report on a largemouth bite right now, as very few, if any, anglers are targeting them. Most likely, bass will still be related to weed beds, and using spinnerbaits or slowing down crankbait retrieves can be effective.
SMB–Not many anglers are targeting smallies right now, although walleye anglers may have success using the same baits and fishing the same locations for smallies.
Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–Anglers are finding panfish schooled up in fall transition areas right off of deep weed edges in anywhere from 10-15 FOW depending on the lake and basin structure. Minnows on small jigs or under a bobber are a good choice for catching panfish right now. Small artificial baits such as beetle spins or mimic minnows cast out into these schools of fish can be effective, too.
That is all I have for this week’s report. It looks like fall temps may start to creep in over the next 15 days, although it still appears to be quite a mild fall moving forward. Have a great weekend, and we will talk soon.
Greg