Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report
This past week has been very good for anglers looking for action. The bass have been very aggressive and have been striking a variety of lures from tubes to crankbaits. Most of the fish have been in shallow water associated with rocks but we have found a few holding in the wood.
Anglers looking for walleyes should target the main river channel in 8 to 12 feet of water. We have been having consistent action from walleyes while trolling crankbaits along channel edges and by working 1/8th and 1/4 ounce jigs on the bottom.
For you pan-fishing addicts this past week has been outstanding for crappies and bluegills. We have had very good success on crappies suspended out in deeper water by drift fishing with slip bobbers set at various depths and baited up with small minnows. We have been catching a lot of gills up very shallow on tiny hooks baited up with a piece of crawler or a small red worm. Most of the gills have been holding tight to shoreline cover but a carefully presented bait will catch them every time.
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| Brian Goetz with a nice bluegill | A nice limit of bluegills taken this past week | Hooksetters Guide Phil Schweik with a nice smallmouth bass |
The catfish bite has been very consistent and we have been hooking into a lot of nice fish while targeting other species.. Most of the cats have come while jigging the river channel for walleyes but we have caught quite a few this past week on crankbaits at a variety of depths. I don't think it really maters where you fish for catfish they are everywhere, but for consistent action target the deepest pools in the river system or some of the deepest water in the lake.
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| Ken Zingler with a nice smallmouth bass |
Ron Hall with a nice smallmouth bass | Randy Derbick with a nice turkey |
For you musky anglers in the northern part of the state season is finally here...And it is about time! With the early spring we had it has seemed like an eternity for the musky opener to get here. Now that it has arrived and water temperatures are up in the 70 degree range normal early season tactics may have to be refined. We have been seeing a few fish up shallow but for the most part anglers looking at tackling a musky this week should concentrate on deeper weed edges and wood in 6 to 8 feet of water. Don't completely rule out the shallow bite but I would strongly suggest targeting water a little deeper. Try running medium sized bucktails and twitch baits in orange or firetiger along the deeper break lines and run top water baits right up into and through the weeds and wood.
Have a great 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