Hayward Lakes Report

Hi everyone,

Here is this weeks HLVCB outdoor and fishing report.

Hayward Lakes Sherry. Outdoor Report

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September 06, 2010
Hayward Lakes Area Outdoor Report
Steve Suman

A cool and rainy Friday started the Labor Day weekend, but the weekly forecast is currently predicting mild temperatures and possibly a few showers.
According to Pat at Happy Hooker, water sports will now decrease and lakes will revert to anglers’ playgrounds.
“Fishing is very good for many species every fall period and we eagerly wait for this time,” Pat says. “What happens with our fishing will depend on weather. If we get cold fronts, expect walleye and musky to hit. On the other hand, warm fronts will bring on the bass and panfish.”
Dan at Pastika’s says if smallmouth anglers can find the crawdads, they will find the smallmouth. Dennis at Hayward Bait advises smallmouth anglers to look for transition areas containing rock and weeds.
Randy at Jenk’s says Chippewa Flowage crappies are a little more scattered and thinking about schooling, but it is still too warm. Cathy at Minnow Jim’s says largemouth are starting to school and bass anglers should fish deeper drop offs.
At Outdoor Creations, Brian says walleyes are hard to pin down right now, but cooler water temperatures will drive them back to shallower areas and around weed edges.
DNR fisheries biologist Frank Pratt says high water continues to raise havoc with the summer sampling schedule, but Namekagon River shocking results show good survival of the huge 2008/09 brown trout year class.
“The fish are mostly seven to nine inches long and about one or two summers away from that ‘quality’ 15-inch size,” says Pratt. “We also recorded record brook trout production in lower Cap Creek and brown trout production in lower Mosquito Brook.”
Water temperatures are hovering in the low 70s, says DNR fisheries biologist Skip Sommerfeldt, and water levels in the lakes, rivers, and streams remain a bit high but are slowly dropping.
“Flowages are near their normal levels as most dams had to open the gates to pass excess water from the heavy August rains. Wild rice is ripening on some waters, but the rice crop is reported to be very poor in some areas.”
Hunters and trappers should check the DNR website for new rules effective this year but not finalized until after the printing of paper copies.

Fishing Reports
Muskies:
Muskie action is decent and improving, with a good bite in early morning, late evening, and at night. Fish weeds and weed edges – both shallow and deep – and look for muskies suspending over deeper water. A variety of baits are producing hits, including big bucktails, crank, jerk, stick, and surface baits, Bull Dawgs, big plastics, and glide baits.

Walleye:
Walleye action is improving, though still a challenge. Fish are scattered in various depths and locations, from shallow to deep, around weeds, bars and bar edges, holes, humps, rocks, and drop offs, and suspending over deeper water. Work deeper water with leeches, crawlers, walleye suckers, and fatheads under slip bobbers. Troll shallow weed and bar edges with crank and stick baits in early morning and evening hours.

Northern:
Northern action continues to be good around green weeds and weed edges. Smaller fish are in shallow to mid-depth water, while large pike are in deeper weed lines and the mouths of bays. Spinners and spinnerbaits, spoons, stick and buzz baits, bucktails, crankbaits, and northern suckers will all catch pike.

Largemouth Bass:
Largemouth are slowly moving deeper, though still hitting in shallow water cover such as lily pads, slop, and weed beds. Also, work deeper weed lines and weed edges, wood, rock, and drop offs. Use plastics, spinner, buzz, and crank baits, small bucktails, topwaters, poppers, frogs, rattling jigs, creature baits, and jig/craw combinations for artificials, and crawlers, leeches, and minnows for live bait.

Smallmouth Bass:
Smallmouth action is somewhat slow, and best on the flowages and rivers. Concentrate on hard bottom areas with rock and weeds, rock bars, mid-lake humps, wood, and areas of cover adjacent to deep water. For artificials, try plastics, wacky rigs, tubes, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and finesse lure. Best live bait includes leeches, crawlers, and minnows.

Crappie:
Crappies are scattered and suspending, and action is fair to good. Work brush piles, cribs, and weeds in depths from very shallow to 30 feet (really!) with crappie minnows, waxies, plastics, Gulp! baits, and leeches on small jigs and plain hooks, with or without bobbers, and small spinnerbaits.

Bluegill:
Bluegill fishing is fair to good. Look for fish around weeds, cribs, bogs, brush, and other structure from shallow water to 12 feet or more, and suspending near cover in deeper water. Waxies, worms, crawlers, leeches, plastics, scented baits, minnows, and Gulp! baits are all working for bluegills. Tip them on small jigs or plain hooks, with or without bobbers.

Perch:
Perch are in deeper weeds, near the bottom. Use waxies, worms, minnows, leeches, and small plastics on small jigs.

Upcoming Events
Sept. 8: Bear season opens. (See regs.)
Sept. 8-11: 12th annual Lake Chippewa Flowage Musky Hunt (715-462-3276.)
Sept. 12: Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame Kids Fish O’Rama (715-634-4440.)
Sept. 17-19: Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (715-798-3594.)
Sept. 18: Seasons Open: Archery deer; Ruffed grouse (Zone A); Canada goose (northern zone); Turkey; Cottontail rabbit (northern zone); Gray and fox squirrel; Crow.
Sept. 18: Ruffed Grouse Society Sportsmen’s Hunt, Shoot, and dinner (Dave Reardon 715-634-2674.)
Sept. 18-19: Youth Waterfowl Hunt.
Sept. 25: Seasons Open: Duck and Canada goose (Northern Zone) at 9 a.m.; Woodcock.
Sept. 25: Hayward Fall Festival.
Sept. 30: Seasons Close: Trout on inland waters (see regs.); Lake trout (Lake Superior); Sturgeon.
Oct. 2: Stone Lake Cranberry Festival.

For more information on area events and activities, see the Calendar of Events, visit Hayward Lakes Visitor and Convention Bureau, or call 1-800-724-2992.