Fishing Report 8-23

Fishing in Vilas, Oneida and Forest Counties has been excellent. Water surface temperatures are ranging from 70 – 77 degrees. We are now entering the post-summer period – hot days followed by cool nights and shorter days. The fish activity can be great but big changes are taking place. The time of plenty is giving way to reduced quantities of the food chain.

Musky action has been good and the shallow weed bite has been heating up. Topwater lures like the Top Raider and Topper Stopper are taking fish with regularity and some days it seems like they want nothing else! Working the deep weed edge in depths of 10 to 20 feet has provided the most consistent action. Ripping magnum Bull Dawgs as hard as possible has been producing reaction strikes when fish are in a neutral mood. Deep diving crankbaits have also been very important to finding success as well and sometimes a straight retrieve with a jointed deep diver is all they want. Night fishing has been producing consistent action too with all lure categories producing, especially crankbaits.

The walleye action has been good too. We are still taking most fish on a 1/16th oz jig rigged with either a minnow, leech or crawler. Fishing the deep weed edge adjacent to deeper water has still been producing fish but also look to submerged mid-lake humps for even better action!! Slip bobbers have saved the day when the walleye have been hesitant to take a jig.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass action has been phenomenal this season. Both species are being caught on weed edges using a 1/16th oz jig with either a leech, minnow or soft-plastic lure. The action has been unbelievable some days!

Blue gills have been feeding ferociously in the shallow weeds on small chunks of crawler on either a small jig or slip bobber rig. Shorting is necessary but we have caught many good size gills when focusing our efforts. The northern pike action should begin to pick up as we head into September but we are still getting small pike in the weeds while fishing muskies.

Fish hard and good luck out there!

Chas Martin
http://www.muskymastery.com

Took these two muskies this afternoon on back to back casts right before moonset and lost another at boatside in the figure-8. It all happened in 20 minutes. Nothing big but it just goes to show again how important it is to pay attention to the moon phases.

This same scenario has happened many times for me and my clients this season - boating as many as 4..even 5 muskies off one small spot in as little as 30 minutes. Its all about strategy. Put yourself on a good spot when it happens.

Good luck and fish hard!

Chas Martin
http://www.muskymastery.com