Minocqua Area Fishing Report

bigpike:

Kurt writes an excellent report, it obviously covers all of the local species of interest to most parties and with a call to his shop, he might talk about local whitefish, smelt or a cisco bite. He and his wife Kristi work hard and I try to help them out whenever I can. He found us, hopefully he will come back and be a part of us!!!

I haven’t been out much in the area as of late, but my network is telling me that the walleyes are scattered right now and the muskies are working our lakes very similarily to Ryan MaMahon’s reports…

As for me I have been running up to Lake Superior the last three weekends trying to learn the waters of the Big Lake off Saxon Harbor which is only about and hour and a half from here. Learning the contours in front of the harbor to Marblehead Point and am hoping to start working towards Little Girls Point on the MI side as time goes on.

Thanks for the thanks, hospitality degree moves me to help people coming to our area in the hopes that they come and stay again!!!

Mark

Hey Mark Steve and I were on the Rainbow yesterday and had some eater size perch. And some under size walleyes. Had a good time. Steve is done fishing for the season and is putting his boat in storage tomorrow he’s got a lot of over time at the plant coming up.

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-10-13:

Warm weather has persisted for the second week of September. Surface temps ranging from 72-78 degrees. In some instances it has put the bite off. For some species things have picked up.

Largemouth Bass: Very good. Best on spinnerbaits, shallow running cranks over 6-8’weeds. Topwater still a hot option in 2-4’ at dusk. Big fish this week including a 22” 6#+ caught and released on a Boonie Bait.

Pike: Good-Very good. Blade baits are the best choice. Spinnerbaits, #3, #4 Mepps and Rizzo Wizzs. Jigging chubs as well as chubs on a spinner taking nice pike 28-36”.

Musky: Fair-Poor. Not sure what’s going on. Recent Musky Tournament on Squirrel only produced 2 legal fish. Action slow- might be waiting for temp drop.

Bluegills: Good. Another flying ant hatch (2nd in 2 weeks) has gills up high. Use small leeches 10-16” below float.

Crappies: Very Good. Lots of nice fish of 10-12+” this week on 1/16 oz jigs tipped with 2”twister tails or medium fathead minnows. Where wood can be found in 12-15’ start. Otherwise work outside coontail edges of 14-18’, 10-14’ down.

Walleye: Fair. Some action on deep rocks (17-28’), on redtails, crawlers. Action off on weeds. A few reports of anglers doing well after dark on crankbaits from shore.

Perch: Good. Relating to sandgrass on clear lakes in 15-24’ of water taking softshells and ½ crawlers. In darker water, wood in 4-8’ on crawlers.

This week’s mild temps (forecast of lows in the low 60’s- high in the low 70’s) won’t drastically change things. A dip in the temp by the weekend could improve walleye and musky bite.

Fishing pressure relatively light for September. Typically a great month for walleyes, pike, crappies as well as both bass species. The best is yet to come.

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-17-13:

Finally some good early fall weather. Night time temps dipped to the low 30’s ((high 20’s in some low areas) and water temps are starting to drop along with air temp. Thursday’s forecast is for a high of 80 degrees, but after that we are back to the highs of 60’s.

Crappies: Very good. Depending on barometer, crappies are being found high up over deep weed beds in 10-14’ taking Charlie Bee’s, Mini-mites, 1 and 2” twisters and small beetle spins on the natural lakes during cloudy days. Down at the weed bases, suspended 3-4’ off the bottom on high pressure days taking minnows. On the flowages, wood is key to holding big slabs, though traveling, suspended fish on slip-floats and minnows over 12-18’ mud.

Perch: Very good. Shallow water of 4-7’ producing nice eater perch of 9-11”. Half crawlers on 1/16oz weedless jigs best. Fish are scattered, so it takes some searching, but a nice mess of perch available for those willing to move around.

Largemouth Bass: Very good. Active along deeper weeds on jig/pig, Carolina rigging 7” worms. Smaller, yet active bass are up in shallower water on 1/8oz jig and 4” Powerworms. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits on cloudy days finding bass moving out from dock cover.

Pike: Good. Most action on live bait with chubs/suckers of 4-6” length on jig/steel leaders to prevent bite off. Spinnerbaits as well as #3 and #4 Mepps also productive for fish to 32” this week. Only place pike action is slow is on the flowages.

Smallmouth Bass: Good. Gravel humps holding sculpin producing good catches of nice smallies to 19” this past week. Drop-shotting 3” Senkos, 2 ½” Craw Papis, jigging creature baits all productive. Crawlers and frozen soft shells also doing well.

Musky: Fair. Bite is still off. Some fish being caught, but not a lot of action. Recent drop in water temps should improve things once surface temps drop below mid 60’s mark. While bucktails and twitch baits are typically best at this time, don’t put away the top water until after turn-over. Temps in the low 60’s this week should get the sucker bite going.

Walleye: Fair. Reports of scattered catches. Still best on crawlers. Dusk best time or after dark on lighted slip-floats.

Bluegills: Fair-Good. Not as many anglers targeting bluegills, but some nice catches using small leeches, waxies in 8-10’ weeds.

With most lakes seeing surface temps of 68-70 degrees over the weekend, the recent pair of cold nights should spark some activity, especially among the musky and walleye.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sports Shop

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 9-23-13:

After a late week hiccup, water temps are finally being forced down just a bit. Water temps were dropping, but, Thursday’s high of 80 degrees rose surface temps back above the mid 60’s. Sunday morning had low temps of 28 degrees. Flowages and shallow lakes saw surface temps dip to 61-62 degrees, while larger lakes hover around 65 degrees.

Crappies: Very good. Still the best bite going so far. Any drowned wood is worth probing with slip-floats and minnows, jig and minnow or twister combos. Continue as last week, working 2” twisters over weed tops or look for suspended crappie 3-5’ off bottom outside of 14-17’ coontail edges.

Largemouth Bass: Good. Action changing with colder mornings. Working twitch baits (X-raps, Husky Jerks, Rattlin’ Rogues) over inside weed edges producing nice bass to 18” this week. Late mornings best. Spinnerbaits and shallow cranks also working.

Walleye: Fair-Good. Catches improving with drop in water temps. Best results using chubs, but, large fats and crawlers also working.

Musky: Fair-Good. Catches slowly improving. Just starting to get some decent reports on sucker fishing. Bucktails, gliders and twitches best among artificial use.

Pike: Fair-Good. Spinnerbaits up in shallow weeds being used by schools of perch producing catches. Not a lot of size this week, but some nice 28-29”

Smallmouth Bass: Fair-Good. Still work gravel humps of 17-25’, use sculpin imitation/colored jigs/plastic to pick up some nice smallies to 19” this week.

Perch: Good-Fair. Bite slowed. Continue to fish shallow weeds of 4-7’.

Bluegills: Fair. Few reports.

Taking longer than expected, but low 60 degree temps showing up. A bump in the walleye and musky action at the end of this week, but, should only improve from here. Next three weeks are sucker time, best time for action musky fishing. Maple trees are suddenly showing good colors. Birch, Popal, Ash are on the verge.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sports Shop

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-01-13:

Last week’s cold, clear, calm nights followed by sunny warm days cancelled each other out keeping surface temps on average around 61-65 degrees. High winds over the weekend kept anglers off the water. Chance of rain this Thursday and Friday may do the same, but this is the week to be out there.

Pike: Very good. Filling up on bait fish in the shallows. Spinnerbaits fished in 3-5’ weeds scoring hard hits from chasing fish. Jigs with chubs, swimbaits good second choices.

Musky: Good-Improving. Bucktails, 7-8” twitch baits and topwater still best choices for casting. Sucker action picking up. Shallower water, 5-10’ best, use floats to keep suckers off weed tops. Good action starting Friday on suckers, will only pick up as water temps drop into the 50’s.

Largemouth Bass: Good. Not as many anglers targeting bass, but some big ones caught this week on spinnerbaits meant for pike. Fish to 20” – 5#’s.

Crappies: Good. Action slowed by weeks end but still decent catches of nice crappies to 13”. Slip-floats suspending medium fatheads as well as 2-3” twister grubs fished over mudflats in 12-14’.

Walleyes: Fair-Good. Action dropped off by weeks end, yet big walleyes (27-28”) showing up during heavy wind Saturday taking chubs on jigs moving up from deep to feed in 8-12’ weeds. Calmer days require deeper fishing, yet, not real deep – 15-22’ best.

Perch: Fair-Good. Wind making fishing tough. Big perch on medium or large fatheads on 1/32 to 1/16 oz jigs in 3-6’ weeds/wood. Half crawlers also working.

Smallies: Fair. Few reports.

Bluegills: Good. Not a lot of effort, but those fishing sunny afternoons catching limits on worms, tiny grubs in calm flats of 4-8’.

Keep casting blade baits (bucktails, spinnerbaits) and top water as surface teps of low to mid 60’s is not cool for this time of year. Muskies, pike and bass will chase at this time. Suckers have been useful for muskies with wind use bladed quickset rigs to improve odds.

Trees not peaking yet, but probably at 60-70%. Good time to take advantage of both beauty and fishing in the northwoods.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice
Web Site: http://www.kurtsislandsports.com

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-08-13:

Surface temps have yet to drop to levels usually seen at this time of year. Most lakes are seeing temps averaging 60-62 degrees- last year at this time the average was 49-50 degrees. This week’s air temp lows of the 40s will be working against highs in the low 70s.

Pike: Good. Spinnerbaits over cabbage beds of 4-8’ producing pike of 22-30”.

Musky: Fair. Surprisingly slow for what is usually prime musky time, fish are very shallow- 4-8’. Twitch baits (Cranes, Big Game) and shallow running jerks (Suicks, Smity’s) pulling some fish from shallow weeds. Topwater (top-Raiders, Whopper Ploppers) also producing fish this week. Mostly smaller fish, top reports a 45” tiger (sucker) and 47” true musky (8” Crane).

Largemouth Bass: Good. Spinnerbaits also tagging nice bass in the 3-5# range. Double Colorado blades a plus on larger 3/8-1/2 oz lures.

Crappies: Good. Working wood in 8-14’ using medium fatheads producing nice catches of crappies 10-13+”.

Walleyes: Fair. Deep water (35-45’) depth producing walleyes of 19-23”. Chubs preferred, yet hard to find. Use suckers of 3-5” on 3/8-1/2 oz jigs or Lindy Rigs. Flowage walleye being found in 10-14’ near wood on large fatheads.

Perch: Fair-Good. Recent weather made targeting perch tough over weekend. Prior weather with less wind gave up good catches of 9-13” perch using fatheads on 1/16 ox jigs in 4-7′ weeds.

Been predicting good musky fishing coming up – just hasn’t happened. Fall fishing looks to stretch out as cold weather isn’t due this week. Hot sucker bite yet to occur.
Colors on trees have not peaked as of yet. Upcoming weekend forecasted for a little rain, fairly stable temps.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sports Shop

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-14-13:

Lots of wind covered the Lakeland area through most of the weekend. Water temps finally are staying below 60 degrees with forecasted highs this coming week in the mid 50’s, expect temps to continue dropping from here on out.

Musky: Good-Very Good. Action heating up on the sucker bite as lakes cool. Most fish still being drawn out of surprisingly shallow water. Twitch baits (Cranes, big Game), gliders (Smuttly Dog P-6, Mantas) and jerk baits (Smity, Suicks) producing best action. Many times pulling muskies away from shallow reed beds only to have these fish hammer suckers on quick-set harnesses. Though not a lot of big fish reported this week, lots of mid30 to low 40” fish caught.

Walleye: Fair-Good. Some deep water action on 3-5” suckers, chubs (if available). Shallow fish off a bit with first drop of water temp in a while.

Crappies: Fair-Good. Deeper wood best as drop in water temps pushed fish from 8-10’ to 14-16’ depths on Flowages. Lake crappies 4-5’ off bottom in 20-25’ soft bottom areas outside weed edges.

Perch: Fair-Good. Big perch found near wood feeding on small craws. Nice perch to 12”+ on medium fatheads.

Pike: Fair. Moved out of the shallows, probably due to cold pushing bait fish out. May be due to the presence of muskies in the shallows. Jig and chub/sucker on wire leader along outside weeds of 8-12’.

Largemouth Bass: Few reports. Some nice bass (17-20”) still being caught using spinnerbaits meant for pike.

Smallmouth Bass, Bluegills: No reports

As lakes fall into the mid 50’s keep an eye open for reports of turn-over. Things late this year. Luckily not all lakes turn at the same time. Be prepared for more sucker action and slower presentations on wood and rubber baits.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-22-13:

Wind, rain, cold and snow. Water temps in the Lakeland area continue to fall. Fast dropping temps have put turn-over behind us, concentration will be deeper now.

Musky: Fair-Good. Varying reports. Some areas slow, probably due to turn-over, others that had been off saw a spike in activity. Suckers have been king – supply tough west of 51, but 51 and east are good for wilds. Glide baits such as Smuttly Dogs and rubber baits such as Alien Eels, Medussas and larger twitch and jerk baits are moving fish best as is typical for this time of year. Good numbers of tigers caught over the weekend as well as a 49” true musky.

Walleye: Fair-Good. Best to fish deep water lakes in 40-50’ using suckers of 3-5” (chubs if you can find them), on 3/8 oz to ½ oz jigs or Lindy style rigs. Find drop-off areas with transition zones of hard to soft bottom. Vertical jigging ½ oz spoons or Jigging Raps where schools are marked so competition is there.

Smallmouth Bass: Good. Use caution fishing deep (35-45’) using suckers. Retrieve slowly so as to be able to safely release big smallies of 20+”.

Crappies: Fair/Good. Action slowing. Best relating to drowned wood – 12-14’ deep. Use medium fatheads to target nice crappies of 11+”.

Pike: Fair/Good. Live bait rigs using 4-7” suckers or chubs. Concentrate on heavy weeds of 8-12’.

Water temps average around 49 to 50 degrees. That’s still 5 degrees warmer than this time last year, but closer than the 12 degrees warmer just two weeks ago.

Snow and cold this week should continue to cool area lakes. Musky fishing hasn’t been “hot” yet, so this should be the week.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 10-29-13:

Another weekend of wind, cold, rain, sleet and snow. Big fall bites have just not developed well. Blame could be on conditions being rough for boat control, but, even then fish should be being caught.

Musky: Fair. Not much for reports over the weekend. Pressure put on smaller lakes as large lakes extremely tough to fish Friday and Saturday with high winds. Suckers on quick-set rigs best. Suicks, Smity’s, Bobbie jerk baits moved most fish. Casting rubber baits out over open water also producing.

Walleye: Fair. Deep water bite best. Chubs (if available) and suckers fished along transition breaks in 40-45’ producing larger fish (20-28”). Use 3/8 oz to ½ oz jigs or Lindy rigs. Look for Flowage walleyes to be stacking in deepest holes taking large fatheads on 1/8 to 1/4oz jigs.

Pike: Fair-Good. Few are targeting this species, yet nice pike in the low to mid 30” range taking baits (from suckers to suicks) meant for musky.

Smallmouth: Fair. Deep water, big fish on chubs/suckers or Lindy rigs.

No reports for other species. The wind had a big effect on angler participation.

Surface temps this weekend ranged from 48 degrees (Trout, Fence), 46 degrees (Squirrel, Big Arbor Vitae) to as low as 40-41 degrees on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage.

New moon period for coming weekend should help.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

This morning my aunt who lives on Big Arbor Vitae said in the back bays and close to shore there was a thin layer of ice this morning.

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-05-13:

Water temps have dropped since last report, now ranging from 36-42 degrees. The musky action has picked up from slow start. Many muskies caught in the last few days and while artificial lures may be bringing them in, most of the catches have been on suckers.

Musky Suckers have not been an issue to get in our area as they have been somewhat in the western part of the state. Heard of muskies raised or caught on Suicks, Rubber baits and Bobbies. Action has been as shallow as 5’ weedlines or some caught suspending over deeper water.

While most of the reports have been muskies, there still are a few walleye fisherman out there. A few catches off 8-13’ weedlines, mostly on walleye suckers and large fatheads as chubs have still been difficult to get. Many catches have been in DEEP water 40-65’, again on minnows.

Only one perch report and that was in 25’ weed edge on crappie minnows.

No other species reported this week. Forecast looks to be full of precipitation the next several days.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

icefanatic:

Ice has been showing up for about the last week… With the snow coming in tonight, we could have temps pretty close to where we neeed them for early ice formation on flowages and small lakes… The earliest I have been on ice up here has been Nov. 9th. Won’t be that early this year, but we very well should be ice fishing by the deer opener.

Mark

Mb:
I figured Ice was forming prior to my post, but that was just the first I have personally heard of ice forming. I was hoping to head up to the Minocqua area around thanksgiving for some early ice action

Unless the weather does a 180, I would be surprised if we weren’t fishing that week, if not before…

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-12-13:

Poor weather conditions have kept people off the water. A few musky fishermen out over the weekend did do well with suckers off deep weed edges. One walleye report of good bite in deep water (+25′), but really not seeing many fishermen to get reports. This morning arrived at work to find the pond behind the shop skimmed over with ice.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-18-13:

Our own little “forecaster” the pond behind our shop, froze last week, yet reopened with the warmer temps, wind and rain of the weekend. Well, it’s on its way bay to locking up (about 40% covered as of 11/18).

Surface temps on area lakes range from 35-40 degrees. Some lakes as of Saturday were inaccessible due to ice in the bays. While the wind will keep things open as it blows, cold temps this week will shut some lakes out, though larger lakes should stay open until the musky season closes on November 30th.

Last week whitefish were coming up shallow to spawn after dark, but by the weekend reports had slowed considerably.

As far as fishing reports, not a lot of participation this past week. My boat struck out (1 pike on a Triple D) and a few anglers catching walleyes deep on larger minnows. Big suckers is best move for muskies from here on out, with slow moving glide/jerk baits, rubber creature baits and slow moving cranks best.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

P.S. I was on Minocqua yesterday running fresh gas and stabile into my motor and had 38*-39* depending on my location on the lake…

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 11-26-13:

Well, this is as early of a start to ice fishing as we have had in a while! Saturday and Sunday’s cold blast (-8 to -10

Trout Lake is still open as of 11/26. Musky season runs through Saturday, November 30.

Reports of 2-5” of solid ice from all around. Angler’s venturing out on the Flowages and lakes of 1,000 acres. Even the bays of larger lakes such as Lake Tomahawk are seeing anglers.

Excellent reports of walleye catches from anglers fishing shallows using suckers and chubs on tip-ups and Jigging Raps in 3-6’ depths.

One angler caught a 37” pike using a large shiner on a tip-up. Others reporting great action on tip-ups in shallow weedy bays of 3-7’.

Panfish anglers are just starting to show up.
Early ice is always a top time to fish gamefish and it’s here now!

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-02-13:

Fantastic start to the ice season! Most lakes averaging 4-6”. Fish active and biting. Earliest fishable ice in the past few years. Not everyone ready for it, but, those that are have been taking advantage of some great early ice fishing.

Walleye: Excellent. Best reports at dusk and just after dark. Tip-ups baited with suckers or chubs fish in waters of 6-12’ best. With little ice and mobility easy, jig fishermen using Jigging Raps, Chubby Darters having great success as walleyes have been aggressive. Lots of 17-24” fish being reported. Bite becoming earlier as we hit new moon (tonight).

Pike: Excellent. Big suckers, shiners and chubs on tip-downs over weeds in 5-9’. Fish heavy as they have been feeding on panfish in shallows. Lots of mid 20” fish with good numbers of 30+”.

Musky: Season over as of Nov 30th. A few ice anglers did score some bonus muskies through the ice. No reports from the last of the shore anglers.

Crappies: Good-Very good. Moving into the classic bays with standing weeds. Best catches had been by anglers finessing plastics on tiny #14 or #12 jigs. With the front moving in action picked up on minnows below tip-downs as crappies got more aggressive.

Bluegills: Good. Not quite as good as expected. Lots of action, though a lot of little fish. Anglers targeting areas of drowned wood finding larger fish of 8+” in 5-8’ of water. Red spikes and dark plastics on #10 tear drops working.

Perch: Fair-good. Mostly numbers of smaller fish. Anglers using minnows catching some larger perch in weeds.

Largemouth Bass: Very good. Lots of bass on tip-ups using shiners meant for pike. Bass also taking Jigging Shad Raps, spoons and even small ice jigs tipped with waxies. Bass to 20” this weekend.

Unfortunately it’s started snowing a warm heavy snow and 4+” expected. This will make lakes slushy, though super cold temps Friday morning should firm things up.

Don’t miss our 4th Annual Ice Fishing Extravaganza on December 6, 7 and 8. All the latest in Electronics, Augers, Shacks by Otter Frabill and Clam as well as the floating ice suites by Striker. Hot deals on jigs, chances to win prices. Everything ice fishing at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-11-13:

Awful cold for early December. Wind, snow/rain/sleet and below 0 temps have kept anglers off the ice. Despite a few areas where snow has piled up a bit and is insulating slush- most areas building good ice. Averages in the 8-10” range for the most part with some small protected lakes reporting a full 12”+.

Walleye: Very Good. For those willing to fish the evenings (or at all). Jigging Raps have accounted for good action for above average walleyes of 17-24”. Tip-ups with shiners (weed edges) or suckers (gravel, sandgrass) also producing. Set up pre-dusk or pre-dawn for best results.

Pike: Very Good. Big chubs, suckers in 6-12’ weeds. Anglers jigging # 5 pimps with a shiner head, #10 fireline and wire leader caught pair of 30” pike this weekend. Most fish in 25-28” range. .

Crappies: Good. Bite back to finesse fishing, which is tough with such cold weather. Black, purple or red plastics, pinched small to fit on #12 jigs best. Once things warm and barometer lowers, minnows on tip-downs should pick up.

Bluegills: Good-Fair. Better last week. Slowed with cold. Waxies, spikes on tear drops, moon glos of #12 sizes. As with perch-starting to filter out a little deeper with thicker ice.

Perch: Fair. Not a lot of attention since cold. Moving out from real shallow (3-5’) to deeper (6-10’) as ice thickens.

Bass: Poor. Don’t like this super cold. Expect action on days closer to 20+ degrees.

We are getting lots of good ice making weather. Unfortunately it has been so cold( High of -2 degrees today) that few anglers want to venture out to fish. As weather breaks; expect fishing and reports to improve.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-17-13:

More super cold held most anglers at bay last week. A break in the weather (temps over 0 degrees) brought anglers out on the ice Friday and Saturday before chilling down below 0 degrees Sunday & Monday (lows of -20degrees) kept all but the crazies off the ice.

Ice thickening. Large lakes such as Trout, Fence have 8” (safe for A.T.V.) most others in the 12-13” range. Fishing tailed off as high pressure moved in on Sunday/Monday- yet picked up considerably on Tuesday as the barometer dropped and temps were a bit warmer.

Walleye: Very Good-Fair-Good. Best reports on Friday. Best on tip-ups with suckers/chubs at dusk. Some anglers on Flowages experiencing good morning bite. Jigging raps good on top of humps after dark- yet action with super cold has been slower.

Pike: Good. Nicer pike on large suckers, chubs; shiners. Fish in upper 20-lower 30” range hanging around weeds of 8-12’. Mid mornings best. .

Crappies: Good-Fair. On warming days use meat (tip-downs with minnows, teardrops with waxies) on cold, high sky days finesse with small tungsten jigs and tiny plastics of red, purple or black. Most action weed related in 10-12’. Dusk and dawn best for larger crappies (12-14”), daytime fish have been smaller.

Bluegills: Fair. If warmer, action improves. Too cold on some days to hole hop. Small #12-#14 tungsten jigs with single spike or Moussee best. .

Perch: Fair-good. A few big fish caught by walleye anglers. Not a lot of attention here yet. Use medium fatheads in 6-8’ weeds adjacent to 10-14’ drops.

Largemouth Bass: Fair. Typically a warming water bite- yet on the Chain, good numbers taking shiners on tip-ups.

This week weather warming (if you want to call single digit/teens warming) some. Noticeable improvement with above 0 temps. Access very good and should be full on truck travel by weekend with exception of biggest lakes.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Mark

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-24-13:

Weather has been up and down here in the Northwoods a bit lately. High pressure and low temps (-9 to -20 degrees last night) put fish and anglers not in a good mood to bite or fish. Windows of opportunity spring up. Monday’s higher temps, lower barometer and better fishing follows.

Pike: Good-Very good. Big suckers and chubs have been the choice on tip-ups. Anglers fishing the typical weeds of 8-12’ reported good action with nice fish. A pair of 35” silver pike (no spots) were iced yesterday. Another group caught 43 pike in 4 hours using tip-ups in a bay near incoming stream.

Walleyes: Fair-Good. Some trophy fish over the weekend (which saw otherwise slow fishing) included catches of a 26”, 27”, 28” and 30 ½” by anglers mostly on tip-ups after dark. Action improved on Monday. Walleye suckers for the deeper fish (14-22’) as well as jigging raps in sizes #7 and #9. Anglers fishing the flowages and shallower lakes having better success on shiners and large rosies (slip-float rigs).

Perch: Good-Very good. Angler plying slightly deeper waters (25-30’) catching nice perch on Swedish Pimples, Kastmasters tipped with waxies/wigglers. Up on weed bars small rosies used to tempt 9” plus perch.

Crappies: Fair-Very Good. This species, as is typical, has been weather dependent. High skies and cold have brought poor catches requiring anglers to finesse with small #3 tungsten jigs tipped with tiny plastics to entice reluctant bites. On the other hand, days with warmer temps and clouds have anglers doing good on tip-downs with minnows as well as horizontal plastic jigs. Lots of good fish including a 16”er this past weekend.

Bluegills: Good. Better weather, better bites. Small #12 to #10 rockers tipped with single spike or plastics in 6-8’ bays. Nice catches of 7”+ fish on Monday after a tough bite over the weekend.

Largemouth Bass: Fair-Good. Warmer weather, better bite. Medium to large shiners best over weedy bottoms.

Cold temps through Thursday look to be lifting to highs of mid 20” to low 30’s for Friday/Saturday. With new moon coming up for January 1st, combination looks good for anglers heading out to enjoy some holiday fishing.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Coming up to fish Nokomis and try my new (to me) snow machine. Plan on doing some tip up fishing around a mid lake island I have had success on in previous years.

Thanks for the update!

Last Report of 2013 – Happy New Year!!!

From Kurt’s Island Bait for the date 12-31-13:

Great week till the bottom dropped out of the thermometer. A 62 degree temperature swing from Saturday December 28 through Monday December 30. Anglers were out in force on Saturday enjoying the above freezing temps and the holiday weekend. While there have been some conflicting reports, most reports were of good fishing though out the Lakeland area. Numbers and size was the talk of the weekend. Come Sunday, though, action and participation fell off precipitously. By Monday morning (-29 degrees) very few anglers ventured out.

Walleye: Very Good-Fair. What started out as a great bite, slowed way down with the drop in temps, rise in barometer and lack of anglers due to cold temps. A very good bite during the warm days occurred oddly enough from noon till 2pm. Walleyes were found cruising 8-12’ weed flats by day taking shiners meant for pike on tip-ups. Several walleyes from 26” to 29 ½” were caught during that mid-day bite. Evening bites continued for anglers using suckers on tip-ups. Jigging raps, slender spoons and vibratos accounted for good catches also during the warm spell.

Pike: Very good-Fair. During the warm spell flags were flying! Lots of good action on tip-ups baited with chubs, suckers and shiners. Big fish active as catches of pike in the 30-40” range were regular.

Perch: Good-Fair. Tip-downs with medium fatheads/rosie reds accounted for nice catches of larger perch in 10-12’ weed/wood mix during warm spell. Deep water perch (20’+) taking wigglers presented on Hali jigs, Pimples. Cold slowed the action, but weed bite still produced Monday for angler using minnows inside shacks (too cold for tip-downs).

Crappies: Good-Fair. Tip-down action good for crappies during warm spell. Also slow-dropping plastics on #10 rockers in white, chartreuse, and orange. With the cold weather, action stalled. Anglers hunkered in shacks picking up an occasional crappie on 3mm tungsten jigs with tiny red or purple plastic tail.

Bluegills: Good-Poor. Warm weather promoted active fish and fishermen alike. Good catches using Gill Pills or Gill Getters tipped with waxies, spikes or mousses. Lots of action with enough eaters from the 7-10’ weeds to make effort worth it. With the cold, few anglers willing to target gills.

Largemouth Bass: Very good-poor. The action for bass during the warm spell was exceptional, as expected during times of warmer temps. Few anglers target bass through the ice up here, yet they make their presence felt hitting shiners and suckers meant for walleyes and pike as well as jigging raps and spoons tipped with meat, but, the cold shut them down.

This extreme cold is scheduled to lift by the weekend, with Saturday being the warmest. Hopefully with temps in the 20’s and a dip in the barometer, the bite will return to what it was last weekend.

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice

Again Happy New Year to all IDO’ers!!!

Mark