Minocqua area fishing report
It’s beginning to look a lot like FALL! Morning temps in the 40’s, highs in the 60’s. Most lake’s surface temps in the 59-63 degree range. If you can fish early or late and stay out of the no cloud little wind days, fishing has picked up.
Walleye: Good-Very Good. Best over deep gravel humps along gravel/mud transition zones in 18-34’. Jigging Raps hot and produce the best “hard” hits. Jig and minnow/crawler as well as Lindy rigging chubs also working well. On Flowages (Willow, Turtle) drowned wood using slip-floats or weedless jigs to present large fatheads or ½ crawlers best.
Musky: Good-Very Good. High skies shut mid-day fishing down, but, mornings, evenings and cloudy times very good. Top water has proved to be best choice personally (Pacemakers, Whopper Ploppers and Top Raiders) and should continue till lakes turn over (around 53-55 degrees). The sucker bite is ramping up. Rigs with spinner attractant best. Most action along and over shoreline weed beds.
Pike: Good-Very Good. Active on Mepps #4 and #5 Aglias and Comet Minnows worked over weeds of 6-12’. Try spinnerbaits or chatter baits for a more weedless approach (Boonies, Booyahs). Jig and chubs/suckers of 5-6’ also good….as always.
Crappies: Good. Not as good as usual, but, still good. Work drowned timber in 15-18’ using medium fatheads. Also picking up some slabs over mud/gravel transition areas jigging #5 Jigging Raps or medium fats on 1/8oz jigs.
Smallmouth Bass: Good. Try over off-shore gravel humps topping at 22-28’. Drop-shotting 3” worms, 2 ½-3” plastic minnows/craws.
Largemouth Bass: Good. Scattered reports. Some in shallow “slop” on top-water frogs, buzzbaits, Jitterbugs. Others out on flats of 8-12’ on shallow cranks and Boonie Baits while still other bites on deeper weed edges (12-16’) on Wacky worms and deeper running twitch baits.
Perch: Fair-Good. Best on flowages around deep wood. Half crawlers on medium fatheads for big perch up to 12”.
Bluegills: Fair. Despite beautiful weather, few anglers targeting these fish. Nice bulls on flowages in deep wood (15-18’), mostly by anglers targeting crappies.
We are coming up on what is generally considered the best 2 weeks of the musky season. A great time with top-water and spinnerbait action and the sucker bite is getting hot!
Kurt Justice
Kurt's Island Sport Shop
www.kurtsislandsports.com