Fishing....

Lots of new people in town for the holiday week, so here's an update on the local lakes.

Panfish: Samll panfish can still be found in the shallows and around piers, but the better sized fish are done spawning and have moved out to deeper water. Look for them in 12-15 feet of water on the weed edges, or suspended out in deeper water. They tend to suspend 16-20 feet down over 40 or fifty feet of water. Watch for a "cloud" on your electronics and you'll be on some fish. Use our panfish plumpers or small plastics tipped with a waxie or garlic waxie. Try Okauchee, Pine, Oconomowoc, Lower and Middle Genessee and Ashipunn for panfish.

Bass: Its summertime, and most of the summer patterns are working on the area lakes. Look for shallow fish in the slop and around piers with the deeper fish using weedlines and structure in 15-22 feet of water. Rats/scum frogs for the slop, skip wacky worms or tubes around the piers/boatlifts, and use small suckers or nightcrawlers out deep. Okauchee and Pine have been red hot. Oconomowoc and Lac Labelle have also been giving up fish. For action try Silver, Upper Nashotah and Upper Genessee.

Northern: Shallow weedy areas fished with traditional spinnerbaits, either an inline like a mepps or a r-bend bass bait will produce fish, as will burning a buzzbaits around scattered weedy cover. Out on the weedlines, use larger suckers on a circle hook rig weighted with an egg sinker or cast with small crankbaits. All area lakes have active pike, but don't overlook Moose Lake or okauchee.

Walleye: The walleye fishing has been very good this year with lots of 20"+ fish being caught. Cralwer harnesses slow trolled around structure or jigging with leeches will produce but the bigger fish are coming on suckers, especially in the evenings. Look for them around weeds in 15-18 feet of water during the day and 8-15 feet in low light periods. Pine, Labelle, Oconomowoc are your best bets.

Musky: Fish have been following but catching them has been tough. There's a batch of fish out deep which guides have been trolling for with some success, but alot of fish are still using the weedlines to forage and this is where the action has been. Bucktails, chatterbaits, swimbaits and bulldawgs are your best bets, but don't overlook a glider this time of year. Okauchee, Pewaukee and Oconomowoc are solid bets, but don't overlook Fowler.

There's a rundown of shore fishing areas on the right, and if you'd like to go out for a few hours with a guide, we can arrange it for you.

Good Luck Out There
CT