Current fishing reports

[tompellant]

Members let's use this site to let every one know what is happening out their.
Catching Fish !
Water Temps !
Any other details you care to share!

[tompellant]

Not in the newsletter this month, but will be next month, the biggest fish caught April 22 during the high school bass fishing tournament at Pierce Lake was a 45-inch muskie. There is no justice.

[Muskie Junkie]

Wow, I imagine that fish was caught on a jig, it was the only thing that we did not throw Saturday. Scott Grabow and I hit Pierce Saturday afternoon. Water temps. were from 48 - 49 degrees. We did not see or catch anything. Scott had something bump his phantom but we never saw what it was. Bait fish were stacked over by the dam rip rap.

Steve

[JERRY LARSON]

went down to kinkaid again since iv`e never fished the lake in late april and have heard the action is good at this time,high water almost made us not go knowing that would hurt the fishing,which it did.Since I had the weekend off regardless if we went or not we said lets go,first day we didn`t see a fish and when bigman went to get the truck I started casting.I casted out and on the first cast using a trap I had a fish come out of know where and strike at the boat,suprised since I didn`t see the fish it made me jump a bit and the fish head shook and spit the lure,DAMM.The next day brian caught a 40 on a glider which was beat up like it spawned recently,didn`t catch another fish that day only had a little dink follow.Sat we fished the shawnee spring fling tourny and nobody caught a fish out of 40 teams with some great sticks in the tourny,high winds made it tough to fish main lake anything.sun was a different story with 5 fish being caught with the first place team with 2 fish,I caught a 37 3/4 on a glider at the same spot brian got his 40 when we were pre fishing,we never saw another fish,that fish gave us third for the tourny and we headed home in the pouring rain with about 45 mins of delay on the highway coming back because of bridge work which went down to one lane.I was hoping for more action but knew with the high water it would be tough,the shawnee club holds a great tourny and alot of great guys in the club.All in all it was a good time regardless of how the fishing was,there are some great guys in that club and I thank them for having this tourny and all they do for kinkaid lake.

[JBlanck]

Way to represent the Flatlanders Jerry. Nice job!. Good way to start the season.

Jeff

[tompellant]

Duane & I fished Shabbona 5/6 2PM to 8PM 1 Bass, water temp ranged from 56 to 63.
Talked to a Bass Fisherman fished AM caught 2 legal Bass and a 36" Musky.
Musky came from rock bar north end middle of lake. All fish on small crankbaits.

[JBlanck]

Craig Born and I fished Silver lake for the first outing Saturday. We caught a bass and 3 pike. We had 4 musky follows with one of Craigs in the 43"-44" range, a nice thick fish. 3 followed Phantoms on the north east corner and 1 followed a mag bulldawg in the west "hole". Water temp was 54.9 pretty much over the entire lake. Windy, cloudy and cooler with one small sprinkle of rain. It felt good to be out again.

Jeff

[Muskie Junkie]

Hit Wingwa Saturday morning. There were only about (20) boats on the lake at one time. Scott and I were moving fish on walk the dog type surface baits, One Eyed Willy's, Vipers and Jackpots first thing in the morning. Then I raised one on a tandem and Scott had one up on a double 10. I then lost one pushing 30 on a Squirrely Phantom. We then got a 36 on a tandem. Fish felt like a glob of weeds, except the weeds then started swimming. We then moved fish on walk the dog glide baits, Squirrely Phantoms and a Hellhound. By lunch we boated the one, lost one and contacted 11 total. After a fun lunch break, we went back out and moved 3 more fish on Squirrely Phantoms. Scott then popped a 14 LM bass. At around 4:30, I got a 39.5 to crush my Phantom. After that, we called it a day. 15 fish contacted, 2 boated, and 1 lost. A good start to the season. Steve

[tompellant]

Tuesday 5/10 Lake Wisconsin
Water Temp. in Lake 58, Bays 60 to 68. Caught some Bass no Muskies
Wednesday 5/11 Wingra
Water Temp. 63 to 68
again caught Bass no Muskies, got caught in 2 big rain storms, 1st one about 3PM heavy Rain, 2nd one about 4PM got off lake and tried to wait out the lighting,rain and hail.
When we put in guy coming off said no luck. Only 1 other boat and they went in soon after we were on the Lake.
Also had to wait at ramp for new gravel being put in, after the rain storms a lot of the gravel was washed onto the cement ramp.

[tompellant]

Fished Green Bay 5/28-30
5/28 Water Temp 60 to 63, trolled about 5 hours. Then started to cast Tom caught a 51" on about the 3rd cast (Bucktail,Musky Buster from our club meetings). That was about 5:30 PM
Then about 8:30 PM Duane catches a 48" on Mepps.
The next 2 days we got zero. But that is Musky fishing right !!!

[JBlanck]

2 QUALITY fish! Great way to start the season. Way to go.

[Muskie Junkie]

Great job Tom and Duane. Those are some dandy fish!!!!

Steve Ruhmann

[JBlanck]

Craig Born and I fihsed last weekend with Jerry Sondag on Big Detriot and Little Detriot Lakes, Mn. Wow! What a big fish holding pen. Jerry did a great job of putting us on big fish spots and giving us the advise to make them show themselves. Although Craig boated the only fish, a nice 42 inch spotty, we now have a nice milk run on a new lake with lots of pigs in it. We fished 14 hours Saturday (9:00 am to 11:00 pm) and 12 hours Sunday (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) with the following stats as a result:

Saturday - Very warm, mostly sunny and somewhat calm with slight wind from the east-southeast.
Craig boated a 42 incher
17 legitimate follows (no ghost fish) with 5 of them 50" - 52"ish. The other 12 follows were from 41"ish to 48"ish. NO SMALL FISH!

Sunday - Cooler, cloudy and windy (20-25mph) from the east. Jerry did a great job of keeping us on the spots, even adding a few new ones to the ones that showed fish the day before. The follows were not as consistant with windows throughout the day and the dead sea between windows. The smaller fish were out Sunday...I say smaller but they were all still very nice fish.
16 legitimate follows with 1 solid 50 incher. There was one about 36 inches and the rest were all between 42" - 45".

Fish were following Squirly Phantoms, Suicks, DC Girls, Shallow Invaders and one came in on a Doc surface bait (Phil's suggestion. Thanks man)

It was easy to keep your head in the game for two reasons...one is that you knew you were on big fish spots and the other was that the northerns would keep you in check. We caught about 20 pike...usually right after you had a nice follow and you thought it was "her". Sometimes while fishing we say, "...pike water, we're outta here...". Not on this lake! If the pike showed up, you knew that you were casting into bait fish and the pigs were not far behind!

Craig and I discussed the weekend during the ride home Monday and agreed that Sondag did an outstanding job and was well worth the trip up/over there. He was very professional, calling the day before to make sure the drive up was going OK and to confirm where/when to meet. No guessing on time or location. He was right on time at the dock, fueled up and ready to go. The lake information that was shared was great, giving us the knowledge we would need to return in the future for more action. We had access to what seemed like an endless selection of baits, sharpened and ready to throw. I had never gone north "pig" hunting in the spring before. I usually do the July thing and fall trips for the big ones, but this will surely be added to the trip list as we were showed many great spots/tactics for early season big fish waters. Might sound like I'm gushing, but I've fished with a lot of guides on many different waters and this trip rates right up there at the top.

Thanks Craig for sharing this trip with me and thanks Jerry for a great weekend, and showing us the area. I look forward to another trip, most likely the fall live bait trip we talked about.

Jeff Blanck

[tompellant]

Sounds like fun Duane and recently checked distance but no decisions yet.
Was water temp in mid 60's

[tompellant]

6/14 Duane and I fished Waubesa. Weeds no where close to last year when we went with Guide Jeff Hansen on 6/9/10.
Duane got a small (his words HUGE) northern trolling. We had several small fish go after baits at the boat only one a small muskie (really small) keep going on a figure 8.
Talked with several local fisherman at landing one had a couple follow in the deeper water and he saw someone catch a nice fish. Others said no luck. But we never saw anybody catch a fish.
EAST WIND ? It was partly cloudy which is why we picked Tues. instead of Mon.

[Duane Nichols]

super story...jerry is great fishermen....weeds....clear....lake size???

[JBlanck]

Duane

You guys would love this lake. Although it's pretty developed around it. Not the secluded Minnesota lake I thought it would be. Looks kind of like Pewaukee. Lake is about 3100 acres. Big fish. Weeds were perfect. Nice tall cabbage out to about 13 feet. It is getting close to topping out but still down a couple feet so you can work baits over/through it nicely. Water temps were averaging mid 60's but we saw 69-70 Saturday during warm sun and 63.5 Sunday when it cooled down. Water is moderately clear and you could see fish coming in from quite a ways out. You could see your spinner bait coming up from a slow roll about 5-6 feet down. We weren't pulling a boat so we made the drive there in 8 hours on the nose both ways. That was without screaming down the road. Would be worth having Jerry take you out. If you do mention that I told you to bring bananas in the boat (See Muskie First Reports Post).

Jeff

[tompellant]

Fished Sturgeon Bay 6/17-20 EAST WIND !!!!!! Water Temp. 66 to 70. We raised some fish, throwing about everything in tackle box. But very inactive fish. Good weeds up to 10'. Tom got lucky on Sat. and got a beautiful 48 1/2 Spotted Musky (will try to attach pic) Assume because of East or NoEast winds fish they were just not moving.

[tompellant]

LOW 7/13-24/11

We experienced very spooky fish or lazy fish in the clearer than normal waters. Saw a lot of fish.
Duane still managed 8 Muskies 47, 45 1/2, 44 1/2, 42, 40 1/2, 2- 34's & A 33 1/2.
Fish came on Mepp's, L & L Baits, tube or jerk bait.
Water temp started at 71 went to 81 then dropped to 73 area for the last 3 days.
Weeds fantastic, fish came from weeds/rocks, and some with current.

[Muskie Junkie]

Fishing on the Madison Chain was good last weekend for Richie Estes and I. In all, we contacted ( that word is for Jeff B and Tim S) 20 fish. Boated 3, lost 2. Bucktails were the ticket. Most of the fish came from 5 - 7 feet of water. With the cooler temps coming ( except for today and tomorrow), the fish will continue their shallow migration that occurs in the fall during the first cool down. Good luck and stick a piggie. Steve Ruhmann

[tompellant]

Eagle Lake

Duane and I caught 10 Muskies 43 1/2 to 33 1/2.
Great weather, great time cooled at end of trip.
Water temp. started at 71 ended around 66.
Fish were caught on spinner's, jerk, twitch & bucktail baits.
Fish very active, Muskies and Northerns lots of water dancing.
So needless to say lost several fish, most around the boat including a couple HOGS!!!
They were in weed bays, but most were related to rocks, boulders.

[Muskie Junkie]

Krissie and I hit Monona on Saturday 9/17/11. Water temps were from 65 to 67 degrees. We saw a total of (3) fish, lost one on the 8, and boated a 40. All fish were on bucktails.

Steve

[tompellant]

Duane and I went to Green Bay Sun-Tues. Water Temps in the Bay around 61 to 64. Fished East and West got nothing.
Saw most boats on West side but that was Tues., no other boats on East side.
Talked with guides clients Sun. night and they caught nothing. Same with other boats we checked with.
Great weather !!!

[Muskie Junkie]

Stu Adrian and I headed up to the Apple River/Deer Lake outing this weekend and had a fantastic trip. In 2.5 days, we boated (8) fish, (5) on suckers and (3) on baits. Water temp. was 55 - 57. Great trip and a good time. We also got to meet new member Cecil Johnson, great guy who likes to fly fish for Toothy Critters.

Steve

[tompellant]

Great Job that had to be fun !!!

[Duane Nichols]

what a great trip,thank god 4 suckers

[skeeterboy]

I went to Deer on Wednesday this week and things have really picked up. Saw allot of fish in skinny water and had some action with some weed edge deep water fish. ended up boating 2 and lost 3. Caught a 37 on the weed edge in 13' with a D10 and lost one on D10 in deeper water. Had allot of follows on the tip of fingers. Went shallow to see if there was any fish there and saw fish under docks that were still in the water and allot of cruisers. I started jigging and ended up boating a 40.5 and lost two that were hooked. One missed jumping in the boat by inches. 63 degree water temps and the lake was starting to turn on the west side. Allot of green coontail in the deeper 15' range and some green cabbage left. Things are going to change this week with the colder weather moving in and the lake should turn quickly. This was the best action I've had on this lake this year, and it's only going to get better.
Jerry O.

[JBlanck]

Wow! 63 degrees in the middle of October?! What a strange year. Heading to vemilion next weekend. Hoefully, the water will be turned over there by then. This colder weather should help there, too. Thanks for the report Jerry. Hopefully we might be able to sneak in another high ball trip to Deer this fall. We'll let you know if we're heading up.

Jeff

[JBlanck]

Dan and I made a trip to Vermilion and fished Friday and Saturday. Friday we fished with Paul Pollack and Saturday we fished with Terry Sjoberg (Operation Musky auction item). We had a very great time and learned much more about Vermilion to add to our memory banks. The weather was mild as it has been pretty much all of this fall. with air temps ranging from 32 in the morning to upper 50s to 60 in the afternoon. The wind never really got over 10 mph the whole time. The bait fish were still a little scattered with only a few popping the surface on Saturday. Sunday, I don't think we saw any bait popping all day. Water temps stayed steady at 47 - 48. We threw Mag Bull Dawgs and Double Dawgs pretty much the whole time. Just an occassional Shallow Invader, 10" Slammer, Phantom and blades when we tried some shallower water. Friday Dan got a 38.5 on a Dbl Dawg and I got a 36 on a Mag Dawg. We raised 1 mid forties fish on the Slammer and fat 50 on a Mag Dawg that charged in after a snagged Dawg came free. It went around 3 times hard before disappearing. Got our knees shaking a little. Saturday we only had action from one fish that we know of. I had a fish hit my Mag Dawg while throwing out from a structure and it was heavy with long head shakes making me think it was a bigger fish. It actually broke the line, which was very disappointing. It all seemed really funny feeling, like it might have rolled on it or engulfed it cutting the line or something. Not sure what happened as I had JUST retied about a half hour before this happened. Can't help but hope that the fish shakes the bait as I had a really good hookset on it before it broke.

Anyway, we should be hitting the water temps really good in two weeks when we are up there again for the outing. The mild weather seeemed to keep the baitfish and the muskies out off the structure this weekend but the forecast should help bring them in. I can't wait to get back up as the chance at "that one fish" are very good.

Jeff

[tompellant]

LOW - Typical weather problems as everyone in Oct. expecting colder water but did not happen. Water started in high 50's and got to 50 before we left.
Still managed to troll up 16 fish from 43" to 30" but 4 of them came in the last 2 hours of fishing. Naturally a couple windy days that made it tough to fish and wet on us traveling in the waves.

[tompellant]

Green Bay - Fished Fri./Sat. Water Temp. 46-49, no luck - Talked with Guide and it has been hit or miss. They did have a 2 day window where his boat got a 50" and others he knew got 51,52 & 55

[Muskie Junkie]

There were (7) of us up on the outing for the 3.5 days on Lake Vermilion. (4) fish were caught, a 49 on Thursday by Dave Jack, a 53.5 x 24 on Friday by Jeff Blanck and then he got a 43 and I got a 50.5 on Saturday. The 53.5 and 50.5 are new personal best for us. Wish I was heading back this weekend. Things should be picking up. Water temps were still a little too high, around 44 - 45 degrees.

Steve Ruhmann