Labor Day Weekend 2014- Fishing Report

Well gang, it looks to be a nice weekend to wrap up summer. The unstable conditions mean it is time to break out some live bait. Lindy, split shot and slip sinker rigs really shine under these conditions. Larger sized shiners, nightcrawlers and small suckers are your best options for gamefish.  Unless you're going for panfish, leave the fatheads at home this weekend.

On area lakes, bass fishing has been hot and cold depending on the conditions. Windy days are dramatically better than still days. Fish are using the weedlines in 10-15 feet of water, points and off shore structure in 6-10 feet of water, as well as the piers and the slop. Shallow fish can be taken on jigworms, skirted grubs, tubes or jig/chunk combos. Deeper fish are being taken on crankbaits, live bait rigs, slow rolling big spinnerbaits or by flipping the weededges with a heavy jig. The morning and evening is producing a topwater bite, especially over shallow flats with scattered weeds. Okauchee, School Section, Ashippun, Golden, Pine, Silver, Moose and Kessus have been the most consistent, but the bite has been pretty much the same from all of the area lakes. Key tip...fish are just about done with the rocks, so look for them to make a move out to deeper water for a week to 10 days.

Walleye fishing has been fair overall, but much, much better in the low light hours. Small jigs with live bait, or lindy rigs have been the best producers. A few fish are still being caught on spinner harness/bottom bouncer combos while trolling with electrics. Evening is the time to be fishing minnow baits around weeds for bigger fish. Pine, Oconomowoc, North, Lac Labelle and Lake Koshkonong have all been giving up walleyes.

Northern Pike continue to bite in the shallows. Buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, shallow diving square billed or lipless crankbaits are the best ways of catching these fish. Larger fish are still using the weedlines and are moving onto some deeper rocks and can be targeted with inline spinners, or using live bait like larger chubs, shiners or small suckers on a slip sinker rig. Vertically jigging structure in 22-28 feet with a jig/repear tail combo has caught a handful of nice fish, but the pattern has been inconsistent overall. Try Okauchee, Golden, Pine, Fowler,, Kessus, Pretty and Moose Lakes for pike.

Musky fishing has been slow, but steady. Lot's of people are starting to see some mid to high 30" fish, especially early and late in the day. Look for fish on or adjacent to mainlake structure that has easy access to deep water. Topwaters have still been catching a few fish, especiallyin the morning. Okauchee, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, Lac Labelle, and Fowler are all producing to one degree or another right now, but the boat traffic is pushing the active fish into low-light/low activity periods.

Panfish are still using deeper water, suspending 12-16 feet down over deeper water, and drifters have been picking up some nice keepers. Some anglers are reporting some decent gills in weedy areas as shallow as eight feet, but most people out have reported the most consistent action along the weedlines in 12-18 feet of water. Tightlining with panfish leeches, leaf worms, or plastic/wax worm combos all have been productive.

Good Luck and Cheers,
CT