Good crappie bite with bass action heating up
The cooler water temperatures have been keeping the crappies staging just outside their normal traditional spawning areas. They are holding in about 10 to 14 feet of water but can still be caught on slip bobber rigs. We are running our baits about 4 to 7 feet down on slip bobbers rigged up with small minnows on tiny bait hooks. To work the area thoroughly we are drift fishing the area using the trolling motor or for the most part the wind to help quietly slip us through the areas that the crappies are holding in.
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| Adam Rasmussen with a nice smallmouth bass | Ron Hall from Chicago with a nice smallmouth bass | Terry Woldvogel with a nice walleye |
The smallmouth bass action has picked up this past week and we are seeing some nice fish in the 3 to 5 pound range being caught. Most of the fish have been holding tight to shallow cover (rocks or wood) but we have taken a few fish that are still holding in deeper water while walleye fishing. We are catching our bass on jigs tipped with minnows or plastics but we are also getting a few of the bass on crankbaits and spinnerbaits.
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| Glenn Moberg with a nice northern pike | Ron Hall and John Niko from Chicago with some nice walleyes |
The walleye bite has been pretty good this past week with a lot of nice fish in that 15 to 19 inch range being caught. Most of our action is coming in 5 to 10 feet of water early and late in the day but we are seeing some mid day activity in the deeper pools. We are running 1/8th and 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with fathead minnows for the deeper water but for the shallow water bite we are tossing Rapalas and Cisco kid crankbaits in Firetiger and orange.
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| Beth Rodgers with a nice smallmouth bass |
This turkey season has been very good and hunters have been taking quite a few nice toms. Now that the season has been in full swing for a couple of weeks it is very important to be strategic when calling and using decoys. As the season progresses big wary toms will become decoy shy and now is the time to start calling without the use of a decoy. The next important thing to do is to not overcall I cannot express this enough. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE MISTAKE MOST TURKEY HUNTERS MAKE! Once you have made that initial call sequence put the call away. The birds know where you are and it is important for you to sit back and see what happens. Time will tell and after a while you will know when to call again.
Good Luck and have a safe week,
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