Good morning from the Northwoods, a bit of a soggy start to the holiday weekend. It has been raining pretty steady all morning. If the forecast holds true, it appears we are going to go from heating to air conditioning this year. I am seeing temps climbing into the mid 80s this week and holding there until next weekend. Very little chance of rain this week other than this morning. The fishing has been decent lately, but I think a warm up will certainly help. I just hope the water temps don’t shoot up too quickly. Right now water temps are hovering right around 60 degrees on most lakes, give or take a few degrees each way.
Musky–Even though most musky anglers held out targeting ‘skies with the early season start, Memorial weekend is the typical kickoff to the musky season. Anglers should target shallow emerging weeds as crappie, bluegill, and perch will be close by. Smaller bucktails, minnow baits, or jerk baits like a 7″ Suick can be great options for early season musky.
Northern pike–Anglers have been catching pike mostly while walleye fishing right now and having action on jigs/fathead minnows. Walleye/bass sized jerkbaits or crankbaits can also be excellent choices for pike right now. Look for pike in and around weed edges as they too will be looking to eat easy meals of baitfish in emerging weed beds.
Walleye–The walleye bite has been pretty good overall, with anglers having luck on all manner of live bait, including leeches, minnows, and crawlers already. Anglers have found walleye on slightly deeper weed edges and rock transitions depending on the lake. Jerk baits and crank baits will catch fish as well cast or trolled around these spots.
LMB–It sounds like anglers have had success catching largemouth up shallow as they are making beds for spawning. Look for shallow sandy shorelines on the inside of weed or rock edges and work baits through them. Ned rigged plastics, spinnerbaits, and live bait have all been working well.
SMB–A few smallies have been caught by anglers fishing deep rocky points or reefs. Some are catching them on live bait while walleye fishing, and others are having success on jigs/plastics. Look for smallies in deeper water, anywhere from 12-20 FOW.
Crappie–Crappie are going to be spawning very soon, it sounds like anglers are finding them around 6 to 8 FOW in weeds. A few days in the 80s and water temps rising another 3-5 degrees should have crappie absolutely popping off. Jigs/minnows are an anglers best choice right now, however jigs/plastics or smaller baits like mimic minnows or beetle spins can work as well. In the next week anglers should see crappie moving even shallower and the bite should get hot.
Perch/Bluegill–Perch should also be very close to spawning and will likely be in and around shallow weeds. Jigs and minnows are a great choice for perch and anglers can even size up to fathead minnows to target the biggest perch in the school. Bluegill should be close by weeds, but may be hanging on. the inside edges as they are starting to set up for spawning on shallow sand bottoms. Leaf worms or chunks of crawlers on small jigs or hooks under a float are an excellent choice to catch bluegill right now.
That is all I have for this week’s report. Things should really start to pick up both in fishing and tourism for the area and it looks as if we will be in the summer swing by the end of next week! Have a great weekend, take time to remember the fallen and we will talk soon.
Greg