By George Langley
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – Once again, the weather played tricks on us, as some big cold spots and some cold rain moved through early this month. When a cold front hits, fish near the shores stop and go deeper to wait for it to warm up again.
It looks like things are about to heat up again, so whatever quiet action anglers may have experienced should return.
We’ve been seeing water temperatures hanging in the mid-60s for the past week. Weed growth is going well, and we now have some nice weeds on most of the lakes. You want to center a lot of your fishing around the new grass growth now.
Walleye fishing has been good, despite the cold. To find fish in the Chain – and almost everywhere else – look for weeds; the thicker the better. If you can find musky cabbage, this is your best bet. The walleye are in the weeds all day, and we’re seeing a lot of fish being caught on the deep edges of the grass, especially in this cold. Jigs and minnows are still the way to go, with many anglers using weedless jigs, such as Jacks Jigs, to tackle weeds. We are about to face the dreaded mayfly hatch, which has started but seems to have slowed down in the cold. Weed walleye fishing will last part of the summer.
Northern action was excellent, as usual. These fish are also in the weeds, both in the shallower weeds, but also in the deep weeds that you find in many lakes. If you are targeting them, use larger sucker minnows for best results. They will hit almost any artificial, with spoons or spinnerbaits working well.
Bass fishing is crawling along spectacularly today, as the smallies line the shorelines getting ready to spawn, and the largemouth do the same in the bullrushes and softer bottom areas. Look for small ones on rocky shores (and on sand in lakes with few shore rocks). Now is a good time to bust out a good old Whopper Plopper in the color of your choice – they’re doing great right now. Remember when casting them that it helps to keep your rod pointed up – or put a swivel between the lure and the line – to keep your line from twisting. It is always good practice to treat these fish with extra care at this time of year and get them back into the water quickly to finish their eggs.
Musky action is also very good. We saw a lot of fish caught during the Spring Classic on the Eagle River Chain last weekend, including some nice fish. It’s still a good idea to use smaller baits for them, like Mepps #5, small Suicks and twitch baits. You can see these fish feeding on the weeds every day, and some fish in deeper water are resting. People have started using Bulldawgs and Medussa in those deeper waters for them.
Panfish action is good between cold fronts, with both crappies and bluegills in the shallows for the most part; minnows for crappies and worms for ‘gills. Perch are in the weeds acting like small walleyes and both leeches and minnows are hitting, along with worms.
Get out there and have fun – warm weather is coming back!
Good luck and good fishing!
