Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report 7-23-2012
The recent summer heat has not stopped the great action we are having on local waters.
Walleyes continue to be a very good attraction with nice fish being caught on crawlers and leeches. Most of the fish are in 8 to 12 feet of water associated with wood and rocks.
 |
 |
| Andy Cravens with a nice walleye | John Sparbel with a nice walleye. |
Bass have been fairly aggressive on topwater baits and small crayfish style crankbaits. Our best action is coming form rocky rip-rap areas as well as shoreline wood.
Terry Woldvogel with a Wisconsin River smallmouth
The catfish bite is about as good as it can get! We are not only catching a lot of nice fish, we are getting some good ones in the 10 to 15 pound range as well. Most of the cats are being caught by using cut bait or crawlers cast out into deep water, usually 12 feet or more and sometimes as much as 20 feet deep.
 |
 |
| Andy Cravens with a nice catfish | A couple of good Wisconsin River catfish |
The panfish bite has been good this past week with nice catches of bluegills, crappies and a few jumbo perch. A lot of the panfish are holding tight to the bottom in 8 to 12 feet of water associated with weeds or wood, but the crappies are suspended down 4 to 7 feet from the surface. Small jigs tipped with a piece of crawler or a tiny minnow has been working the best for us.
 |
 |
| Terry Woldvogel with a couple of crappies | A couple of deer I caught on camera crossing to an isolated island on the Wisconsin River backwaters. |
For you musky guys the bite has been pretty good during low light periods and after dark. We have been catching a few nice fish on top water baits and bucktails burned in as fast as you can retrieved them.. The bite right now is not a feeding bite it is more of a reaction strike, so the faster you can move your bait through the water, the better your odds are of getting that strike.
We are closing in on about one month until the 2012 bear season opens. It may seem like it is quite a way off, but it is not, it will be here before you know it! Most of our baits are seeing daily activity from multiple bears and a few of them are real bruins. To keep the bears from straying off to another area or hunters set-up we have now stepped up our baiting to almost every other day along with us changing up our baits stations with different "goodies" each time we re-bait.
*On a final note, and probably not a good one, but one that needs to be said to some hunters that have waited until now to start bear baiting.... If while you are out trying to locate an area for bear baiting and happen to come across someone else's set-up - Do not go a few hundred yards past the other hunters site and set up your own bear baiting station, it's not right! Move to a completely new area and find your own secluded site. You procrastinated and another well prepared hunter got that spot! They were there first and they have the right to hunt that location undisturbed, even on public land! I have seen this in the past and it is not fair to the hunter that has done his homework, and has been baiting and working the area all summer long to have someone move in on him "last minute". It is not only uncouth it gives a bad name to all hunters. You can however leave your name and phone number on a piece of paper and stick it in a sealed zip lock bag somewhere visible near the site. Explain your situation and maybe down the road the other hunter will have tagged a bear and you may be able to hunt that site after all. You might even end up making a new friend.
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik
Licensed Wisconsin Hunting & Fishing Guide
Hooksetters Guide Service www.hooksetters.biz
Ruttnut Guide Service www.ruttnut.com