Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, it looks to be a beautiful Labor Day weekend with temps in the mid to upper 70s and very little, if any chances of rain. That looks to change Tuesday with afternoon thunderstorms and then Fall shows up in a big way with highs in the 50s to end the week. The fishing has picked up a bit for some species, while others have still been tough to find and catch.
Musky–The musky bite has picked up quite a bit with these cooler water temps (low 70s by evening, and down in the mid to upper 60s to start the mornings). Bucktails, topwater baits, and jerkbaits have all produced fish over the past week and should continue to do so. Weeds, rock, and some shallower structure seem to be holding ‘skies right now. Most bait shops do have some smaller live bait (suckers) available, but personally I feel water temps are a bit too warm to be dragging suckers around right now.
Pike–Pike action has been decent, mainly on spinnerbaits, small inline spinners, and shallow running or floating crankbaits. Weed edges and weed beds are still holding pike, and anglers should start there to put pike in the boat.
Walleye–The walleye bite has been tough, although I did have a group in yesterday and they were finding ‘eyes right in the deep weed edge. Slip bobbers with a jig and a crawler worked best for them so that would be a good place to start to chase walleye right now.
LMB–Largemouth have been active eating spinnerbaits, nightcrawlers under bobbers and topwater baits such as whopper ploppers. Lily pads, weed beds and shoreline structure are all holding bass right now. Plastic worms worked through these areas can work well also.
SMB–Anglers have done well catching smallies on deeper rocky transitions. Points and mid lake reefs/humps are holding fish, and both live bait and plastics are working. Minnows seem to be the choice for live bait, while drop shotting shorter plastics are the choice artificially.
Crappie–Crappie are all over the water column depending on the lake and how the lake sets up. Some anglers are finding fish in and around weeds, while others are finding fish deep in the basin. Minnows (both crappie and fathead) rigged on jig heads will catch crappie. If the lake has deep basins say 20-25 FOW, check those and if you are on a shallower lake focus on weeds or weed beds.
Bluegill/Perch–I haven’t got much of a scoop on a panfish bite as most anglers aren’t too focused on them right now, but we still have green weeds and warm water so crawlers or leaf worms rigged under a bobber and fished through weeds or off of docks are great choices.
That is all I have for a report this week. Bear season gets under way mid week so if we have anything to report on that next weekend I will let you know. Have a great long weekend and we will talk soon!
Greg