Central Wisconsin Outdoor Report
Fall has officially arrived and you can definitely tell by the different weather and conditions. With that said the fishing and hunting have been very good with some nice bears being taken along with some really good fishing action. My good friend Scott Lewendowski and I recently won the Wisconsin Musky Challenge Tournament Championship which was held in Three Lakes, Wisconsin, and along with that we were awarded the prestigious title of “Team of the Year” for the 2019 Wisconsin Musky Challenge series.
Fishing has been very good with muskies topping the list. With the colder weather the musky activity has picked up and we are seeing very consistent action on both live bait and artificial lures. The best artificial baits right now are Jerkbaits like Suicks and Bulldawgs but don’t hesitate to throw a large bladed bucktail or even a musky sized crankbait like a Grandma or a Bucher Shallow Raider.
One question that I get asked a lot is about live bait rigs for musky and my answer is simple. I make my own. I have bought rigs from many different stores and “musky” shops and they are ok, but I trust and like the rigs that I make. They are simple and effective.
There are several key techniques to hooking and landing a musky on a quick set rig, but first is to first get over the fish when you are about to set the hook. Make sure you are no more than 10 feet away from the fish, then make sure that the fish is moving away from you. Once you are sure the fish is moving in a direction away from you go ahead and lower your rod tip to about two feet above the water line and then slowly tighten up on the line. Once the line is tight quickly drop your rod tip the water level and snap it back as hard as you possibly can. This motion will pick up the slack line you just created and hammer the hooks home. One good quick hard hookset is all you should need to drive the hooks home. At that point once the hooks have been set, keep the line tight, do not give the fish any slack and start reeling. You want to keep constant tension on the line and fight the fish all the way to the boat. Do not, and I repeat do not ever try to set the hooks more than once. Doing this will only create slack in the line and any chance a fish has with slack line can spell disaster and give that fish a chance at getting away.
In addition to the great musky fishing we have been having very good success on walleyes, crappies, and catfish. Most of our action has been in backwater locations off the main Wisconsin River channel. We have been fishing the backwater areas due to high water levels but we are finding plenty of fish and consistent action in 5 to 10 FOW using Jigs tipped with minnows or by tossing crankbaits at shoreline structure.
The 2019 Wisconsin Bear season is still going on but our hunters here at Hooksetters are done. We tagged out on 11 really nice bears in Central Wisconsin with 3 of them going over 300 pounds. The largest bear we took weighed in at a whopping 385 pounds dressed out. We are now planning and preparing for next year and getting ready for the Wisconsin archery season which has already started and the upcoming gun deer season which we will have tips in future articles.
Have a great week,
Phil Schweik
Hooksetters Guide Service
Web www.hooksetters.biz
Phone: 715-693-5843