Minocqua Area Fishing Report 8-20-2013
Summer is back!!! Temps are rising and fishing action with it.
Largemouth Bass: Good. Topwater action is back! Frogs, Jitterbugs, ChugBugs best on warm evenings in shallows. In morning and midday, Wacky worming senkos, Carolina rigging 7” plastic worms/lizarrds producing nice catches to 4#s.
Musky: Good – improving. As with LMB, warming temps bringing action on topwater. Whopper Ploppers, Pacemakers making a big splash for evening anglers. Bucktails and chatterbaits as well as fast working twitchbaits also catching skies.
Walleye: Good. Best on deeper lakes. Work 20-24’ sandgrass outside weed edges with crawlers or leeches. Off shore gravel humps using slip-bobber rigs or Lindy rigs. Night action on big leeches and lighted slip-floats.
Bluegills: Good. Starting to suspend outside weed edges of 14-18’, 6-8’ down. Small leeches on 1/32 oz jigs or below slip-floats best. Tiny plastics also working to catch limits, mostly 7 ½-8” but some nice 9” fish also.
Crappies: Good. Fish tall weeds in 10-16’. Tickle weed tops with Mini-mites, Gapen Freshwater shrimp, small minnows. Lots of smaller 7-9” fish but enough 10-12”ers to keep things interesting.
Smallmouth Bass: Good. Gravel humps off shore. Not seeing numbers as usual, but with warming weather this should improve. Tubes and jigs, drop-shotting 2 ½” Gulp alive minnows, 3” Senkos or 2 ½” Yum Craws best. Search out gravel tops of 18-26’.
Nothern Pike: Fair-Good. Faster moving Boonie Baits, Mepps #3, Chatterbaits picking up action as water warms.
Perch: Fair-Good. Softshell craws, ½ crawlers over sandgrass flats for fewer, but bigger perch (11’+) otherwise stick to weeds of 5-8’ with medium fatheads or leeches to sort out keepers of 8-9”.
Surface temps are back in low 70’s (72-73 degrees) and climbing. Nights are warmer, so morning bites are back. Topwater action taking off as is night fishing for walleyes. Odd summer, this is usually the time for cool downs, but we will take this.
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
www.kurtsislandsports.com