~ Fishing guides Roger LaPenter and Luke Kavajecz from Anglers All, 715/682-5754, report the following:
This report is about the Ashland side of Chequamegon Bay. The water is warming up and the fish are on the move, folks!
The smallmouth bass are starting to move back in to shore and can be found in the shallows, primarily at the east end of the bay. They are making beds, though some are still in pre-spawn mode.
Most of the smallie fishing is occurring in 1 to 5 foot of water, according to Carolyn Swartz, co-owner of Anglers All in Ashland.
Walleyes remain active both at the head of the bay and around Brush Point and Kakagon Slough. Carolyn said most people after walleye are trolling with crawler harnesses in the shallows and using stickbaits in the deeper water in the drop-offs into the channel. (This type of fishing is most productive during lowlight hours, she noted.)
She said that people also have been trolling and casting for some walleye at the mouth of Fish Creek slough during the low-light hours using shallow-running stickbaits and that jigging with leeches has been working, too.
The same spots where the walleye and bass are hanging out are the locations where anglers have been catching a good number of northerns. The northern pike are hanging around in the shallows and for those who like to fish from shore there has been perch and northern activity off the old ore dock.
“A good number of brown trout are being caught out in the bay in the evenings,” Carolyn said, citing a 38-inch brown hauled in earlier this week. “They could be anywhere throughout the bay right now – off the first breaks, out in the islands, all over the place. Everything is in transition with the water temperatures starting to change.”
She said anglers have found a few splake up along the Bayfield shoreline. “And if they’re interested in lake trout, they need to follow the water temperatures as the trout like it cool,” Carolyn noted.
Carolyn says those targeting trout and salmon should start in Washburn and work their way north along the shoreline, trolling with flatlines “unless you start marking them in a little deeper water. People are starting to use spoons off of downriggers in deeper water along with dipsy divers.”
“The best fishing is yet to come,” commented Anglers All fishing guide Luke Kavajecz recently.
For the most complete and up-to-date fishing report, just give them a call at Anglers All and they will gladly keep you informed!
~ The Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce, http://www.visitashland.com, 1-800-284-9484, reports:
Fishing is always a thrilling adventure in the Ashland area! Chequamegon Bay is famous for its world-class smallmouth bass fishing.
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