Minocqua Area Fishing Report
Hopefully this is the start to a real summer for our anglers. Some stable, summer-like weather will hopefully start putting fish more into their typical summer patterns.
Crappie: Good-Very Good – Anglers finding good numbers and very good sized Crappies (a 15”er topped the charts this weekend) using 2” ripple shad on 1/32 oz jigs or 2” twister tails worked over weed tops of cabbage in 8 – 12’. Boathouses near deeper water producing Crappies on minnows, tiny tubes and mini-mites. In Flowages, work drowned timber of 14 – 18’ with medium fatheads.
Bluegill: Good-Very Good – Enjoying the warm up. Small leeches, thunderbugs and tiny jigs tipped with waxies. Gills active from mid-morning on, top-water action on poppers and dry flys towards dusk.
Northern Pike: Good – Best on 3 ½ - 4 ½” swimbaits as well as lipless cranks over cabbage flats of 6 – 10’. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits also working in these areas. On cold mornings (47 degrees at launch 7/17) chubs on suckers of 4 – 6” on jigs or slip-floats best choice.
Yellow Perch: Good – Showing up with some quantity and quality along coontail edges with a sandgrass “lawn”. Soft shell crayfish (frozen), ½ crawlers, medium fats under slip-bobbers or on Lindy style rigs.
Largemouth Bass: Good – Hard to beat Wacky worms in and around the weeds. Small spinnerbaits with nickle blades and gold or silver/blue skirts over coontail tops. Tube jigs down the sides. Jig and creature combos in morning hours. Return to top-water frogs, Pop-R’s at dusk.
Smallmouth Bass: Good – Working same coontail edges/sand grass flats as larger perch. Drop shot craw imitations, 3” Senko’s or 3” Gulp Minnows. X-Raps and Husky Jerks on inside weed lines in the A.M.
Musky: Fair-Good – Fish starting to be “seen” more. Bucktails bringing best overall action but smaller 6 – 8” swimbaits and twitch baits also moving (and tagging) fish. Top-water action heating up as Whopper Ploppers, Pace Makers and Suicide Ducks producing.
Walleye: Poor-Fair – Tough summer so far. Even trollers struggling. Best has been deeper 16 – 28’ dragging Lindy rigs. Big crawlers, XL leeches and 4 – 5” red tails
With a week of highs in the low 80’s, water temps should stabilize into the mid 70’s, top-water action will dominate the evening Bass and Musky action. Largemouth are already being spotted feeding on schools of mimic shiners over coontail beds. Crappies filling in summer haunts finally!