Minocqua Area Report – 2022

icefanatic:

First of all I would visit John Carlson at Ross’s Sport Shop in Phillips, in person and check in to the Ross’s Sports/Report Page on FB.!!!

Don’t really know a lot about it, but your side scanning skills will be useful as the Round and Pike both have a fair amount of crib structure. Used to be a fairly decent lake for panfish as well as walleye and musky.

Also below the outlet dam into the South Fork of the Flambeau has some fishing opportunites as well. My musky partner (Tork) and a friend of ours (Barry) used to really well in the early season walleye tourney put on by the Moose Jaw Resort and primarily caught those fish on the cribs in Pike. Barry and I hooked up on a ski in the NE corner fishing from the middle of the east side to the middle of the north side of Round. We also fished the channel ‘tween the two lakes and up to Amik. Most of these secrets are the community spots, but you should be able to find, after researching the cribs, some shorelines points and especially on Round bunches of structure on the northern half of the lake and some in Pike.

I’ll follow up with ya…

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 7-12-22:

Fifty-two fishing reports a year (give or take) gets repetitive. Well, this week’s report starts out with, as the boys from Monty Python’s Flying Circus would say… “Now for something completely different.”

Dogfish, Bowfin (up here in the North), Mudfish or Swamp Trout (down South), a hard fighting, never say quit fish that are native to our waters and despite being listed as “rough fish” are really just a natural part of the aquatic diversity of our lakes. Despite accusations from anglers that they “eat fish”, well actually sometimes, but mostly 70-75% of the time, they eat crayfish. Loons, on the other hand, (except when feeding insects to their young) always eat fish. Point being? Bowfin are fun to catch, are good for the lake’s ecosystem, so just let ‘em go, unless you’re going to eat one!!!

Dogfish: Very Good – Nobody is targeting, but Dogfish are biting. Most on jig and bait (crawler, leech or minnow combos). Relating to thick weeds and drowned wood. Use pliers to dehook – sharp teeth!

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Outside coontail edges of 12-16’. Ned rigs hard to beat. Second choice drop-shotting in similar areas. Some good evening top-water action on Whopper Ploppers, Pop-R’s…

Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Work shallow running cranks that run at weed top level (3-5’ below surface). Square Bills, Shallow Shad Raps and Lipless Cranks all good choices. Once action slows, Wacky Worming and Ned Rigs top bets.

Bluegill: Good – Action on live bait (leeches, worms, small minnows) and tiny plastic-bodied jigs. Evenings providing good popper action for fly fishing anglers.

Yellow Perch: Good – Probing pockets in cabbage using medium leeches or small crawlers (beavertails).

Northern Pike: Good – Pike action best over cabbage flats in 7-12’ using spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Cloud and wind help improve action.

Crappie: Fair-Good – Weed tops in 8-14’ using Gapen Freshwater Shrimp and 1/16 oz Beetle spins. Tiny jigs and Mini-Mites suspended below small floats when windy working well. On Flowages seek suspended Crappies over drowned wood along river channel edges using medium fatheads below slip floats.

Walleye: Fair (but improving) – Rocks and gravel getting more attention as weeds thicken and, surprisingly, algae blooms on some smaller lakes showing up already. Leeches and crawlers first and second choices, though redtails working along deeper (18-24’) gravel humps.

Musky: Fair-Poor – Not a lot of reports, though some smaller (28-36”) fish being caught by fly anglers and those using smaller bucktails

Overall fishing conditions improving, or should I say settling into their summer patterns. Most surface temps in the mid-70’s

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 7-19-22:

Some hot weather has our Lakeland area lakes heating up, temps topping low 80’s in the afternoons. Best choices during these times are larger, cooler lakes. Certain species thrive in this heat, (air temps topping 90’s), others not so much.

Bluegill: Very Good – Try NOT to catch some off weed edges of 12-14’. Live bait meant for other species hard to keep away from schools of suspending Gills. Use leeches as your first choice followed by waxies, crappie minnows, then worms, as the Gills are ripping worms to pieces!

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Deep weed edges with sandgrass skirts in 12-16’. Ned rigs, Wacky Worms. Very nice Smallies with reports of fish to 22 ½”. Tubes, jig and creature rigs also producing very well.

Largemouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Better tucked into weeds, try heavy cover with Sweet Beavers on heavy jigs, Senko Wacky Worms and early /late day top-water Whopper Ploppers. Good #’s and size.

Musky: Good-Very Good – Some exceptional fish this past week including a 50” river fish boated from a canoe and a 44” Tiger boated by guide Jake Smith on a Smity Jerks, had 5 in two days guiding, 4 of which were Tigers.

Crappie: Good – Tough to find, mostly deeper fish reported, but very nice fish, including a pair of 15” SLABS caught by our own Dave Peterson. Medium fatheads and Mini-Mites reporting best catches.

Yellow Perch: Fair-Good – Most Perch coming from sandgrass flats in 14-18’ of water using ½ crawlers on Lindy Rigs. Some incidental Perch located around cabbage flats on leeches while targeting Walleye.

Walleye: Fair-Good – Working full crawlers or the biggest leeches available along rock, gravel humps of 20’26’ or 14-18’ weed edges has been best. Casting #7 & #8 Shad Raps along 10-14’ cabbage edges early AM also scoring nice Eyes in the 17-22” range.

Northern Pike: Poor – Don’t you know their teeth fall out in the summer and they quit biting? Digging way back for that excuse, but personally had a tough time enticing Pike this week. Not many good reports except for those using live bait, but even those were few.

Hot water temps will actually speed up metabolisms of fish, unfortunately, hot water equates to low oxygen. Be careful playing and releasing fish when temps on the surface hit into the 80’s. This can be a very stressful time for caught fish, especially muskies!!!

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 7-26-22:

Thick into the middle of summer! Patterns have stabilized (for better or worse, depending on your target species) and anglers should have several weeks of similar situations to choose from.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good – Outside weed edges of 12-14’ and off shore gravel humps of 18-24’ have been tops. For weed edges, work drop-shot rigs of 3” Wacky Worms or 3” Gulp Minnows. Ned rigs and tubes have also been hot! On rock humps drop-shot again have been best, use small plastic craws or football jigs tipped with creature baits. Very nice fish up to 21” this past week with lots of 15-18” ers common!

**One trip of note, those battling Smallmouth this week led to an unforgettable quote from one young angler fighting his 4th Smallie in as many casts “I can’t do it, I only weigh 92 pounds!” Oh yeah, I won’t let him forget that line!!!

Largemouth Bass: Very Good – (Toss up, but I like Smallies better!) Seems any heavy cabbage beds are packed with green Bass. Square billed cranks, swim jigs, pre-rigged plastics, swim jigs. Calm evenings open for fun top-water action using Whopper Ploppers and spooks along inside (shallow) weedlines.

Bluegill: Very Good – Schools of Gills roaming the tops of tall, narrow leaf cabbage and suspending just outside these same beds. Small leeches, worms and waxies presented on tiny jigs, as well as casting small spinners, beetle spins and tubes.

Crappie: Good – Best found suspended 2-4’ off bottom along deep coontail edges or in the vicinity of drowned wood in 10-14’ of water. Medium fathead minnows or dressed jigs (hair, tinsel) suspended just a foot above marks on your locator best.

Yellow Perch: Good – Some jumbos coming from broadleaf cabbage beds on ½ crawlers or medium leeches fished on 1/16 oz Invasion Weedless jigs. Very scattered and other species need to be dealt with here. Other reports of nice eaters over sandgrass flats dragging Lindy crawler harnesses in 14-18’ of water.

Musky: Fair-Good – Best reports towards evenings when clouds build. Mornings – Flat or very clear have been tough. Evening bites on top-water or speed “bulging” Colorado bladed bucktails over weed tops and along weed edges.

Walleye: Fair – High pressure days making for tougher bite. Work windward weed edges of 10-14’ using full crawlers or the largest leeches available or weedless jigs. Deep gravel humps on the larger lakes producing in 22-28’. Flowage fish relating to wood in 10-14’.

Northern Pike: Fair-Poor – Poor results (in my boat) on artificials. Better reports from anglers using chubs or suckers under floats or jigging in heavy weeds.

A cool week with highs in the 70’s till the weekend (80’s Sat/Sun), AM temps in the 50’s. Bass should be the highlight still, though clouds and some mid-week rain may help out the Walleye and Musky crews. Lake surface temps averaging 73-76 degrees.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 8-02-22:

A few cool mornings to end July (low to mid 40’s), put the brakes on some of the fishing this past week. Yet once mid-mornings warmed, the action returned and overall, it was a good week of fishing.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good – Still at the top of our list and for good reason. Lots of action this past week with lots of big fish to boot. Reports of anglers with PB of 19-21” including a first timers 22” beast! Narrow leaf cabbage and coontail edges of 10-14’. Tube jigs, Wacky Worms, drop-shotting and Ned Rigs using TRD’s and Crawz all working. Live baiting with crawlers and leeches also effective. Forecasted heat this week should help even more.

Largemouth Bass: Very Good – Probing weeds with heavy jigs and Sweet Beavers, Ned Rigs and Wacky Worms all good. Great top-water bite on calmer evenings on Frogs, Buzz Baits, Whopper Ploppers and Jitter Bugs. Swim jigs with 3” paddle tails on inside weed lines in early AM for “Curisers”!

Bluegill: Very Good – Besides the typical “dock” variety, off shore schools suspending off deep weeds providing best catches for anglers suspending leeches, worms or Mini-Mite jigs tipped with waxies.

Yellow Perch: Good – Best to drift Lindy Rigs with floating crawler harnesses over sand grass in 14-18’. Anchor up and set out some slip-bobbers to suspend ½ crawlers 9-12” off bottom. Some nice eaters found fishing shallow tobacco cabbage weeds in 5-8’ also.

Musky: Fair-Good – Cooler mornings with clouds have been good. Clear and cold not so much. Working outside wild rice edges using large spinner baits and Colorado bladed bucktails best. Gliders with “tails” worked rather quickly also producing (Smity Jerk).

Crappie: Fair-Good – While some very good fish have been caught the past couple weeks (True slabs to 15 ½”+) the bite has slowed a bit, could be cold mornings. Afternoons best over deep cabbage using small jigs (Gapen Fresh Water Shrimp, Mini-Mites).

Walleye: Fair – Varied reports, one day good in weeds of 12-16’ using crawlers; next day out on gravel humps jigging leeches. Found some in shallow cabbage of 5-8’ for a very short time one afternoon. Windows of activity seem to be small.

Northern Pike: Fair – Personally forgot what they look like! Best reports from anglers using chubs and suckers in 8-12’ weeds.

Warmer nights through the weekend should help us early risers. Lakes seem a bit less busy (outside of the Minocqua and Manitowish Chains). As we found out Sunday, don’t give up till you’ve tried all situations – you may be surprised where you find them.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 8-09-22:

Following a week of some fairly high temps and a couple big storms that brought both lake temps (76-78 degrees) and lake levels (3+ inches of rain) up in our area, a relative cool down to start the week. This dropped some surface temps by 3+ degrees overnight (8/7 to 8/8). Fishing remained relatively strong until the recent cold snap and storm shut down early morning fishing on 8/8. By afternoon though, things coming back to normal.

Largemouth Bass: Very Good – Working into heavy cover during cool downs with crawfish imitation plastics on Ned heads. By afternoons Bass moving up in weeds to hit spinner baits and shallow running cranks over cabbage in 8-10’.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good – Not as many BIG fish reported as last week, but still lots. Best working deep weed edges of 12-16’ using drop-shot rigs, Ned Rigs and Wacky Worms.

Bluegill: Very Good – Best along weed edges/tops using worms or small leeches.

Crappie: Good – Anglers using small spinners to “clip” weed tops in 10-14’ catching nice slabs to 13”. Once located, slip-bobbers and tiny jigs or small minnows hot.

Yellow Perch: Good – Finding nice Perch (to 11”) in shallower weeds of 5-8’ while working jig/crawler combos. Gotta sort through little Perch and Gills, but one nice eater (8”+) usually leads to several in the area.

Musky: Good-Fair – Evenings, especially pre-storm, or just at dusk best. Top-water has been producing. Mornings call for gliders or bucktails

Walleye: Fair-Good – Deep rocks early and late. Crawlers or big leeches. Some weed fish, but action limited to conditions (clouds, wind)

Northern Pike: Fair-Good – Action picking up, but live bait still tops. Try jerk baits (Husky Jerks, X-Raps) over weeds in 8-12’.

Cool nights are expected in August. Slowly falling lake temps and a seasonal die-off or certain weeds will bring some change in patterns, but overall, nothing too drastic as of yet.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 8-16-22:

Looks like some mild, yet stable weather will prevail over the next week, allowing anglers who have set up patterns to continue to work them.

Largemouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Mid mornings through late afternoons find Largemouth in and along heavy weeds. Use jig/creature, Wacky Worms, and 6” worms rigged Carolina style. Towards dusk take to the top-water using Whopper Ploppers, Jitter Bugs and Spooks towards the inside weed edges. Warmer mornings (60+ air temps) have been good for some inside weed line action on same. Try frogs and spiders on flat water.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Off shore rock/gravel humps and deep weed edges leading to sandgrass best. Ned jigs with TRD’s and craws best! Drop-shotting and Wacky Worms not far behind. Work varying depths, finding fish in pods working in 20-24’, then also up in 12’ cabbage 75 yds away. Early morning cruisers on inside weed edge on Husky Jerks and X-Raps.

Bluegill: Very Good-Good – Not much of a change, plenty of suspending Gills outside weed edges on small leeches, worms and tiny plastic or hair jigs. Usually, get a flying ant hatch in late August, good time for you dry fly enthusiasts.

Crappie: Good – Weed tops of 8-12’ using small spinners, beetle spins or twitching 1/32 oz jigs. On lakes/Flowages lacking weeds work wood/cribs in 10-14’ using small minnows on slip-floats.

Musky: Good – Some reports of anglers catching Musky on small live suckers on bladed rigs. With surface temps averaging 70 degrees, suckers will stay alive a bit longer, but not like fall. Bucktails and gliders with tails still best.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Fish in cabbage pockets using ½ crawlers, medium leeches. Drifting crawler harnesses over 14-18’ sandgrass also producing.

Walleye: Good-Fair – Action best early and late in days. Crawlers along deep weed edges of 12-16’ or out over rocks in 18-26’. Night action on rocks using crawlers under lighted slip-floats.

Northern Pike: Good-Fair – Picking up some better action using chubs or suckers on jigs with wire guards. Spinnerbaits and weedless spoons worked at weed top level on overcast or windy days.

Other than talk of low levels on Flowages, things seem pretty stable in our area. Fishing overall a little better later in morning as air and water temps get closer together.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
Like us on FaceBook
Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 8-22-22:

Mid-August, one of the slower times for some species (Musky, Walleye) but a good time for Bass, Bluegill and Crappies.

Narrow leaf cabbage is fading, losing color, leaves and generally looking pretty shabby! Despite some warm afternoons, cool nights can have a negative affect on morning bites. Yet, overall, there is plenty of good fishing still.

Bluegill: Very Good – Get away from the shallows and pitch offerings of beavertails or worms on 1/32 – 1/16 oz jigs along deep weeds for Gills hovering 4-8’ down in 12-16’ of water. Nice 7 ½-9” eaters!

Largemouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Wacky Worms and 4” worms on swimheads worked in same areas we were finding Gills. Evenings, especially the warmer ones, work top-water.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Drop-shotting 3” Gulp Alive Minnows, Xzone Finesse Slammers and TRD Crawz have been hot worked along outside coontail edges or over deep rock/gravel humps. Ned rigging and tube jigs also very effective right now.

Crappie: Good – Best where deep wood can be found. Also casting small spinners, beetle spins over green weeds or grasses in 8-12’.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Broad leaf (tobacco) cabbage best in 5-8’. Work pockets using light weedless jigs tipped with ½ crawlers.

Musky: Fair-Good – Top-water has been very good early mornings, late afternoon and after dark. Prop baits, creepers, Hog Wobbler all are producing fish. Bucktails, glide baits during the later mornings and early afternoon. Natural colors work best. Crappie pattern has been very good. Look for cabbage weeds.

Walleye: Fair – Evenings best over rock humps using full crawlers on 1/4 – 3/8 oz jigs, Lindy Rigs or drop-shotting. Some early morning action in same areas. What little weed bite being reported on cloudy days on windward edges.

Northern Pike: Fair – A few reports from anglers catching nicer Pike casting for Musky. Live bait seems to be preference for deeper weed edge fish.

Traffic is getting a little lighter on lakes as schools and sports start. Average lake surface temps about 70-72 degrees, not a lot of change as of yet. But, as mentioned earlier, some weeds are starting to die back for the season.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
Like us on FaceBook
Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 8-30-22:

Some midweek sun pushed surface temps into the upper 70’s. Lots of sun and little wind made things tough for some anglers chasing Walleye, but some other species responded well to the warmth.

Bluegill: Very Good-Good – Good numbers and size being found in 8-12’ cabbage beds that are not showing signs of dying back. Fan cast small #0 Mepps, 1/32 beetle spins to locate (odd how they aren’t all over). Yet once found, these loose schools of Gills can be really fun on slip-bobbers and worms. Two to three feet down at weed top level. Most of these fish have been nice eaters (7-8”) not your run of the mill dock Sunnys!

Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Action seemed to have slowed from past couple weeks. Late mornings through afternoons best using Wacky Worms and jig/creature baits. Those hotter evenings did provide good top-water action. Despite less than top level action, Largemouth Bass still one of the most active bites this past week.

Smallmouth Bass: Good – Need to search a bit as they move back and forth between rock humps and coontail edges. Changes lake to lake and day to day. Ned jigs used to work TRD Worms and Crawz have been good. Drop-shotting 3” Wackys or 2 ½” Gulp Alive Minnows or even 2 ½ – 3” live muds or chubs working best.

Northern Pike: Good – Finally some good reports from guide Jason Heindl using spinnerbaits and #3 Mepps over green (or brown cabbage) weeds. Tops a 32” er with enough action to make things interesting.

Musky: Good-Fair – Fish location dependent on lake type. Big, deep lakes finding fish suspended following schools of bait fish. Shallower lakes, fish being found along both inside and outside weed edges. Smity’s new Wizard Spell bucktail has been hot with fish up to 45” this past week.

Crappie: Fair – Tall weed beds of 10-12’ mixed with grass. Cast tiny tubes, tinsel jigs or cover area with small minnows under floats. On Flowages, work wood, but keep in mind loose schools found cruising flats. Try drifting slip-floats with medium fats at varying depth until you can lock in.

Yellow Perch: Fair-Good – Mixed reports, usually being caught while fishing cabbage of 5-8’ using jig and crawler meant for Walleyes.

Walleye: Fair – Best on the larger lakes working 27-30’ gravel edges using chubs or whole crawlers on 1/4 – 3/8 oz jigs. When fishing these depths and deeper be careful to work fish up slowly. With the protected slots it’s more important than ever to protect those spawners!

Weather forecast looks good for the holiday weekend. Some cooler temps (highs in the 70’s Sat/Sun – 80 degrees on Monday) should make for an enjoyable weekend on the water.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
Like us on FaceBook
Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-06-22:

Well, that’s over! Summer, I mean. Following a lighter than usual Labor Day weekend, boat traffic will subside a little as we try to get down to some serious fall fishing. Labor Day (9/5) morning temps in the mid 40’s took some heat off the lakes. Many that saw temps in the upper 70’s are reporting surface readings in the low 70’s to upper 60’s. The rest of the week looks to have lows in the 50’s to highs tipping 80 degrees by Thursday. Still, cooling off and cause for some transitioning to start.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Green Bass working weeds still. Lots of good action on Wacky Worms, jig and beaver baits. Top fish of the week a 22” bucket mouth caught on a spinnerbait over the weekend. Shows how active they are. Also, some good top-water action in the evenings following the afternoon warm ups.

Bluegill: Good-Very Good – Still good action for “eaters” (7-8”+) working deeper (8-12”) weed tops. On some smaller lakes with semi-deep (20-30’) basins, look for the better Gills to be suspended. A drop-shot rig with a 1/3 of a crawler or slip-bobbers set 10-20’ down working.

Northern Pike: Good – Action picking up on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits over weed tops. Thick fish in the 26-32” range show signs the Pike like the cooling water and are ready to feed.

Crappie: Good – Anglers finding a good bite working drowned wood using medium fatheads in 12-18’. Coontail edges of 14-20’ holding fish suspended 4-8’ off bottom.

Smallmouth Bass: Good – Gravel/rock humps holding Smallies that look to be feeding on Sculpins. Keep this in mind when working baits among the rocks. Ned Rigs with worms or Ned Craws in light brown, grey of some sort of mottled coloring of each working well. Drop-shotting 3 and 4” Wacky Worms in these colors also effective.

Yellow Perch: Good – While working weeds, try to get your bait down quickly to bypass small Gills hovering above the Perch in 7-10’ cabbage ½ crawler under float or on a drop-shot rig with just 12-14” between weight and hook best.

Walleye: Fair-Good – Walleyes moving into early fall patterns of deeper transition areas. Gravel/rock in 27-33’ on crawlers, chubs or jigging Raps. Also being found holding tight to mud bottoms or similar depth. Crawlers best choice here. Reel your fish up slowly so as not to hurt fish too small/ or big when bring Walleyes or other fish from depths or 30+ feet.

Musky: Good – This next month a good time to be casting shallow weeds and weed edges with top-water baits and high riding bucktails or spinnerbaits. Don’t be afraid to cast a few in shallow (less than 5 feet) as some surprisingly big fish have been coming from inside weed lines.

With water temps starting to fall, we should see some active days ahead. Turn-over is a ways off, most fish seem to react well during this time.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
Like us on FaceBook
Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-13-22:

Things starting to move into the right direction for September as warm afternoons, followed by cool nights, have started to lower surface temps. Friday’s (9/9) highs in the mid-eighties was followed by cool (mid to high 40’s) and rain. Reports of surface temps as high as 75 degrees Friday have scaled back into the upper 60’s by Monday (9/12)

Fish have been found all over the place, requiring searching for what you’re looking for.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Most anglers finding Bass up shallow in 4-8’ with green weeds flipping jig and creature baits or Wacky Worming. Some Largemouth on deep, clear lakes also being caught on drop-shot rigs over sandgrass beds in 17-22’ by anglers targeting Smallies. Still others casting inside weed lines on those warm evenings finding top-water action on Whopper Ploppers and Jitterbugs. Bite best on warmer evenings.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Once again, varied locations. Deep rock humps of 20-25’ holding Smallies coming on drop-shot rigs. Sandgrass flats in 17-22’ holding Smallies while some Brown Bass still found relatively shallow (8-12’) on tube jigs. Lots of reports cracking 5#’s this week.

Northern Pike: Good-Very Good – As the water temps drop, these fish will keep getting more active. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and 4-5” swimbaits over green weeds of 5-10’. If slow, jig a 4-6” chub or sucker to entice action.

Crappie: Good – Better lake action than Flowages over the weekend. On lakes Crappies active in 7-10’. Small-medium fatheads or 1/32 – 1/16 oz jigs tipped with 1 or 2” twister tails.

Musky: Good – Keep an eye on the shallow bite! Nice fish moving in 4-8’. Top-water time, high riding bucktails and big spinnerbaits.

Bluegill: Good – Finding schools suspending out from coontail edges over 14-18’, as well as over drowned wood. Nice Gills of 8-9” this past week, 1/2 crawlers or beavertails all that’s needed on 1/16 oz jig or below slip floats.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Most reports from anglers dropping down towards base of green cabbage with crawlers or fats. Keep bait within 12-18” of bottom in 8-12’.

Walleye: Good-Fair – This is where things are mixed up a bit. Example: Caught Walleyes jigging Shiver Minnows in 26’ while also catching Eyes in weeds of 7-10’, same lake, same day. The move to deeper water should be on, but any green weeds still holding nice Walleyes on chubs, large fats and crawlers.

Following Wednesday morning (low to upper 40’s), the rest of the week looks very stable with lows of 60’s and highs in the 70’s. Like to see a little more cool down to spike the bite, but headed in the right direction.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
Like us on FaceBook
Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-20-22:

A little taste of things to come earlier in this past week as surface temps on some bodies of water fell as low as 64 degrees. But as of early this week, temps back up to 70 degrees on most lakes.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Rock/Gravel humps using drop shot rigs for #’s of Bass. Big Bass up shallow hitting top-water baits (Whopper Ploppers, Choppo’s, Torpedos) up in 2-5’ of water. Swimbaits also effective on these big, shallow brutes!

Northern Pike: Very Good-Good – Action also slowed with warmth, spinnerbaits, swimbaits and Husky Jerks for artificial. Chubs, suckers on jigs for live bait.

Musky: Very Good-Fair – Fall off as water warmed, but as cooling, top-water bite got hot on Dr. Evils, Whopper Ploppers and Pacemakers. Top top-water fish of the week, Guide Russ Smith led a client to a 48” top-water Ski on a Smity Flap Tail! Look for this bite to improve this weekend as water temps drop!

Largemouth Bass: Good – Weed bite on Wacky Worms hard to top. Some top-water reports in the late hours on frogs, spiders and chug bugs.

Crappie: Good – Best over deep wood especially along channels in Flowages. Medium fats under floats. On lakes, 10-14’ weed edges using small jig or minnows.

Walleye: Good-Fair – Better when water cools. Deep bite best in 22-28’. 1/8 – 1/4 oz jigs tipped with large fats or 1/2 crawler. When this isn’t working and fish are being seen, drop jigging lures such as Shiver Minnows and Jigging Raps to entice bites. For shallow lakes/Flowages, redtails on a 1/16 oz weedless jig on cloudy/windy days.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Medium fatheads, beavertail, crawlers in 6-10’ weeds.

Bluegill: Good-Fair – Not a lot of angler attention. Still suspending outside weed edges. Small 1/32 oz jigs tipped with worms or beavertails.

Early part of this week has warm weather, spiking water temps up over the 70 degree mark. Forecast for Thursday AM (9/22) calls for lows of 31-33 degrees. This cold “snap” should actually help anglers as Walleye and Musky should react “positive” to the falling water temps for the weekend.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
Like us on FaceBook
Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-27-22:

With September winding down nicely, heading into what looks to be a typical October (not like last year), anglers should be hyped for some good fishing! Water temps ranging from 62-69 degrees throughout the Lakeland area, good pre-turn-over fishing going on.

Musky: Very Good-Good – Shallow action. Fish working inside weed edges attacking top-water and bucktails. This pattern will continue until turn-over so take advantage! Some sucker action being reported, this will improve as waters cool.

Northern Pike: Very Good-Good – Pike actively feeding shallow on small Perch. Spinnerbaits, swimbaits and jig and chub combos. Some top-water action also.

Smallmouth Bass: Good – Rock/gravel humps still continue to hold #’s, yet larger fish working coontail beds, inside weeds. Tube jigs for weed fish. Whopper Ploppers for the brutes that act like Musky near shore.

Walleye: Good – Daytime deep Walleyes vertical fishing with 1/4 – 3/8 oz jigs baited with chubs, fats or crawlers in 22-30’ water. Jigging Shiver Minnows and Jiggin Raps, very effective for the hot hitters. Evenings work the shallows as Eyes move into feed on small Perch. 1/16 oz jigs tipped with small-medium redtails, snap jigging 3” swimbaits or twisters in 2-6’ right before dark.

Bluegill: Good – Shallow weeds of 4-8’ holding Gills. Tiny jigs tipped with waxies or crawler pieces.

Largemouth Bass: Good – Work outside weed edges as Bass move away when Muskies move in. Drop-shots, Wacky Worms and Ned Rigs. Some good top-water in shallow where Musky aren’t a concern.

Yellow Perch: Good – Larger Perch relating to 8-14’ deep wood on medium fatheads. These 10-12” Perch roam in small packs it seems. Weed Perch more active, but sorting involved.

Crappie: Good – Typically better, but bite not hot. Drowned wood best. Medium fatheads under floats or casting 1/16 oz jigs with white, pink or yellow 2” twister tails.

With forecast of a couple mornings in the low 30’s for this week and few highs in the 60’s, water temps will continue to fall and the bites should heat up. Again, looking to be a more typical October, which bodes well for us anglers.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-27-22:

Surface temps did not fall as much as expected this past week. Hail storm and near freezing morning temps last week were offset by bright, warm sunny skies. Shallower lakes cool the fastest (but also warm up quicker) so surface readings ran from lows of 54 to average highs of 59-62 degrees. Starting Thursday (10/6) thru Saturday (10/8) lows in upper 20’s to lowest of 30’s with highs in 40’s to low 50’s will bring sharper drops.

Northern Pike: Very Good-Good – The four mornings of frost slowed early mornings, but by mid-mornings the feed has been on! Pike fattening up on young of year Perch roaming shallow weeds of 3-7’. Jig and minnow, shallow crankbaits in Perch patterns and 1/8 – 1/4 oz spinnerbaits working best.

Musky: Good-Fair – Not as active as we had hoped. Fish still shallow. Best on top-water bucktails and small jerks with tails. Some sucker action, but hard to keep suckers in shallow where fish are without getting weeded up. This should change with impending cold snap (did I say this last week??)

Walleye: Good-Fair – Deep gravel/rock fish in 28-34’ on 1/4 – 3/8 oz jig/chubs and working #9 Jigging Raps and 2.5 Shiver Minnows. Lots of motoring around to locate fish… and fish found did not always relate to fish bites. On shallow lakes and on Flowages, Walleyes up tight to shores chasing small Perch. Tough on bright days, but dusk and windward shores providing action.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Bigger Perch (10-12”) cruising shallows picking up medium fatheads or 1/2 crawlers on 1/16 oz weedless jigs. Note: The smaller Perch mixed in are why predator fish are also shallow.

Crappie: Good-Fair – Weeds of 10-14’ best on lakes, while drowned wood on Flowages. Small to medium fatheads, as well as small feathered or plastic tailed jigs working well.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – Still the largest Smallies working shallow hitting top-water (Whopper Ploppers, Jitterbugs). Rock and gravel humps and down along slopes holding more, but less sizeable Smallies.

Largemouth Bass: Fair – Fewer reports though this past weekend lots of boaters (and some skiers) out for a last hurrah. Largemouth holding court along deep weeds as Musky remain shallow. Drop-shot and wacky worms prevailing!

Bluegill: Fair – Few reports as anglers turning to Musky, Walleye and Crappie.

Following this end of week cold snap (possible snow Friday AM) we will probably see a shift in fish movement as bait fish push out of the shallows and gamefish follow. If temps on the lakes drop below 53-55 degrees watch for signs of turn-over (roiled water, floating dead vegetation/leaves) and be prepared to head elsewhere. Lakes under 24’ max depth and Flowages with their moving, mixing water don’t have the turn-over issues. Larger lakes will take longer to turn, but with four days of under 60 degrees for highs and lows of 27–32 degrees change will come quick. Leaf color is not at max yet, but changing daily.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-11-22:

To start with apologies for not properly dating the last report,
it should read 10-04-22

Cold came and temps have started falling on lakes all across the Northwoods. Readings as low as 53 to 57 degrees surface temps. Full moon, high pressure and wind slowed what should have been a great weekend. Fishing will only get better over the next two weeks.

Musky: Good – Sucker bite picking up using med-large suckers on bladed Smity rigs. Gliders, Jerks and twitch baits as the cooler water temps put almost an end to the top-water bite. As water cooled, bait fish moved off shorelines, meaning a bit deeper for action (most 8-14’). Slower moving baits than September, but not ultra slow yet. This coming week looks good for suckers!

Walleye: Good-Fair – Working deep 22-34’ gravel/mud edges with redtails or black chubs. Jigging Raps and Shiver Minnows for the aggressive bites. 1/2 crawlers on 3/8 oz jigs over mud for less active fish.

Crappie: Good-Fair – Numbers not high, but quality fish (10-15”) working flooded wood in 8-14’. Crappies relating to weeds moving out along coontail edges of 14-18’.

Northern Pike: Good-Fair – Pockets of hot action along wind blown shores. But cooler water pushing small Perch out into 4-8’ weeds.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Following bait out into slightly deeper water. 1/2 crawlers or medium fatheads best.

Unfortunately, no reports from anglers chasing Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass or Bluegills.

Tuesday (10/11) forecasting highs to 71 degrees followed by rain and highs in 40’s for 10/13 through 10/15. Moving away from high pressure will help anglers as the Musky/sucker connection should pick up.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-18-22:

Cold, rain, some snow and lots and lots of wind made the middle of October feel like the end of November here in the Northwoods! Only the hardy (or foolish) were willing to suffer the weather. Yet those that did were able to pull off some good catches.

Walleye: Very Good-Good – While the winds made for more than the typical “Walleye Chop”, those who targeted Walleyes, and were able to hold their boats, were rewarded with some pretty nice catches. Deep gravel Walleyes that were stacking up along slides in 28-40’ were hammering ½ oz jigs tipped with chubs or suckers. The heaviest of jigging Raps and Shiver Minnows were needed to hold over fish (and no rod movement needed due to wind). Flowage Walleyes relating to the deeper wood taking chubs or large fatheads.

Crappie: Very Good-Good – While lakes were tough to fish for Crappies holding suspended 4-6’ off bottom along 14-18’ coontail edges (bait constantly blowing into weeds). Out where Crappies relating to wood easier to work with medium fatheads below slip-floats in 9-15’ of water. Nice eaters of 10-12” were abundant with some BIG slabs of 13-15” “picture” fish caught and released.

Musky: Good+ – Action was surprisingly slower than expected, but improved as the week progressed. Jerkbaits, Gliders and large swimbaits worked best for those casting. The “tailed” gliders (Smity Jerk and Phantoms) seemed to key more hits than the traditional baits. Suckers are picking up the better half of the fish being caught. Bladed rigs in this wind have out produced standard rigs and float rigs – but all catching fish. As expected, heavy fall fish, nice size (38-47” +) and good weight.

Those three species were all the reports we gathered for this week. With temps in the high 20’s to low 30’s, water temps fell as low as 48 degrees as of Monday (10/17). Many lakes past turn-over. Forecast for temps in the high 50’s/low 60’s for the weekend should bring more anglers out with far better conditions to fish in.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-24-22:

Weekend turned out very nice with temps in low 70’s by Sunday afternoon – far cry from previous weeks wind, cold and snow. Some could say almost too nice as it seemed the Musky action dropped off as the weather got better. But still, a very nice weekend to be on the water during the waning weeks of the open water season.

Musky: Very Good-Good – Mid-week action was hot as lots of anglers reported multi fish days! A healthy mix of action from both artificials and live bait, with suckers holding a slight edge. Reports of surface temps from 44-47 degrees following the cold week previous helped get the feed bag on. Musky moving outside weed lines now that colder temps have pushed bait fish out of shallows. Suspended fish have also been active on large rubber baits and slashing big twitch baits over deep water. Another cool down mid-week should spark some more activity.

Walleye: Very Good-Good – Finding pods of fish relating to deeper gravel slides and soft bottom along edges to these slides has been key. Verticle fishing redtail or black chubs and jigging Shiver Minnows and Jigging Raps (#7 and #9) have all produced well. Be careful reeling these deep-water fish up. Slow, so as not to cause fast pressure changes that can kill these fish. Remember, the health of those big girls is important to the future of our fishery, se be responsible and retrieve and release those big ones.

Crappie: Very Good-Good – Calmer days lead to easier fishing. Deep water Crappies bit well using medium fatheads under floats in 20-24’ of water. The deepest drowned wood you could find also seemed good for holding Crappies.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Good – After an absence, anglers found hot Smallie action on gravel humps in 22-32’ of water. Nice fish of 17-20” taking 3-5” suckers, redtails and black chubs on 3/8 oz jigs or Lindy style rigs.

Northern Pike: Good – Most reports from anglers targeting Pike with chubs or suckers under floats or from incidental catches on twitchbaits and jerkbaits meant for Musky.

With night time temps slipping back into the upper 20’s/lower 30’s and highs in the upper 40’s to upper 50’s by the weekend, look for another week of good fishing and pleasant fall weather to fish in. Remember, most state-owned piers have been pulled, so wear knee boots for launching and make sure your bow rope is attached!

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-31-22:

While parts of October were down right cold and nasty, the last week of the month, while cool, was rather mild. Maybe too mild. High pressure system hanging over the area seems to have stymied what was a good Musky bite.

Musky: Good-Fair – With surface temps rising a bit and high pressure, bite got tougher than previous week. Weed edges of 14-17’ were better than the deep rock humps as expected. With the reluctance to chase, suckers were key to enticing bites. Mid-mornings and later afternoons (close to dusk) were best for moving fish on jerkbaits and gliders.

Walleye: Good-Fair – Finding fish stacked along transition areas or over mud flats didn’t always relate to bites. Eyes seem frustratingly tight lipped at times. Work medium sized redtails or black chubs on 1/4 – 1/2 oz jigs. Fish depths depending on deepest parts of lake. Most in 28-42’, yet up towards Presque Isle 50-60’ not too deep. Short, soft hooksets and slow reel these fish, very dangerous once you’re deeper than 26-28’ on fish. Work #9 Jigging Raps or #3 Shiver Minnows to pick off the aggressive fish.

Crappie: Good-Fair – Look deep over soft bottoms for Crappies. Drop shotting large fatheads and even small chubs successful over these mud pockets. On Flowages, wood still key, yet fish are scattered and roaming unlike on lakes.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – If you can find schools stacking along gravel slides of 24-38- try drop-shotting 3-4” chubs or suckers.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Few anglers targeting, but some reports of anglers finding where bright green weeds exist in 8-10’. Use 1/2 crawlers or medium fats.

We have a mid-week high forecast of 60-65 degrees. Nice for the Crappie/Perch anglers. Weather moving in for Friday-Sunday (11/4-11/6) should be good for Musky and Walleye anglers. Surface temps averaging 48 degrees on most lakes as moderate temps holding for what looks like good fishing condition for a while.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-08-22:

For the second year in a row, it looks like November will be a better month for big Musky! Water temps averaging 45 -48 degrees as of today (11/8). With conditions over the end of last week not so favorable, we are seeing a lack of angler participation for all but Musky and Walleye.

Musky: Good – Nice fish (42-45”) being reported but few Big Fish. Suckers have been dominate, with some anglers reporting surprisingly shallow fish and lots of bait fish in the shallow water also. While casting into weeds of 10-14’ has brought out fish, hanging suckers in water 20-25’ has been good. Oddly, not deeper than the 25’ range yet.

Walleye: Good – Even this species seems to be shallower on some lakes than expected. While most anglers working 34-44’ doing well using chubs on 3/8 – 1/2 oz jigs or drop-shotting along gravel slides or mud basins. Anglers finding Walleyes moving back up into weed edges of 12-14’. Casting and ripping #9 Jigging Raps and #3 Shiver Minnows up gravel slides of 40’ to 24’ also producing.

Forecast has warm weather (highs upper 50’s) through Thursday night (11/10), then a major drop with highs of mid 30’s to upper 20’s and lows through Tuesday (11/15) in the upper teens. Warm rain on 11/9-11/10 will bolster surface temps, but cold change with rain and snow will pull those temps down into low 40’s or possibly below.

Good time to hunt big fish…. if you’re willing!

Speaking of hunting – The board is up for the Big Buck Contest, stop in to sign up before opening day, November 19th.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-15-22:

With some single digit mornings in the forecast, the end of the open water season is winding down. Surface temps averaging 40 degrees won’t hold long with lows like those and highs in the low 20’s. Just going to need some windless nights to allow ice formation.

Musky: Very Good – Good – Figures! Most boats winterized yet the few remaining “tough guys” reporting good sucker action. Afternoons best as typically warmest times of day providing best action. With Whitefish spawn picking up, larger lakes producing best along breaks outside gravel spawn sites. Even smaller lakes, that are accessible, have produced some nice mid- 40” fish, but cold could shut these out.

Not really much else to report. Snow on the ground should help with the upcoming week’s gun deer opener. Still signs of rutting with such an early opener. Pond behind shop about 80% frozen as of 11/14, some skim ice reported on the south sides of shallow bays.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-22-22:

Following some heavy cold, wind with a good mix of snow, several Lakeland Area lakes are starting to skim over. Closing the window for Musky anglers, but just opening the door some for ice fishermen (and women).

High winds made it tough to cause freezing, but wind and single digit temps mixed lakes up enough that if we ever get the wind to lay down, lots more lakes will freeze up.

Anglers safely checking ice reporting 1 ½ – 2 ½”. Temps in the upper teens to low 20’s overnights should help. Forecast into the low 40’s over the weekend sounds bad, but shouldn’t last long enough each day to hurt. In fact, it may help to melt down what’s left of the snow (which mostly got blown off the lakes) and allow for firmer ice to be made.

Musky: Good – Very few anglers out in this wind (and opening of deer season), but some success on the sucker end.

A few reports of early ice Pike from shallow bays. Not much on Walleye, but it’s coming.

As a reminder, Musky open water season up north here runs through the end of December. But….you cannot use ice for your base to Musky fish. No targeting Musky through the ice.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-29-22:

The big question has been if there is any fishable ice? There is some. The bigger question is, will there be fishable ice after the snow? That has yet to be seen.

Many bays (south ends) and smaller lakes report 2 ½ – 4+”. Some areas with ice that has moved due to wind, have up to 7”. North of us on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage, reports are of 4-7” on most bays.

We won’t know how much snow we will get until its here. On the positive side, cold (single digits) and wind should dry and blow most new snow off the existing ice and allow more ice to build.

Not a lot of reports from the ice anglers that have ventured out. Walleye have been rather slow and inconsistent. Some good Pike action earlier in the week, but that has slowed also. Most panfish action has been scattered, though reports of both Walleye and Gills prior to the coming weather (11/29) have been good.

Use caution no matter where you travel. Only foot traffic is advised. Carry safety spikes, rope and wear flotation suits or life jackets for now. Reports of one ATV has already made into the water last week!!!

Forecast for the rest of the week looks promising. Opportunities should open up as ice thickens. As earlier stated, pending snow (11/29) will tell.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-06-22:

Fortunately for the Lakeland area, last Tuesday’s snow (11/29) was only around four inches (compared to the 8-10” further north). This allowed the couple of nights of low single digit temps to help build some better ice. Still, some of the larger lakes (Fence, Trout, Tomahawk and Lake Minocqua) have open water. High west winds on Saturday (12/3) actually opened the bay on the east end of Lake Tomahawk. Still not safe as of this report (12/6).

Crappie: Very Good – Anglers finding good #’s and size fishing tall green weeds of 9-12’. Crappie minnows on dead sticks and slow dropping Lethal Cecils tipped with waxies. A slow dropped plastic minnow on a rocker jig in silver or blue was also reportedly working very well for a certain angler who asked to remain nameless!

Walleye: Very Good – Surprisingly for early ice, live bait on tip-ups has out performed artificials so far! Suckers, shiners and chubs fished in 4-8’, many times hanging the bait just at weed top levels (4’ off bottom) has been the ticket. Reports from those jigging Raps, Hyper Glides and Slab Raps reporting some nice fish (to 26 ½” – C&R), while working late afternoons just off weed edges in 10-14’.

Northern Pike: Very Good – Big shiners and suckers on tip-ups in 6-10’ of heavy weeds. Jaw Jackers set for Pike getting some interest for the fun of a Pike on rod and reel.

Perch: Good – Shallow weeds of 4-8’. Jigging with “fry” shaped jigs tipped with waxies or spikes or dead sticking small minnows.

Bluegill: Good – Same shallower weeds as Perch out to the deeper weeds of Crappies. Tiny jigs tipped with red, purple, motor oil or black plastic best.

Overall, where ice has had a chance to form, thickness averages 5-8”. Caution still advised anywhere open water meets ice or currents keep ice from forming well. With lows in 20’s and highs in 30’s this week, don’t expect much of an increase in ice thickness, but shouldn’t lose either. Great weather to be on the ice this week.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-13-22:

The past few days were a great weekend to enjoy ice fishing! Mild temps, not too much ice and for the most part good reports of action. Some east wind slowed things a little, but anglers reported a good “bounce back” and the fishing improved once more.

Walleye: Very Good – With ice thickness not building (avg 5-9”), Walleyes staying fairly shallow for the early morning and evening bites. Tip-ups with live bait (shiners, suckers) per usual. 8-12’ on average, though some anglers reporting fish to 18’. Jigging Raps, Slab Raps, Hyper Rattles and Tikka Minnows has improved as anglers enjoying the warmer weather are moving around, working different edges and pockets. Best reported for the week was a 27 ½” with lots of slot fish (20-24”) caught & released as well!

Crappie: Very Good-Good – Work bays of 8-12’ with tall green narrow leaf cabbage. Slow dropping plastics in white, pink, silver or blue. Bite good on Crappie minnows as well. Watch barometer, when very high or low, Crappies holding tighter to bottom. When stable or slightly dropping can be found higher off bottom up to the weed tops (6-8’) at times.

Northern Pike: Very Good-Good – Mostly #’s, but some good 30”+ fish reported as anglers fishing big shiners and suckers under tip-ups and Jaw Jackers in 5-12’ of good weeds had plenty of action.

Bluegill: Good-Very Good – Anglers starting very early (pre-light) catching the biggest Gills with a 12” behemoth being the largest! Small plastics in brown, motor oil, black or red best. Bigger Gills mostly deeper along edges at dawn and dusk. Plenty of “eaters” in the 7-8”+ range.

Perch: Good – Lots of sorting, but nice catches in 6-12’ weeds. Small jigging spoons tipped with waxies or minnow pieces. With weather permitting, drill a series of holes and keep bouncing from one to the next, picking the few larger “eaters” from the herd of little ones.

Largemouth Bass: Good – Rarely targeted but being caught by anglers both jigging for Gills and Crappies or using tip-ups for Walleye or Pike. Not unusual to catch plenty of Bass when temps in upper teens and above

Forecast has the area getting 5-12” of snow Wed (12/14) thru Fri (12/16) followed by an increasingly colder weekend anchored by a sub-zero Monday (12/19) with highs in the single digits. Depending on how much snow we actually get and how much wind to push the snow off, it could have a big effect on ice production the rest of the season! Last time we were forecasted 6-12” we only got 3-4”, cross your fingers.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
http://www.kurtsislandsports.com
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Minocqua, WI 54548

Mark