Weather Makes Turtle Flambeau Difficult
By Professional Guide Jerry “Jerkbait” Hartigan
I have spent the last week with different writers and a TV show trying to show them how good the fishing is in Mercer Wisconsin but the weather and the fish were not very cooperative. 30MPH winds seem to persist for days with a front that went from the 90's one day to a high of 60 the next day.
The fish were spotty for everyone that was out on the water. The walleyes that we found were in wood or deep weeds. On the Flowage the walleyes were tight to wood in about 8 to 10 feet of water and hit half a crawler on a 1/8th oz. weedless jig. I did try minnows on slip bobber rigs and caught some walleye along with several smallies but the mayfly hatch is still going on depending on where you are at on the lake so crawlers seem to be working best.
Smallmouth seem to be spread out with us getting some fish on rocky windblown points and some fish in wood with the walleyes. On area lakes largemouth are up along the shorelines and hitting Senko worms and other plastics well. Bluegill and smaller crappies are also hitting minimite tubes. Yesterday was a rain out so we will see what the weekend brings.
Jerry Hartigan
Jerkbait Guide Service
715-476-2526