Fishing in NW Wisco has been very good for multiple species as we head into the heart of summer.
Panfish have just finished their recovery stage from the spawn and are feeding heavily throughout the day…location has been key.
Mornings and evenings are producing some quality fish along the weed edges using smaller, slow falling plastics paired up with a 1/32 or 1/16oz jig head…fan casting the weed lines, weedy flats or around points with emergent weeds are producing the best results for both crappies and gills.
Midday has been really good as well targeting mid depth mud flats for Bluegills and Perch in that 8-12fow range using smaller micro finesse slip floats paired up with Gulp products like the Cricket, Angle Worm or 1″ Minnow…live bait like red worms or trout worms fished on a 1/32oz jig head has been money! As summer progresses and the water temps warms well into the 70’s, these bigger gills and perch will slide out into the cooler mud bottom flats and start to feed on blood worms and other bottom dwelling insects. This is a great place to target them, especially the “bigger” fish.
Crappies are using weed edges to feed heavily during the morning and evening hours. Pitching Paddle Tails on the weed edges and working them with a slow steady lift/fall presentation back to the boat is producing a ton of fish. Midday crappies have been using mid depth structure(sunken trees, humps, man-made cribs) and fishing over them vertically with crappie minnows or small plastics have put some solid fish in the boat.
Walleyes: trolling Rapala’s along the 10-15′ breaklines at dusk and into the late evening have yeilded numerous fish. Fishing adjacent to deep points with rock or weeds using slip bobbers and leeches, or half a crawler on 1/4 or 1/8oz jig head has been hard to beat…and these patterns will hold all summer.
Bass: Largemouth have been very active in the weeds and pads. Throwing frogs into the pads is always a fun way to fish and it’s been productive…wacky worm rigs are also a safe bet this time of year and it’s versatility makes this presentation an angler favorite. Anglers are also getting some tank football Smallmouth fishing Ned Rigs or Texas Rigged Craws on rip rap shorelines, rock humps or alongside steep points.
Muskies: the top water bite is just starting…this week saw a monster 51″ and another solid 46″ fish hit the net by anglers working top water towards dusk. “Burning” bucktails across the top has also been producing quality fish with black tail and orange blades being the hot color.
With all these options and with multiple species playing ball…anglers are in for a treat this coming Holiday Week!
