Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report 8-3-2012
By Phil Schweik
Walleyes are biting on leeches and crawlers in about 8 to 12 feet of water. most of the fish have come from heavy cover like wood and weeds. Slip bobber rigs are working pretty well during low light conditions but during the daytime a simple jig tipped with live bait has been the best for getting the walleyes out of the heaviest of cover.
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| A good Wisconsin River walleye | A very nice pike for Bill Morgan - His personal best! | A nice Wisconsin River smallmouth for my guest from Florida |
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| Another good Wisconsin Rive Smallmouth bass. | Wild turkey shish-ka-bobs ready for the grill | A family of deer that jumped into the river right next to me last week during a tournament |
The big bluegill bite is on!!! This past week saw us and our clients catching bluegills up to and over 1 pound... These are real giants that average 8 to 10 inches long! Most of the gills are coming from 6 to 10 feet of water along deep weed edges and timber. We are using small 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with a piece of crawler or a leech to tempt these bruisers into biting.
Bass anglers have been having a good week, especially on top water baits. We caught some very nice bronzebacks and large mouth bass on Hula Poppers and Chug Bugs by working wood and rocks in 3 to 5 feet of water.
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| Hooksetters guide Phil Schweik with a good Wisconsin River walleye taken during the Dan Sandstrom Walleye Tournament |
Hooksetters guides Phil Schweik and John Sparbel along with tournament director Rollie Vallin collecting the 1st place check in the Dan Sandstrom Walleye Tournament. |
The musky bite has been really good even with this heat. Our best action has been early and late in the day with some good after dark activity on top water baits. We are targeting weeds and rocks in 4 to 8 feet of water that have deeper water close by. The muskies are holding in the deep water during the hot days and then sliding up shallower at night to feed.
One constant this past week has been the catfish. These hard fighting fish will bite all day long, but our best action is after dark. We are running stationary rods positioned in rod holders and baiting them up with a piece of cut bait or a gob of crawlers. We then toss our baits into the deepest water available in the river system. We then kick back and wait for the action to start. If you haven't fought a 15 pound catfish after dark you don't know what you are missing!
We are closing in on the 2012 bear season and it is time to start checking your baits a little more regularly. Not only do you want to check the stations more regularly you will now want to really start mixing up your types of baits. If bears are getting the same food day in and day out they may become uninterested and start looking somewhere else for food.
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| trail camera photo from one of my bear baiting stations. Doe meet porcupine! | A really big bear at one of my stations |
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| Another nice bear at one of my stations |
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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