Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report
Northern Wisconsin Musky Opener is this weekend!!!!
With near perfect conditions musky anglers heading out for this weekend opener should see pretty good action. The area lakes and rivers are in the upper 60 to low 70 degree range and a variety of tactics should be working. I would start out running a variety of smaller to medium bucktails and twitch baits, but I wouldn’t rule out running some sort of top water baits with the water temps in the 70’s.
With a lot of people on the water this weekend my best advice would be to cover water and move around. Do not spend too much time beating up one location looking for a fish that may or not be there. My rule of thumb is to cover as many different spots or locations as you can looking for an aggressive fish.
As far as other species the action this past week has been very good with walleyes topping the list for both numbers and size. We have also had very good success catching bass, crappies, bluegills, and catfish. Most of these species have been found in downed timber in 6 to 10 FOW along sharper contour breaks. Where we have had a gradual contour change we have not been finding as many fish present. We have been running some crankbaits but primarily jigs and slip bobbers tipped with fathead minnows. As the water temperature continue to climb we will start seeing a general switch from minnows to crawlers though.
We stated putting a few bear baits out this past week and let me tell you this… The ticks and mosquitoes are out in full force. If you plan on heading out to the woods, or the boat landings at night, be prepared with a heavy dose of some sort of insect repellent. You are going to need it!
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik
Hooksetters Guide Service
Web: www.hooksetters.biz
Phone: 715-581-2620