May 18th Report

Well here we go again like last week. Warm up, cool down, snow.....same deal this week. Only in Wisconsin! Anyway, fishing remains to be average to very good depending upon the day. After last weeks snow on Tuesday and cold front, I found that I had to move around a lot to stay on the fish. Spending too much time in a certain area was a bad idea. Water temps slid a little, but I found 54-60.5 last week.

Walleyes remain in the new weeds and are still using the wood. Depending on their activity level, live bait(smaller fatheads on the slow days, and chubs on the active days), plastics(Kalin's Jerkshads, Berkley Hollowbellies), and crankbaits are all working. I haven't spent much time past 12' of water, with 7-9' being the best bet.

Crappies are biting good....almost too good....the onslaught and over harvest continues in Vilas County just like always....shallow weeds and stumps or logs near spawning areas are hot. I saw a few crappies on beds Saturday....not many, some. Oh, by the way, plastics don't work for crappies either....LOL This is a serious deal though, the overharvest of 10-13 inch fish is ridiculous. How many does one person have to keep? These fish are 8 to 12 years old....no wonder why crappie fisheries don't last but a couple years once the word and slobs get out after them.

We did boat 5 muskies this past week fishing for walleyes and bass. I look for a great opener and a well deserved awesome early season for Mr Musky!