Checking in/Lunkers Fisheree

Hey gang,

I know I've been away for a bit, but I'm back at it. My real world (ie teaching) killed my fall fishing routines this year, and I got out of my update routines. I just checked the Dick Smith's Page, and it looks like I wasn't the only one.

In terms of fishing...think early ice, since that's where we are. I know it is cold, but be very careful heading out, shallow water has usable ice, especially in protected areas, but conditions vary greatly. Things should get going after the current cold snap, and semi-regular reports will return.  I've started to get some early reports from people heading out, and I start adding that info as it comes in.

In the meantime, here's the annual flyer for the Lunker's Fisheree and Meat Raffle.

See you soon.

Okauchee Launch Opens October 3rd

Just in time for Musky Season:

October 1, 2015

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - The Department of Natural Resources will re-open the Okauchee Lake public access site beginning Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. The public access site is located in the Village of Oconomowoc and was closed this summer for construction.
Work at the site involved reconfiguring traffic flow through the site, construction of additional parking, storm water control measures, and installation of a kiosk.
The launch is open every day from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Contact(s): John Olson, DNR state boat access engineer, 608-267-7484; or Lance Stock, DNR property manager, 920-988-9835

Fishing Report 9-28-15

Sorry I've been away gang...that whole teaching thing has limited my time on the water.

Around the area water is hovering around the high 60's to low 70's, but with rain and cooler weather on the way, expect the shorter nights to start dropping water temps. Weeds are still thick, and water levels are around average for this time of year. Baitfish are still very plentiful since many of them hatched late.

Panfish have begun to transition to fall patterns. Look for keepers at the ends of long weedy points, or suspended around shallow grass in current areas. Plastics tipped with small live bait are usually solid options this time of year, but don't overlook the use of larger live bait for keepers.

LM Bass fishing has settled into a traditional early fall pattern. Fish will bite periodically through out the day, but usually in short feeding spurts, and the afternoons and evenings are the best times of day. Topwater, especially buzzbaits and poppers will pull up active fish. Fishtight to cover early, but get more active around 10am. Be ready to move around to find active fish, but concentrate on areas with rock/weed transitions.

SM Bass fishing...it is time to break out the live bait. Fish will relate to breaklines, moving up to shallow water to feed, but then out to deep water between feeding runs. Deeper breaks off of points or shallow rocky areas are the best place to start. Don't be shy about the live bait, but deep diving crankbaits in white or crawfish patterns can save a day this time of year.

Walleye fishing has been on the slow side for the last ten days. I expect the fishing to get better as the weather stabilizes over the next period of time. A few anglers have been heading to the rivers to get a jump on the fall runs.

Musky fishing has been a little slower than I would have expected. Based on my own fishing and some reports, I'd say its below average. It is sure to pick up soon. In the meantime, gliders, dawgs, bucktails and jerkbaits are solid options, but it is the start of sucker season, make sure to keep one out while targeting muskies.

Good Luck,
CT

2015 Labor Day Weekend Fishing Report

Water levels are higher than they have been, and water temps are in the low 70's.

Panfish continues to be the hot bite in the area. Crappie and bluegill continue to bite along weedlines or suspended out over deep water, as well as in mid-depth weeds. Plastics tipped with live bait, tail hooked minnows and leafworms fished vertically or with slip bobbers will produce. Evenings have been better, as is typical for this time of year.

Largemouth continue to run late summer patterns. On the hot sunny days, look for them around docks or slop, or out deep in 12-15 FOW. On the cooler cloudy days, look for active fish in sand/rock or rock/weed transitions in 4-8 feet. Topwater bite will be good, especially early in the morning.

Smallmouth fishing has picked up as fish are starting to put on the fall feedbag. Look for them around the edges of the shallow structure like rock bars or sand/rock transition areas. The fish will be deeper than you think they should be in most cases. Jigworms, grubs, minnowbaits and small white crankbaits can be dynamite.

Pike fishing has been slow, but steady. Lots of undersized fish are being caught in the shallow and mid-depth areas. I'd consider moving out deeper and using live bait on a slip sinker rig, trying to connect with active fish in 18-22 or 22-25 feet of water.

Walleye fishing has been entirely inconsistent lately. People still fishing at night are reporting some success off the deeper sand flat areas, but a few decent fish are being caught out of the shallow weeds very early in the morning using rapalas or similar minnow baits.

Musky are getting more active, but anglers are still reporting lots of lazy follows. Gliders, bulldogs and cow-girls have all produced limited action in the past week, but most of the fish are mid-30's to low 40 inch fish. As the water begins to cool, the action will pick up considerably.

Good Luck,
CT

Fishing Report 8-28-15

Hey gang,


I was out several days this week. The cooler weather really changed the on the water conditions. Water temps are in the high 60's to low 70s. Fishing has been great, but not too many people have been heading out with the high winds/unstable weather we have had. More unstable weather on tap for this weekend, but it will be replaced with some hot/sunny weather next week as we head towards the holiday weekend.

Panfish has been the hot bite the last couple of weeks. Crappie and bluegill continue to bite along weedlines or suspended out over deep water. Plastics tipped with live bait, tail hooked minnows and leafworms fished vertically or with slip bobbers will produce, but you may have to put in a little time to find the keeping size fish. Evenings have been better, as is typical for this time of year, but fish can be caught all day if you stay mobile to stay with the schools of suspended fish.

Largemouth continue to run late summer patterns. On the hot days next week, look for them around docks or slop, or out deep. (Docks should be an awesome shallow pattern in the heat next week) On the cooler cloudy days, look for active fish in sand/rock or rock/weed transitions in 4-8 feet. The topwater bite will be good, especially early in the morning, but rocks will hold fish all day. Live bait: It is time to go big or go home with your minnows-large shiners or small suckers on slip sinkers or slip bobbers, but the usual mix of soft plastics - wacky, jigworms and skirted grubs up shallow, jig and chunks, grubs, texas or mojo rigs out deep.

Smallmouth fishing has been spotty, more or less all season.  Look for them around the edges of the shallow structure like rock bars or sand/rock transition areas. Tip: Fish will be deeper than you think they should be in most cases. Jigworms, grubs, minnowbaits and small white crankbaits can be dynamite, but drop shotting in 25-32 FOW will be a hot pattern this coming week. A great week to bust out the wading gear and look for fish in the isolated sections of the Bark or Oconomowoc rivers.




Pike fishing has been slow. A fair number of undersized fish are being caught in the shallow and mid-depth areas. Spinners, buzzbaits or jerkbaits will produce, but I'd consider moving out deeper and using live bait on a slip sinker rig, trying to connect with larger active fish in 18-22 or 22-25 feet of water.

Musky should be moving during the full moon cycle this weekend, but the the best is yet to come. As the water begins to cool, the action will pick up considerably over the next couple of weeks.

Good Luck,
CT

Fall Outings

The water temperature is now below 70 degrees. Time to start thinking about fall fishing trips.

I'll be on the water as long as weather permits this year, but my schedule is a bit tighter than the last couple of years. If you're thinking of getting out, please Email me to discuss your date.

Only gets better from here on out....

Fishing Report 8-20-15

Water is in the mid 70's, still low. There's been another late baitfish hatch and there's lots of pin minnows about.

The big news of the week was the weather. We've had period of rather stable weather, but that run was broken up with a couple of days with rain and much cooler temperatures. Typically when things cool off quickly like that, fish will continue to bite, but they'll have a much smaller strike zone. This means you need to slow down and be more methodical with your presentations. Fish tight to cover, and take a deep breath to slow down.


Remember my rule of slowing down: If you think you're fishing slow enough, you're still fishing twice as fast as you should be.


Panfish bite has been very good, and some quality bags are coming in. Generically the fish are moving to weed-edges and shallow weed clumps at the end of points. Classic late summer behavior. The best fishing is in the deeper weeds along the bottom/drop off of main lake structure/points. Slip bobbers will work, but vertically fishing for the deeper fish can really produce. Don't be afraid to use big bait, including panfish leeches if you can find them. If they're not on the ends of structure, move out to the adjacent deep water and look for them suspended at the depth of the nearby structure. (So if the point ends in 15 FOW, move out deeper, but look for the fish to be down 15')

Bass are starting to school up and chase bait. Look for active fish to be chasing late hatching baitfish on shallow flats. Topwaters, jigworms, grubs and wacky worms can really catch some quality bags right now, especially if you're close to active fish. Docks and slop have been pretty hot with the warmer weather, but after the front went through flipping or working a texas rig or jig worm through isolated weed edges and clumps produced some quality bites for me the last couple of days.

Walleye are using weed edges and patrolling the flats for bait. Jigging in the weeds can be dynamite, especially early and late, but don't be afraid to work edges/drops in 12-18 FOW, or to throw minnowbaits around grass patches. Controlled drifting or back trolling with lindy rigs has been working on the windy days where jigging has been tough. Don't fish an area without visible baitfish right now, and be ready for whitebass to steal lots of bait.

Pike are making an early fall move, and I saw several quality pike patrolling the shallow water in search of food when I was out yesterday. Buzzbaits, spinners and small lipless crankbaits will all produce right now, but the real ticket is a slip sinker rig with heavy floro and a small sucker dragged ever so slowly through weeds in 18-25 FOW.

Musky fishing was pretty slow this past week. My regular sources all reported a tough week with the changing conditions and high winds.

Fishing Report 8-13-15

Hey gang,

Been a tougher than average week out there. Water levels are down, and the wind has been up. Fish can be caught, but you'll need to adapt (sometimes on the fly) to conditions throughout the day.

Water temps are in the mid to high 70's around the area, and there were a couple of late season baitfish hatches this week which have some hefty schools of minnows swimming around. Gamefish continue to be spread out, and can be caught shallow or deep...sometimes both at the same time.

Patterning fish remains challenging, and there's a fair amount of spot fishing occurring right now.

Panfish are suspending along the edges of deep structure, but can be anywhere from just under the surface to 18 Feet down over deep water. The usual deep water approaches (split shot rigs tightlined, or slip bobbers will work) but here's a hot tip. A small popper or fly tipped with live bait will generate some quality bites when fished near vertical drop offs. I've seen this approach work before, but to be frank, I have never seen it so consistent as I did in the later part of this week. I had a batch of quality bluegills two days this week. I assumed the first time was a fluke, but it worked again this morning. Topwater fishing for bluegills with a ultralight is one heck of a fun time by the way.

Largemouth Bass continue summer patterns. With the clear skies and sunny days, docks and slop have really turned on in the shallows, and there's another batch of fish that you can chase down in 12-18 FOW with texas or carolina rigs. Topwater is working until about 8-8:30, then the fish are hunkering down. You can fish actively early, but you'll need to slow way down and be precise to keep getting bites.

Smalllmouth have been hit or miss this week. An observation (and nothing more) when current is flowing in our local lakes/rivers, the smallmouth seemed to bite better this week...but when there was little to no flow (like today) I caught far more largemouths. I was curious about this observation, and while I only have my own (extensive fishing) logs to go by, it does seem to be a factor, especially in the Oconomowoc and Bark River lakes in the area. That said, targeting smallmouth can be accomplished by fishing the weed/rock transitions, as well as the shallow weeds adjacent to deeper water (like those along a depth contour transition or at the ends of shallow structure/points) Topwaters, including spooks and smaller size poppers are producing, but don't overlook floating minnow baits. By mid morning the bite has been shifting out a bit, where grubs and tubes will continue to produce. Did some dropshotting out in the way deep today, but only caught a couple of smaller fish...the bite was much better in 6-12 FOW. If you find some fish cruising a shallow bar, wacky, tubes, skirted grubs or small crawfish colored crankbaits will produce.

Walleye fishing was about average, with some whitebass mixed in. Fish were shallow and deep, but really holding tight to weeds in both areas. Jigging and rigging with live bait was productive, but some anglers are starting to fish the weedtops with minnowbaits in the evening, and that has been a decent (but not great) bite this past week. Leeches are getting harder to come by, but use them if you can find them, otherwise a crawler or small sucker or chub are your best options.

Pike fishing was pretty standard this week. Buzzbaits, spoons, spinners and lipless crankbaits were catching fish, as were heavy line slip sinker rigs with circle hooked suckers. The weedlines in 14-22FOW had the best fish, but there are still some nice fish cruising the shallow rockbars.

Musky: I didn't hear anything solid this week, but check back next week.

Good Luck,
CT

Fishing Report 8-7-15

Water temps are in the high 70's. Some fish are still chasing baitfish, but the best action for the next spell will be to target rocks and sand where gamefish are rooting for softshell craws. 

In general terms : The cooler mornings are a key time to target active fish in shallow to mid-depth water. Look for them in the usual places, but watch for them to have periods of time where they feed actively. The changes in the photocycle and the length of day will be evident to the fish, and you can expect to seem them get active.

Panfish are still running late summer patterns. You can find quality fish suspended over deeper water, or in middepth weeds. Live bait rigs are you best bet, but plastics tipped with waxies or spikes and fished on slip bobbers can be crazy good at times. Night fishing has been very good for bluegills, as it typically is this time of year.





With the molt occurring, Largemouth bass are in the shallow water around the rock/sand/weed transition areas. Skirted grubs, small crawfish imitating crankbaits, tubes and wacky rigs. Docks and slop are holding fish during the sunny days, and fish are chasing bait early and late on the mid-depth (6-12 FOW) flats. Topwater, minnowbaits, grubs, flappers and jigworms are catching these schooling fish. Flipping into holes on the outside edge of the weedline, or on inside turns has been slow, but productive.





Smallmouth have been more active the last week, starting to wolfpackthe shallow rocks and gravel areas. When you are able to contact active fish in shallow water, the bite can be incredible. Topwaters, including size 9 or 11 rapalas or poppers in natural patterns can get you started, but be ready to switch to tubes, skirted grubs or twister tails as the day progresses. When things are slower, look for them to be just off the first major break in deeper water.

Walleye bite has been hit or miss. The fish are tight to weed edges or in the deeper sandgrass. Lots of guys are reporting some short bites, and I certainly saw this when I was on the water this week. I didn't do any night fishing this week, but I'd guess the fish have been active after dark.  Slow death and back trolling lindy rigs with live bait has been producing, but like most of the fishing during the last week, some days have been far better than others.

Pike fishing has been steady for action, but connecting with them has been difficult to do with the higher winds. Live bait rigs are still catching fish in the 15-22 FOW range, and buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, spoons and lipless cranks are still moving fish out of isolated clumps of weeds in flat areas.

Musky fishing has been slow. Very few reports of legal (40+inch fish) coming in. Smaller fish are chasing bait Mid-morning and round dusk. The topwater bite dropped off, but I'm hearing about lots of follows on gliders and smaller jerkbaits.

My Son Shannon Says....

The Molt is ON!

Time to get on the water.....