Chetek Chain

I sure as heck ain’t gonna drag yer chubby little body back up that darn hill……………..

gills north of burnahm island in 12 ft. small leeches at dark last night all were 9 to 10 inches. no eyes though. BUT we almost had a wreck to behold. two deer swimming in Chetek out in 18 ft of water in the dark w/o running lights on them. Was coming across when we saw what appeared as two ducks taking off but turned out to be flopping ears. Just missed hitting them. would be something to explain to the ins man. ” hit two deer with my boat in the lake, am I covered” thank god I saw them in time.

I’m still going out at least once or twice a day, and still pickin up 9″ to 10″ Crappies all over the North end of Prarie. Young Eagles left there nest in the Vets Park bay on Sat. Cane, give me a jingle sometime when ya wan-a go out.

Will have to be after this weekend going down to the Michigan Outing thing at Two Rivers…….can you say, KING SALMON??????

Yes Sir……. Good luck…. Knock em dead.

Knock ’em dead we didn’t!!! TOUGH FISH’N everyone except two boats had a tough time…..We only boated two rainbows, one small king and a laker…had a blast though…well worth the trip. See ya on the water, sometime.

Sorry to hear that Cane… Seems like your last trip was rough too !!!! I go out in the bay here, every morning around 6:30 or 7:00 am and again around 6:00 or so in the evening…. Wroung time for you though.

eyes still slow to tight jawed. panfish are doing well especially crappies off the dee water. 17-18ft at the bottom. most of those we picked off were 10-12 inches. they were feeding over the mud flat in chetek north of baptist bay. reports to me this am indicate a slow bite on bass but those picked up were nice size. Also strange that with the winds of the last 2 -3 days, my guests were getting more gills than crappie. Friday thru sunday it was mainly crappie. will se what shows up tonight in the fishhouse. tight lines to all and a keeper to boot.

word has it from a less than desireable source(putor)LOL! that the crappie bite on the north end of Prairie is pretty good. Sons were out on the southern end of Prairie off the west shore south of Burnhams island and did very good on nice gills in 8-12 fow using leech’s under a slip bobber with a colored(red) hook.

Since the other two Gentlemen ( and I use the word sparingley) that used to fish the North end of Prarie also, don’t seem to go out much anymore…… I guess it’s up to King & I to keep the reports out, here’s mine….
Pan fish are still hittin good up here, but now the last few days after the 100 degree day, they seem to be scattered all over and are less interested. I switched from my favorite jig & smoke colered twister-tail, to a green tube jig which they like pretty well, and this morning I had to add “Crappie candy” too. Water temp was 83.6 before the rain ran me off the lake….. Yep I said rain!!!! Almost forgot what it was like to see water fall from the sky, as we’ve only had a bit over an inch in the last three months!!!!

well crappies and gills remain active but a little harder to find the larger one. Our success has been in the silver birch area of chetek in 9-10 ft of water. Means drifting in the middle amongst the numerous tubers and skiers. Should be more quiet today and will post if any major catches occur.

Bass were hitting in the shallows yesterday with some regularity. Several nice bass in the 2-4 lb were caught.

Have notice that the fish were doing best on a falling barometer in the last few weeks. Opposite what I was always led to believe ( steady high ws good fishing). Guess I will have to rethink it all over again.

we still have a very active crappie and gill bite going on right now. weekend weather may stall it out but not sure. they are taking small jigs with abandon and many I am seeing are 10 inch and larger.

Panfish are hitting all over the Chetek Chain.

ice is forming pretty good but is still spotty at best and varies in thickness.Did see some people out on the ice in and around the wolf’s den on the north end and down between gilligans and Northwoods.

Fishing on the Chetek chain has been pretty good with a good 8 inch’s of ice the average.Gills , perch & crappie have been biting on the entire chain with nice catch’s of perch coming off of Prairie.Crappies have been good around northwoods in the evening but be careful of the ice by the bridge.Walleyes have slowed but they are still getting some mostly late afternoon. Northern action has also been fairly steady fishing the weed bed or weedlines.

fished Prarie yesterday afternoon. Caught some nice perch .

How has the walleye bite been on Prairie? I’ve never ice fished it before. Any tips?

they have been getting a few eyes on the north end of Prarie and earlier on Chetek but been pretty slow as of late. Your better bet would be Red Cedar around Stout island.

Thanks!

Fished Pokegama and Chetek fairly hard the last few days. Lots of little gills on Pokegama with bigger fish few and far between. Fished channel edges around 10-12 ft and around some cribs. Got a few decent crappies also. Chetek was slow for crappies, there was a flurry in the evening that lasted about an hour and thats it. Saw a few people fishing tipups by the bridge between Pokegama and Chetek pulling out a few fish, but there was open water near by.

I fished Prarie Saturday, with limited action. I fished mainly the northern part near Vets Park and Wolf’s. Tried a little further south. There was no mid day bite and caught a few small ones in the afternoon…where did all the fish go?

Looked like they were biting during the tournement a week or so ago. I was dissapointed though. This was my first time on the area lakes, nice area but the fishing was poor. Maybe I just hit it at a bad time. I was under the imression that these lakes are known for quality bluegills. The biggest one I caught was 7″

These lakes get a ton of pressure, this time of year I am finding if you hit less pressured lakes or areas you will have better luck consistently. Also it is my believe on heavy pressured shallow lakes once the driving begins on them the fishing goes downhill….Lake Altoona here in Eau Claire would be a prime example of this, I wont even waste my time on this lake until last ice because the of the driving/ intense fishing pressure

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Looked like they were biting during the tournement a week or so ago. I was dissapointed though. This was my first time on the area lakes, nice area but the fishing was poor. Maybe I just hit it at a bad time. I was under the imression that these lakes are known for quality bluegills. The biggest one I caught was 7″

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Yeah…usually you can get some really good fish. Right now the key is getting away from everyone. I usually try to find some of the spots with less pressure on this lake chain. They are there…just like any lake they have their moments.

Bigpike,
I have to disagree about Altoona…I heard that all last year too that once people drive on fishing is done and it is the dead sea…I caught most of my fish and biggest fish during this period. My suggestion is to get away from shanty town and the cribs and try the channel area and other places with good structure.

Yes Jeff I do agree there are fish to be caught and some dandy’s, I guess I prefer more solitude. The pressure this lake recieves once the ice is “truck safe” is just not for me. I love the lake, the more I fish it the more its treasures are unlocked, I just pick my season’s to fish it, with fall being my favorite time

I live just a couple miles away and fish the chain mostly Prairie and do fine all winter on nice gills and perch. The others are right get off away by yourself.I take my atv and work the area north and south of Burnhams island and punch a ton of holes and then hole hop. They are there and when you hit the right hole its can be a blast.i did find out last year in particular that they preferred mousies to waxies 5-1.

Has any one been on the Chetek Chain recently ice fishing? I am thinking of going up there soon I fish it in the summer because my mom has a cabin but I haven’t fished it on the ice.

crappie fishing is hot on the entire chain. Finds some down wood in the water and you’ll find the crappies.

has the weather shut the crappies down? heading to the folks place on prarie, and wondering what to expect fishing this weekend!?

Just wanted to pass this on to everyone who reads this thread who comes to the chain fishing. The DNR was on Prairie lake doing oxygen readings, it was not good news as we were told that the bays on Prairie are basically dead no O2. I don’t know if the aerator was on this year or not.