Minocqua Area Fishing Report
Finally, area lakes are seeing temperatures in the low 70’s, giving Largemouth Bass and Bluegill anglers what they have been looking for! A few mayfly hatches have been reported lately and when they have been, they are coming in small patches, not entire lakes worth. With this food source out of the way, walleyes should be a bit easier to figure out.
Bluegills: Good-Very good. The warm weather has brought gills in the shallows. A few warm/calm days gave anglers a chance to use poppers to get some great top-water fun. Otherwise use thunderbugs, wax worms and small leeches. Work the shallows and watch for beds…don’t take too many…leave some for seed.
Largemouth Bass: Good-Very good. Lots of action and a variety of techniques working. Lots of good heavy weed techniques using plastic craws or bugs. Punching into the thick cover using heavy weights to fish Wooly Bugs and Sweet Beavers. Top water with plastic frogs and popper lures. Shallow square lipped cranks and spinnerbaits over 8’ cabbage beds simple and easy.
Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good. Just off first breaks and along rocky drop offs. Work plastic craws and creature baits. X-raps early morning for cruising fish, chug bugs and x-rap pops in the evening for top water action. Live leeches hard to resist.
Perch: Good-Very good. Liking the rise in temps, perch are feeding on crayfish. Deep wood best, but, sandgrass flats also holding these crab eaters. Use soft shells where available, otherwise ½ crawlers on 1/8oz jigs or dangled below slip-floats.
Musky: Good-Very good. Despite a few draw back on the bright clear days, evenings have been good on bucktails and top waters (Pacemakers and Whopper Ploppers). Shallow water 2-12’ still best.
Walleye: Good. Watch the weather, when clouds move in so should you to 8-12’ cabbage flats. XL leeches on crawlers on 1/16 oz weedless jigs. Bright days, move out to deeper breaks of firm to soft transition or deep wood, crawlers especially good here where walleyes are found feeding on soft shelled craws.
Crappies: Good. Best over deep, curly leaf cabbage beds of 10-16’. Work tickling weed tops with small Charlie Bees, or light plastic or hair jigs tipped with small minnows, waxies or 1” Gulp Alive minnows.
Pike: Good. Taking back seat to Largemouth Bass, but, still active on spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and #3 Mepps Aglia and Comet spinners.
Still getting fronts moving through, making it hard to get consistent patterns going at times, but, warmer water is really helping.
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop