5-12-14 Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report

Great action for walleyes and crappies this past week with not only numbers of good fish but some real slabs as well.  In addition to the great fishing, turkey hunting has proven very successful for many hunters as well.

The walleyes have finished spawning and have moved to post-spawn areas.  Look for the walleyes to be in shallow backwater areas off the main river system or along weed edges in 6 to 10 feet off water in the main lake basin.  Target the walleyes with jig and minnow combination or crankbaits worked in and around structure.

Crappies are typically shallow at this time of the year and can be easily targeted by locating shallow structure like wood, stumps or reeds. Small minnows suspended below a slip bobber will take these feisty panfish all day long.

We have also been getting a few nice catfish this past week by targeting very deep pools in the river system or in deeper holes in the main lake basin. .Jigs tipped with fathead minnow have been working very well for us but the key to success is keeping your bait right on the bottom and only moving it a little bit at a time.

Turkey hunters have been finding turkeys in a variety of locations but this past week and a lot of the activity has again been in the dense brushy area that adjoin cedar swamps or river beds.. For whatever reason we are not seeing the numbers of birds on the fields that we normally do but there sure are a lot of them hanging around in the woods.

Have a great week,

 Phil Schweik

Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide

Hooksetters Guide Service  www.hooksetters.biz

Hookset adventures  www.hooksetadventures.com

Ruttnut Guide Service  www.ruttnut.com

Reed & Hoppe Wildlife Food Plots   www.foodplotting.com

Jeff Wieloch with a nice spring gobbler

Hooksetters Guide Phil Schweik with a nice spring gobbler

Don Pankratz with a nice mess of spring crappies

Taylor and Mike with a few good walleyes.

Don Pankratz with a dandy smallmouth bass

A nice river walleye

Hooksetters Guide Phil Schweik with a nice spring walleye

Christopher Blank with a good Wisconsin River walleye