By George Langley
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – It certainly has been beautiful out there, hasn’t it? The great thing about fall is, well it’s fall! The bad thing is that the color doesn’t last long enough. Weather continues to be unpredictable and warmer than usual. Water temps are moving from the upper 60s to low 70s almost daily – temps drop at night, then come back up during the day. Maybe now that there are no 80s in the forecast, we’ll begin to see them start to decline.
Walleye fishing is just ok right now. On the Chain, look for fish in the 15 feet and deeper range, as they try to move to the holes. Jigs and minnows are the best bait now. Use a 1/8 oz. jig, unless it’s windy. On the deeper lakes, we are also seeing fish going deeper – as deep as 35 feet. One place to check out on these lakes, especially in the evening, is deep rock bars.
Panfish action has been good, with these fish hanging out pretty deep, too. Look at least 10 feet and find some weed edges or structure. The perch are hanging out with the walleye in the deeper weeds and taking larger fathead minnows well, bluegill in deeper structure and hitting on crawlers. Crappies are generally deeper in the 15 feet to 20 feet range and biting on medium fatheads.
Bass are still hitting, with smallies being very active in deeper water. Look for cribs or rocks in these areas. Jigs and minnows or paddle tails will give you good results. It has been a great year for these fish, and hopefully this trend will continue for a while. We expect the largemouth to slow down as the water temp drops, but they are still active now and generally using deeper cover. On sunny days, you can still find them under piers, too. Wacky Worms are still best when shallow.
Northerns are hitting well in the weeds. Try some Mepps #3 or for best results, or sucker minnows under slip bobbers at different depths as live bait.
Musky fishing has been good lately. Look for deep weeds and fish those edges. Try jerk baits or crank baits. We’re seeing some people starting to use suckers, but it’s still just too warm for much action with them.
We’ve got a lot of color to look forward to yet this fall, and a lot of time left on the open water. It’s beautiful out there now, especially in the quiet of the mid-week.
Good luck and good fishin’!