This was the second time fishing the mighty Milwaukee River for warm-water species. Bass and pike seem to be the common catches and surprisingly the pike seem to be the most plentiful. Fishing pools and bend that have structure seemed to be the most productive especially when that structure is wood. It took 2 trips to really start to narrow down where to find some better bass live. I’m sure with a river this size it will take many trips to put together a backlog of good spots but we are well on our way.
We fished spinners, swim baits and jig and twister combos that seemed to produce the most quality bites. It was also my first time using fireline crystal and was super impressed even if it costs 15$ a spool. Even with the braid we still had a couple feisty pike bite us off because no leaders were used.
The most surprising thing was the clarity and the massive amounts of bait. I swear there was 4 feet visibility and the water was crystal clear. Schools of baitfish everywhere and in the right spots every step would send dozens of crawfish back peddling. This speaks well of the overall health of this river and was a much better “up north” experience than fishing the chocolate milk water on the fox.
One good bass this last trip with some smaller bass and pike mixed in as well. If the kings don’t move in soon then I will keep you posted on my Milwaukee River exploits.