NORTHERN WISCONSIN HOOKS & LINES: With most hunting seasons now open, fishing pressure was a bit reduced on nearly all lakes across the Northwoods. Musky have been receiving the most attention lately and the action has continued to be good. The musky have been active at nearly all times of the day and most anglers were reporting some sort of action including short hits, follows, swirls, and a good number of catches as well. Artificial baits have still been producing some pretty good action, but live suckers have been getting more and more attention in the last two weeks. The most successful artificials have been bucktails, jerk baits, and bulldawg-type baits; and 12- to 14-inch suckers on a quick-strike rig have been the most productive. Most of the musky have been in the 34- to 40-inch size, but fish up in mid-40-inch size have also been reported. Bass fishing has continued to get more erratic on local waters, but some good action has been experienced on a couple of days. Largemouth bass have been more consistent than smallmouth, with the best action coming from mid-depth cover, near weed edges, woody structures, docks, or bog edges. Soft plastics and jig/craw combinations continue to be the best baits, though rubber frogs over the thick weeds have also produced a few fish. Smallmouth fishing has been an on-again, off-again experience, with some good days of fishing mixed in with some very poor days. Area rivers and flowages have provided the best action, with finesse plastics and lindy-rigged leeches or crawler-half being the more successful baits. Northern pike fishing has remained good, with the cool water temperatures continuing to favor this species. Spinner baits fished in or near any weeds has provided some great action. Very few reports of walleye success have come in as most anglers seem to have given up until the good fall bite begins. Panfish success has been fair, with some bluegill, perch, and crappie showing up along the deeper weed edges. Sturgeon anglers continue to have fair success with many anglers reporting catching a few of these ancient fish. Most of the fish have been in the 30- to 48-inch size, with a just a few legal 60-plus-inch fish being caught. The larger rivers have been the most popular spots, with the best action coming on cut bait and gobs of night crawlers fished in the deep holes or deep river bends. ~ Skip Sommerfeldt, senior fisheries biologist, Park Falls
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 08:34:27 +0000
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