Opener

Anyone fishing the “Chain” on opener? What is the report for the pan fish?

I’m heading up to Chetek this coming weekend. Haven’t fished this lake in years, not since I was a kid. Just wondering if anyone is willing to give me any tips on where I should be looking for small mouth bass and how they’re biting right now. Also how is the pan fish bite? I’m sure we’ll be fishing for a bit of everything. Any and all tips are welcome! Thanks

I have a place on the chain and some times fish bass. Been a long time since I caught a small mouth. They are few and far between on the chain. Lots of large mouth. I would start in the Narrows. The north end of Prairie is also good. Didn’t fish bass at opener, just crappies. It was slow and the fish were small. Water was only 54-58 degrees. I am also heading up this weekend so am looking for a report on the crappies.

Hey Thanks, I really appreciate the tips. From looking at aerial photos I have some ideas as to where I want to fish. I’ll definitely be throwing for some Large Mouth bass. I’ll be staying on 7 1/4 Ave on the peninsula, so it might be a bit of a hike up to the north side of Prairie Lake, but I might try to make it up there. Hopefully the water temps are a bit warmer since opener and are more in the 60degree range or higher. Thanks again for the update.

Interested in how you did?? I think there was a bass tournament by the number of boats I saw in town. It was so cold and windy, I didn’t even put my boat in the water. Decided to get things done around the camper so that next weekend, I can spend every minutes I can on the water.

Well, I heard there was a bass tourny, and did see quite a few bass boats, but I wasn’t sure if that was normal or not. I threw for bass and northern a bit and didn’t have any luck. My wife was able to hook up on one small bass while throwing a Mann’s Baby 1-. Otherwise, we just fished for panfish and caught quite a few crappies. All were pretty small, but I guess they were smaller last year. Only a few decent sized ones. Other than that, it was pretty slow for everything. Talked to the baitshop guys and they said Northern’s are chasing bait fish in the bays of about 5′ in depth. So cranks and spinners are working well, but I think that the cold front that came through might have had cause the slow fishing. So good luck next weekend.