Minocqua Area Fishing Report 8-14-2012
By Professional Guide Kurt Justice
Mid-August is showing some signs of turning things around for anglers targeting certain species. While the cool nights have slowed the bite for some in the Lakeland area - in general fishing overall has improved.
Musky: Good to Very Good. Action on bucktails, spinnerbaits and top-water lures picking up. Finding fish early, late and on cloudy days up in weeds of 4-8' and also utilizing piers. Top lures this past week - Rizzo Wizz, Whopper Ploppers, #700 series Buchertails. Mostly low 40" fish, but one 52"er reported.
Bluegills: Very good. Very active around weeds of 6-10'. Taking small tubes, Charlie Bees, Mini mites and small crawlers, leeches. Some very nice gills off the larger lakes to 9”.
Walleyes: Good-Improving. Cooler temps seems to have turned these fish on. Deep lakes and some of the Flowages seeing increased action. Full crawlers and XL-Jumbo leeches on the deeper lakes, fish cruising to flats of 8-14' during low light, working deep hump bases during day. On Flowages large fatheads in drowned timber in 12-16'.
Crappie: Good. Moving up onto 10-14' weed tops. Watch for feeding near surface on schools of tiny minnows on calm days. Tube jigs, beetlespins, and small to medium fatheads. Nice fish of 11-14+" this week.
Largemouth Bass: Good. Action not as hot as weeks past but still good. Five inch worms fished Wacky Style (Senkos, Dingers, Slop Monsters) and creature lures in heavy weeds best. Muskies may have moved into the shallow weeds. This may be keeping this bite down from what it was. Top water bite over slop good towards dusk.
Northern Pike: Good. Action picked up this past week on Boonie Bait spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits and Daredevils. Weed tops of 5-10' best.
Smallmouth Bass: Fair-Good. Seem to be absent from some of their favorite haunts as of late. Some very early action up shallow (inside weed lines) on x-raps. Off-shore humps and deep coontail edges of 14+ feet best. Big leeches and crawlers tops. Drop-shotting 2 1/2-3" Gulp minnows and Craw Pappis working.
Yellow Perch: Fair-Good. Deeper weed flats starting to show better numbers of perch. 1/2 crawlers, medium fatheads on slip-floats or jigs. Deep sandgrass fish taking soft shells.
Surface water temps ranging high 60's to low 70's. With panfish suspending off weed edges, walleye and musky bites improving with cool nights. Looks to be a typical August.
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop
www.kurtsislandsports.com