By George Langley
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – Well, the crazy weather rollercoaster continued into this last week with both cold nights down into the low 40s and then hot days into the 90s in some places. Looks like this week should get and stay cooler, for the time being.
With the hot weather we had recently, we saw water temps bump up into the upper 70s and even heard some 80s, but we’re hoping to see some gradual declines in that now. Weed development has basically ceased and we are going to start seeing some of die-off now. The shallow weeds die first, followed by gradually deeper weeds.
With the hot weather we had late last month, we saw water temps bump up into the upper 70s and even heard some 80s, but we’re hoping to see some gradual declines in that now. Weed development has basically ceased and we are going to start seeing some of die-off now. The shallow weeds die first, followed by gradually deeper weeds.
Walleye fishing has been pretty good when you get into them, with most of the population holding on or right off the deeper weeds. Some fish on the Chain have moved to the edges on the holes and are hitting on minnows. We’ve still been able to get leeches, and they are working, but some anglers are also using crawlers with success. As always, evenings seem to be best, but the daytime fishing has held up pretty well. On the bigger lakes, musky cabbage is holding fish quite consistently. They don’t seem to be grouped tightly, so moving along these weed edges is working well. The minnow bite will get stronger as the water temp declines.
Panfish action is good, with the bluegills still in the weeds and hitting worms very well. Perch are on the deeper weed edges and are hitting minnows quite well. Crappie action remains good, but they are spread out now. We are finding a lot of them in 10 to 15 feet near wood.
Bass fishing is starting to change for the fall also. The smallies will have to cope with the crayfish dying off by switching more to a minnow bite, and we will see many of these fish actually move into the weeds to find food as the fall goes on. They are still mostly on rocks now, especially if there are weeds nearby. Plastics are still working very well for these fish. Largemouth are a little deeper now, but you will still find some under shoreline cover such as piers. Wacky worms are working well for these fish.
Northerns are hitting well in the weeds, as usual. As a general rule, those lakes with deeper weed will produce the best action in those deeper grass weeds on larger minnows, but any flashy or loud lure will work on these guys, too.
Musky action continues to be pretty good, and we’re seeing small surface baits producing well. That great fall action is on the horizon, with the best bite of the year for bigger fish coming in quickly. Hopefully this decline in temps will get us rolling.
It should be a good week for all fish after the heavy boat traffic of the last weekend. We can start enjoying some of the peace of the fall here, soon.
Good luck and good fishin’!