Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report- 11-14-12
Walleyes, crappies and muskies have been providing anglers with great action this past week but now with the 2012 gun deer season starting many anglers are now packing up their boats and taking to the woods.
Walleye action has been very good this past week. Most of our fish are coming in 10 to 14 feet of water during the mid day hours on jigs tipped with fathead minnows but towards the evening these fish are moving up to shallow rocky shorelines in 1 to 3 feet of water and can be taken by tossing shallow diving crank baits like Rapalas and Thundersticks. A slow retrieval is necessary as these fish are lethargic with the cold water and they will not chase a fast moving bait.
 |
 |
| Denis Murawska with a nice musky caught on a quick set rig. | Denis Murawska with a nice musky caught on a quick set rig. |
In addition to the walleyes this past week we actually had pretty good action from crappies. Most of these crappies were 10 to 12 inches long but we did get a couple up to 14 inches. We found the crappies suspended over 14 to 18 feet of water holding approximately 4 to 7 feet down. We caught the crappies by tossing light 1/16th and 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with fathead minnows and slowly letting them sink through the water column. We also set up slip bobbers and caught a few fish on our baits that we suspended 3 to 5 feet down. Even though the slip bobbers worked well we caught more fish by simply casting and slowly retrieving the light jigs through the upper water column.
Musky activity remained consistent this past week. We caught several nice fish using suckers on our quickset rigs. When running the quickset rigs I usually like suspend one sucker about 4 to 8 feet down from a slip bobber and I let it drag about 20 feet behind the boat. The other quickset rig is set up with no bobber at all and I run this one approximately 40 to 50 feet behind the boat. With no bobber attached the sucker can roam freely and go wherever it wants. More times than not the sucker that is allowed to roam freely without bobber is the one that gets hit.
 |
 |
| Denis Murawska with another nice musky | Nathaniel House with a nice northern pike |
The 2012 rifle deer season is here. This is one of the most anticipated times of the entire year. Every year more than 600,000 people take to the woods in search of the elusive buck. Many are successful and some just come home with stories. To help you come home with more than just a story this year here are a few tips to help you be successful this season. With many hunters taking to the woods one of the best ways to be successful is to get away from the crowds. Look for areas that are as impenetrable as you can possibly imagine and set up in a good overlook location as these are areas that big-bucks are going to head to as people start to pressure them in the woods. Funnel type or necked down areas between fields, woodlots and creek bottoms are also great places to target as these areas force big bucks through a certain "pinch-point" and make them an easier target. For many years the tradition has been to hunt early morning and late afternoon hours to be successful. Granted this can be a great opportunity for taking a good buck but don't overlook the mid day hours. This mid-day period can be priceless especially when other hunters are heading in for lunch or to warm up. Their movement in the woods will pressure the deer and force unnatural movement during the mid day hours which can in turn give you an opportunity at the buck of a lifetime.
Nathaniel house with a couple of nice walleyes.
Good luck and have a safe season,
Phil Schweik
Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide
Hooksetters Guide Service www.hooksetters.biz
Ruttnut Guide Service www.ruttnut.com
Reed & Hoppe Wildlife Food Plots www.foodplotting.com