By George Langley
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – You will notice the beginning of fall colors around here as the roadside ferns turn brown, and the maples start their changes. Water temps should be on the decline; however, we’re kind of stuck where we’re at until we see a change in the weather. It looks like for the next week, at least, we’re staying pretty warm. From this point forward, when we see these really warm temps in the 80s, it kind of kills the fishing for the duration of those fronts.
Walleye fishing has been tough for the last week. Basically, they have stayed on those deeper weed edges and are hitting better during the evenings and at night right now. Jigs and minnows are, as usual, the best bait for them. On the deeper lakes, we have seen some improvement in the daytime fishing, but the evening and night fishing is still better. Half crawlers have been good on these lakes on the weed edges in the 12 to 15-feet range. Look for daytime action to continue to improve as the water temps hopefully decline this month.
Panfish action remains decent, with bluegills continuing to hit well in the mid-range weeds. Waxies or worms are working well for these fish. Crappies continue to be schooled up, and if you can find them, will provide great action on minnows. Look for them in deeper brush piles and deep weed edges. Perch have moved somewhat deeper lately, and bigger minnows are best for these guys if you’re looking for bigger perch.
Bass action continues to be good, with a lot of smallmouth and largemouth being caught mixed together on lakes that contain both types of fish. Plastics fished right on the bottom have been effective, but at ½ crawler on a jig at the weed edges can work, too. Some good size has been reported on lakes in the Nicolet, and largemouth have also been quite active on the shallower lakes.
As always, the northern remain hungry. Look for them in the weeds, and throw anything flashy and they will hit. Try a spinner bait right over the top of the weed beds for some good action. They are also hitting well on pike-sized suckers.
Musky action has slowed back down from the action we were seeing at the end of August, but will improve with dropping water temps. These fish should be more active in the weeds this month during the daytime than they have been all summer. There is a great combination of good numbers and a chance of a trophy during the fall fishing. Mid-sized to larger bucktails have still been the most effective but it’s worth trying surface baits, too, if for nothing else but the chance of seeing a hit right on top of the water. With the drop in water temperatures we’re hoping for, we’re right on the cusp of sucker season, so we have that to look forward to, also.
It looks like we’re on the decline as far as temperatures go, but still nothing like we expect to see at this time of the year. While 70s during the daytime makes for a beautiful day, we’d really like to see it cooler and see some nighttime temps in the 40s and 30s. There’s nothing like a day on the water during a crisp fall day, with the colors blazing on the shores. We’ll get there eventually!
Good luck and good fishin’!