Water temps are in the low to mid 70's on most lakes.
Bass can be caught in shallow water, around piers and slop, along rock weed transition areas, and along deeper weedlines. Topwater baits will take fish early and late, while plastics and live bait are producing during the day.
Pike are active, but many are using the weedlines in 12-18 feet of water. Rattletraps, slow rolled spinner baits or suckers on a slip-sinker rig are your best options.
Musky are using the weedlines and deeper rock areas to feed. Fish are being caught casting along the weedlines, trolling deeper water, and on topwater baits.
Panfish are biting great. To catch the keepers you'll need to find weed edges in 12-22 feet of water, or look for schools of crappie to be suspended. Bluegills have been pretty tight to the bottom, and drifting while fishing vertically has been red hot the last week to 10 days.
Good Luck,
CT
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Cold Front/Fishing Report
Wow, it was chilly this morning. Times like this can make for some tough fishing if you don't adapt.
Bass fishing is marked by two easy rules of thumb under these conditions. 1.) slow down. no matter how slow you are fishing, you can still slow it down. 2.) fish tight to cover. Fish will have a small strike zone right now. Just getting it under the pier won't be enough right now, you'll need to skip, pitch, or flip to the piece of the cover that's holding the fish.
No matter what else you try, slow down.
---
Bass fishing has been consistent, but the bigger fish have been hard to come by lately. The last couple of weeks we've had fish under 4lbs win Tuesday night, and that's a pretty accurate summary of what we have been hearing from around town. Live bait will be a great option for the duration of these frontal conditions, but jig/chunk, spider grubs, wacky, jigworms and tube baits will all catch fish. Expect things to be slow but steady, with a big pickup in activity after this weekend.
Panfish are moving out to the weedlines. Crappie are suspending out over deeper water, but the best fishing has been for bluegills in 12-18 feet of water.
Walleye fishing dropped off a bit the last week, but that was primarily weather related. Backtrolling with live bait, or pulling cranks behind boards on the windy edges of rocky structure was producing. If the wind dies down this week, rigging and bottom bouncers will get hot.
Musky fishing has been between good and great with lots of mid 40 inch fish coming to the boat. Trolling is producing on the sunny days, working the weededges and topwater near rock/weed transition areas is also giving up some fish on the cloudy days. Two people have told me downsizing their baits a little seems to be making a difference. Oconomowoc has been especially good this season.
Pike are on the deep weedlines or suspending over deep structure. Pulling suckers on a slip sinker rig will produce as will slow rolled spinner baits. Watch for baitfish schools on your electronics, and look for concentrations of pike along weed points in 18-25 feet of water.
CT
Bass fishing is marked by two easy rules of thumb under these conditions. 1.) slow down. no matter how slow you are fishing, you can still slow it down. 2.) fish tight to cover. Fish will have a small strike zone right now. Just getting it under the pier won't be enough right now, you'll need to skip, pitch, or flip to the piece of the cover that's holding the fish.
No matter what else you try, slow down.
---
Bass fishing has been consistent, but the bigger fish have been hard to come by lately. The last couple of weeks we've had fish under 4lbs win Tuesday night, and that's a pretty accurate summary of what we have been hearing from around town. Live bait will be a great option for the duration of these frontal conditions, but jig/chunk, spider grubs, wacky, jigworms and tube baits will all catch fish. Expect things to be slow but steady, with a big pickup in activity after this weekend.
Panfish are moving out to the weedlines. Crappie are suspending out over deeper water, but the best fishing has been for bluegills in 12-18 feet of water.
Walleye fishing dropped off a bit the last week, but that was primarily weather related. Backtrolling with live bait, or pulling cranks behind boards on the windy edges of rocky structure was producing. If the wind dies down this week, rigging and bottom bouncers will get hot.
Musky fishing has been between good and great with lots of mid 40 inch fish coming to the boat. Trolling is producing on the sunny days, working the weededges and topwater near rock/weed transition areas is also giving up some fish on the cloudy days. Two people have told me downsizing their baits a little seems to be making a difference. Oconomowoc has been especially good this season.
Pike are on the deep weedlines or suspending over deep structure. Pulling suckers on a slip sinker rig will produce as will slow rolled spinner baits. Watch for baitfish schools on your electronics, and look for concentrations of pike along weed points in 18-25 feet of water.
CT
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Fishing Report 7-8-09
Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven't been dropping in as often as I should. School is keeping me mighty busy these days.
Fishing has been fluctuating with the weather, and the cold fronts have been slowing it down as they pass through. Last night's Big Bass League was a perfect example of that.
Bass fishing has been slow, but steady the past week. The weather changes are effecting the fish. Weedlines and piers are both producing right now, but look for the rockbars and gravel areas to turn on as they crayfish start to molt. Topwater fishing can be productive, and the slop is holding active fish on the sunny days. Deep: try crankbaits, slow rolled spinnerbaits, texas rigs or live bait. Shallow: Tubes, Wacky, jigworms and grubs.
Pike continue to bite, and can provide some consistent fishing despite the weather conditions. Look for them adjacent to deep water and deep weed points. Slipsinker rigs will suckers or large shiners will produce fish of quality size if trolled ever so slowly with you electric motor. Make sure to stay in contact with the weed edge or sand grass and watch for bait schools on your graph.
Musky fishing has been incredible this year, lots of nice low to mid 40's themfish continue to be caught. Lots of anglers are working the weed edges and deep points, but topwater and trolling for suspended fish have also been producing. Oconomowoc, Okauchee and Fowler have all been active the last 15 days.
Panfish continue to bite, but spawning activity is on the downswing. Time to look for them around deeper weeds or suspended off mainlake structure. Night fishing can be dynamite this time of year. Bets bet is to look for fish in 18-22 feet of water and remember that the largest fish in a school will be at the bottom of it. If you're catching smaller fish, try fishing a little deeper, or at least try to get you bait down a little farther.
Good Luck,
CT
Sorry I haven't been dropping in as often as I should. School is keeping me mighty busy these days.
Fishing has been fluctuating with the weather, and the cold fronts have been slowing it down as they pass through. Last night's Big Bass League was a perfect example of that.
Bass fishing has been slow, but steady the past week. The weather changes are effecting the fish. Weedlines and piers are both producing right now, but look for the rockbars and gravel areas to turn on as they crayfish start to molt. Topwater fishing can be productive, and the slop is holding active fish on the sunny days. Deep: try crankbaits, slow rolled spinnerbaits, texas rigs or live bait. Shallow: Tubes, Wacky, jigworms and grubs.
Pike continue to bite, and can provide some consistent fishing despite the weather conditions. Look for them adjacent to deep water and deep weed points. Slipsinker rigs will suckers or large shiners will produce fish of quality size if trolled ever so slowly with you electric motor. Make sure to stay in contact with the weed edge or sand grass and watch for bait schools on your graph.
Musky fishing has been incredible this year, lots of nice low to mid 40's themfish continue to be caught. Lots of anglers are working the weed edges and deep points, but topwater and trolling for suspended fish have also been producing. Oconomowoc, Okauchee and Fowler have all been active the last 15 days.
Panfish continue to bite, but spawning activity is on the downswing. Time to look for them around deeper weeds or suspended off mainlake structure. Night fishing can be dynamite this time of year. Bets bet is to look for fish in 18-22 feet of water and remember that the largest fish in a school will be at the bottom of it. If you're catching smaller fish, try fishing a little deeper, or at least try to get you bait down a little farther.
Good Luck,
CT
Week 10
Tuesday Night Big Bass League Results:
Tough Night with the cold front. 49 anglers, 19 fish were caught. (18 Lm, 1 Sm)
3.02lb 1st 2.88lb 2nd/3rd (tie)
See you next week.
Tough Night with the cold front. 49 anglers, 19 fish were caught. (18 Lm, 1 Sm)
3.02lb 1st 2.88lb 2nd/3rd (tie)
See you next week.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Holiday Weekend
Big Holiday Weekend Ahead, with lots of boats on the water. Be careful out there. Your best bet is to get an early start. You can get some serious fishing in before most of the ski boats and pleasure craft hit the water.
Panfish are still spawning on some area lakes. Bluegills can be found in shallow water areas where there is sand or gravel, but bigger gills can be caught of spawning areas in as deep as 18 feet of water. Meanwhile, crappies are relating to weed edges between 8-12 feet or suspending over deeper water. For gills, leeches, panfish plumpers, waxies or redworms are all good options, while crappie will be taken more frequently on small or large fateheads, or on hair jigs.
Largemouth bass are relating to the heavy weed growth in 8-15 feet of water. These fish can be taken on swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, texas rigged worms, nightcrawlers or small suckers fished just along the outside edge of the weedbeds. Skipping piers is producing a few fish as well. Wacky Worms, Shakey heads and tubes are all producing. If you're an early riser, topwater poppers, spooks and buzzbaits are catching some nice fish off the weedflats in 5-12 feet right now, but only consistently at first light on days with a light breeze.
Smallmouth bass fishing has been spotty, but there are lots of fish using rocky points and bars both early and later in the day. Skirted grubs, tubes, wacky worms, shakey heads and small suckers are catching some consistent bags of fish. If you see lots of baitfish around rocky areas, try a jerkbait or floating rapala.
Walleye fishing is picking back up after the cold snap. Fish are being caught along shallow inside and outside weed edges or off deeper flats with sandgrass. Vertically jigging has been better during the day, while throwing cranks and minnow baits has been producing early and late. Suckers, backtrolled on lindy or a slip-sinker rig has been producing the larger fish.
Pike fishing has been red hot this entire season, but especially lately. Lots of smaller pike are using the shallow weedflats to feed on small gills and juvenile perch. Spinners baits, small bucktails or buzzbaits will produce when fished tight to weedclumps. Looking for something bigger? Move out to the weedline in 12-18 feet of water and fish with suckers or large shiners on a slip sinker rig.
Musky fishing has been steady with lots of nice fish coming in. Some anglers have been catching suspended fish out over deeper water pulling crankbaits. Some fish are also being taken by targeting points along the deepedges of the weedline by fisherman casting with bucktails, gliders, jerkbaits and swimbaits.
Good Luck, and stay safe.
CT
Panfish are still spawning on some area lakes. Bluegills can be found in shallow water areas where there is sand or gravel, but bigger gills can be caught of spawning areas in as deep as 18 feet of water. Meanwhile, crappies are relating to weed edges between 8-12 feet or suspending over deeper water. For gills, leeches, panfish plumpers, waxies or redworms are all good options, while crappie will be taken more frequently on small or large fateheads, or on hair jigs.
Largemouth bass are relating to the heavy weed growth in 8-15 feet of water. These fish can be taken on swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, texas rigged worms, nightcrawlers or small suckers fished just along the outside edge of the weedbeds. Skipping piers is producing a few fish as well. Wacky Worms, Shakey heads and tubes are all producing. If you're an early riser, topwater poppers, spooks and buzzbaits are catching some nice fish off the weedflats in 5-12 feet right now, but only consistently at first light on days with a light breeze.
Smallmouth bass fishing has been spotty, but there are lots of fish using rocky points and bars both early and later in the day. Skirted grubs, tubes, wacky worms, shakey heads and small suckers are catching some consistent bags of fish. If you see lots of baitfish around rocky areas, try a jerkbait or floating rapala.
Walleye fishing is picking back up after the cold snap. Fish are being caught along shallow inside and outside weed edges or off deeper flats with sandgrass. Vertically jigging has been better during the day, while throwing cranks and minnow baits has been producing early and late. Suckers, backtrolled on lindy or a slip-sinker rig has been producing the larger fish.
Pike fishing has been red hot this entire season, but especially lately. Lots of smaller pike are using the shallow weedflats to feed on small gills and juvenile perch. Spinners baits, small bucktails or buzzbaits will produce when fished tight to weedclumps. Looking for something bigger? Move out to the weedline in 12-18 feet of water and fish with suckers or large shiners on a slip sinker rig.
Musky fishing has been steady with lots of nice fish coming in. Some anglers have been catching suspended fish out over deeper water pulling crankbaits. Some fish are also being taken by targeting points along the deepedges of the weedline by fisherman casting with bucktails, gliders, jerkbaits and swimbaits.
Good Luck, and stay safe.
CT
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