Midwest Fishing Report: Rivers rolling, fall patterns (Minocqua add)

(Head): Warm weather has slowed fishing down, with walleye action still decent; bear season is over with, and hunters concentrating on deer archery season; all in and amidst the lakes and the Wisconsin River of Wisconsin’s Marathon and Lincoln Counties (near Mosinee and Wausau). What’s up with the weather??? This past week has been a great week for being out in the boat enjoying the weather but on the other hand has made for interesting fishing. Typically when we enter this time of the year water temperatures are dropping and the fall transformation begins. The walleyes are staged in deeper pools, the fall crappie bonanza is in full swing and the musky bite is heating up…When a warm front like the one we’ve seen comes in everything goes haywire. and totally changes things up Having a warm front in the fall is like having a cold front come through in the middle of the summer. It can totally make you rethink your fishing strategy and make for very tough fishing. We’ve had some good walleye action in the central Wisconsin area but most of the fish have been spread out in several different areas. Some of the walleyes have been deep (12 to 16 feet of water) and some have been very shallow (8 inches or less). We have been running jigs tipped with minnows and in some cases crawlers along with some shallow running crankbaits over rocky shoreline areas. The majority of the walleyes this past week have been 13 to 15 inches but we did boat a few nice eaters in the 15 to 20 inch range along with a couple of slots (20 to 28 inches) and one dandy at 29 inches. The musky bite has slowed to a crawl with this warm weather in the central Wisconsin area. Water temperatures have gone from the low 50’s up to and hovering around the 60 degree mark. Contrary to what most people want we need some good cool fall weather to drop the water temperatures and turn these fish back on. Despite the warmer temperatures we have seen a few fish this past week but not on traditional fall musky tackle.. The sucker bite has been a wash but the bucktail and top water bite turned on and we caught a couple of nice fish in the upper 30 to lower 40 inch range by working shoreline areas in 3 to 5 feet of water. The crappie bite in the central Wisconsin area has been ok at best with us boating about a dozen to 15 nice fish on out trips mixed in with the walleyes. Most of the crappies are suspended over the deeper water but some have moved back up into the shallows and can be caught by running jigs tipped with minnows in the structure. We have seen a few nice bass this past week in the central Wisconsin area but bass like warm weather and this has been a good week for that. The difference is that the bass have been coming on musky sized baits like Suicks and Depth Raiders. Despite the warm weather these fish are hungry and aggressive and will attack anything that looks like food to them no matter what the size especially at this time of the year. The 2011 bear season has come to an end in the central Wisconsin area. The weather made for very interesting conditions and despite all of the different conditions hunters had a pretty good season. I (Phil Schweik) personally spent several days on the stand had one opportunity at a small bear that I passed on. Now with bear season over we can now concentrate on the rest of the remaining archery season. With a few weeks left until the rut is in full swing bucks are starting to make a presence. We have spotted a few nice bucks the last couple of nights and some of them have been chasing does. They are starting to make their territorial rubs and scrapes to establish their areas. This is where you should start looking for rutting season stand locations. The signs are there but you still need to place your stands according to wind and travel directions. Look at which side of the tree the rub is on this will give you an indication as to which direction the deer was traveling when he made the rub. With the wind in mind and the direction of travel you should be able to decide where a good stand location should be to present you with the best possible location for your stand. Just remember when accessing your stand to (not cross the path that the deer will travel on their way to your stand) as they will smell you and move off in another direction.

Chicago river fishing report;South branch temp,63 big blue gills and 12 inch bass hitting small crank baits and drop shot / wackey worm most holding structure in open water .Ogden slip ; Big bass hitting 5-7 ft diving Rapalas trolled slow behind tour boats moving in and out of slip , many keepers a very good week !

Delavan Lake 10/17/11 through first ice Most of the fish are in their fall patterns now and will likely stay there until the first ice. There is some great fall fishing to be had, but the weather makes it a bit more difficult to get out and be comfortable. Walleye can be caught either trolling the weed edge in 16-17 ft of water or at night casting chrome/blue or chrome/black Husky jerk baits. Look for the fish by the Oriental boat house or by Willow Point. The Husky jerk bait bite can be fished in 15-20 ft of water. The walleyes will suspend chasing bait fish, the key to the presentation is wind. If there is wind the fish will bite but they won’t on calm days. Largemouth bass are in the shallows in 4-6 ft of water. They can be caught on Senkos or on slip bobber rigged medium suckers. Look for the fish by Delmar or by Browns Channel. Fall is one of the best times to catch really big fish. Last week, I caught one that was almost 23 inches on a medium sucker. One thing I find is that you don’t need to let the largemouth bass run with it for a long time, usually when the bobber goes down, I will set the hook. Smallmouth bass are also in the shallows. Look for them in 6-8 ft of water. They are associating with hard sand bottom on and around the points. I’ve been catching them on nightcrawlers or large fat head minnows. The best location has been by Willow Point of by Lake Lawn Lodge. Northern Pike fishing has been excellent. They can be found throughout the water column from 8 -15 ft of water. The later fall goes on, the larger the sucker I will use. With the bigger suckers, I will use a quick strike rig. Look for the pike on the steep breaks near the spawning flats. Try for them near Viewcrest or Highlands drop off. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050 Daily Reports 10/12/11 Delavan lake, cloudy, 65 degrees, W winds at 10 mph. Water temp 64 degrees. Caught 10 largemouth – 5 were legal, and 3 northern pike. All the fish were caught on slip bobber rigged medium suckers in 6-7 ft of water. The best location was by Browns Channel. 10/10/11 Delavan lake, sunny, 75 degrees, no wind. Water temp 63 degrees. Caught 5 walleyes – 1 was legal, 13 largemouth bass – 6 were legal, 1 smallmouth and 1 northern pike. The walleyes were caught in 16-17 ft of water trolling deep diving crank baits. The best color was chartreuse. The largemouth and northern pike were caught on medium suckers fished in 6 ft of water.

Lake Geneva 10/17/11 through first ice The best bite on the lake remains the smallmouth bass and perch fishing. It will likely stay that way now through first ice. Yellow Perch are in 8-10 ft of water. Look for the fish by Rainbow Point and by Knollwood. The bigger minnows remain the best bet for the larger fish. I will slip bobber fish small and medium golden shiners. You want to position the bait about 1 ft above the weeds. This time of year, the fish are in really tight schools. Once you find a good school of larger fish, you need to stay on them. Smallmouth bass are concentrated off the main lake points. Some of the best points are Black Point and Conference Point. The best approach is Carolina rigging 6 inch lizards or dragging oz football head jigs tipped with spider jigs. Root beer or Green pumpkin are the best colors for the jigs. Northern pike are in the shallows. They can be caught in 6-8 ft of water. The pike are in and around the weed flats. The best weed flats on the lake are Trinkes, Williams Bay or by the beach in Fontana. Most of the success is coming off of slip bobber rigged large golden shiners fished one to two feet above the weeds. Rock bass fishing remains very consistent. With the cooling water, they are switching from a nightcrawler bite to a fat head minnow bite. The best location has been by the Military Academy or by the Elgin Club. You want to work a depth between 10 and 12 ft of water. The best rig is the split shot rig, which is a #12 hook and a 3/0 split shot. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

Despite all the leaves and debris floating in the water, river conditions are very good right now. Water levels are safe for wading with a usgs reading of 3.18, clarity is very good at nearly 2 feet, and temperatures are in the range of 55-60 degrees. Best fishing at the moment is for northern pike and largemouth bass. Feeding windows are taking place for several hours, mainly in late mornings throughout the afternoons. Northern pike catches are still running small with majority in the 20 to 25 inch range. The big fish haven’t been around with much frequency yet like they were at this time last year. However, bigger fish seem to be more available south towards Will Co. Right now, pike are relating to deeper pools with slackwater, log jams and downed wood, mid-river channels, and deep rocks. Rattlebaits, inline spinners (#5 Mepps and Sims Spinners), jerkbaits (Rapala Husky Jerks and X-Raps), gold/white spinnerbaits, and swimbaits are doing the most damage. Bass (largemouth and smallmouth) are beginning their late fall/winter movements and are retreating towards their wintering holes (deep slackwater holes). If you know of such areas, fish the areas around them as fish are in the process of moving and staging. In addition, channels and drop-offs should be fished especially hard. Fish up to 17″ are being reported on crankbaits, rattlebaits (craw and shad/shiner rat-l-traps), jerkbaits (X-raps), and white spinnerbaits. Few walleye and sauger reports but most catches are running small. Anglers are fishing riffles and hard bottomed areas after dark and catching fish up to 16″ on smaller minnowbaits (X-raps, Floating Rapalas). Bigger fish will begin moving in within the next few weeks, and floating leaves and debris are making fishing difficult as most casts are resulting in catching leaves. Lastly, action is picking up at smaller tributaries such as Salt Creek. Few walleye up towards Busse, and pike and largemouth bass are active in the lower sections of DuPage and Cook Co. Water level is very low, clarity is clear, and deeper pools are concentrating fish.

Des Plaines River Report: The river is heating up!! Walleye, Pike and Bass are all being caught in good numbers!! Mark Matejka of Lemont has had some great outings this past week. Pike and Bass being taken with a Hammered Colorado blade #5 Inline spinner, Sexy Red worked near any river structure he found. Walleye being taken with crank baits worked at night near hard bottom with current near by. Notably; Jason Norris of Windy City Fishing landed a 21. Walleye while Pike fishing in the upper stretches of the river. Jason Writes… Fished the DPR from 5:50pm-6:20pm in Lincolnshire – one of my favorite spots for northern pike. Didn’t have a lot of time as the sun was setting quickly. Was afraid I got there too late for any northern action as none chased my white spinnerbait. I finally cast across the river and let the bait fall to the bottom. Thought I got snagged on a branch but soon realized it was a fish. At first I thought it was a catfish but then I saw I had a pretty fair sized walleye. If i lost this fish and didn’t get a picture I’d never forgive myself. Landed the fish, got a good hold of ’em, avoided the nice sharp teeth and got a bad pic with my phone. The walleye measured 21″. I could not believe it! Great Stuff There!! Water Temps were 58.2 degrees Sunday 10-17 last weeks Rumor of Walleye was put to rest soundly after this catch. Run cranks X-Raps near any wood/rock structure with a solid bottom in current. One hour before/after will give you your best shot at catching this species. Do not forget about the Sauger as well. They are right in the mix. Weather reports call for rain. Just like last week, this will make fish become more active than usual. I don’t see the gauge moving nothing more that an few 1/10ths. Get out while the fishing is GOOD!!!

Well I have been out fishing a few times on the new kayaks but haven’t had the time to sit down and send you a report so I figured I would do it while eating my lunch today. With my baby due in four weeks I will not be out on the river again this year unless it’s a short wade. I don’t think it will go over well being stuck on a kayak with a 4hr + paddle to get back to the car if I need to get her to the hospital…. Got out to float a stretch from Shorewood to Channahon yesterday with my Brother In Law Dave Guttman. Now this was Dave’s first time kayaking, wading, and river fishing; he has never caught a Smallie either. Well that had to change! We got out on the water around 9am and it was around 50 degrees and rained for the first three hours. The water levels and flow had been up to around 450cfs on Friday but they dropped just as fast as they went up and were down to around 240cfs by time we got started on Sunday. Water was cold and clear (I have never used a thermometer). I was out a few weeks ago in Plainfield and the weed and floating grass mats were awful; not this weekend. Water had some leaves but no floating grass or algae. The bite was really tough last time I was out so I came prepared with 2 dozen medium roaches which actually turned out to be closer to 4 dozen thanks to the nice woman at the bait shop. Started off throwing tubes, plastic craws and mepps with no luck so started drifting minnows and everything changed. Started off with a nice 15.5 inch smallie though a deep fast section. I had Dave switch over to a plain hook no weight with a minnow and drift the same hole and what does he come up with for his first river fish? A FAT 16.5 Smallie! I cannot imagine a better way to introduce someone to the joy that is river fishing than to have them hook up with such a nice fish not just the first time out but on his first fish! You should have seen the excitement and smile on his face; it was great! All fish came from the same pattern fast moving current drifting minnows. I had around 10 fish total (best being two 17″, 16.5, and a few over 15″) and Dave with two (to be fair he lost a few VERY nice fish). Some people like to argue that live bait is cheating; the only thing I have to say to that is I like to catch fish and that means switching it up when needed.

Work is keeping me busy, which is good, and only got out on Sunday for a few hours. Picked up a dozen smallies and missed another 8. They were all sitting in shallow, faster water. Not the fastest, but faster than I expected. The long slow pool where they usually start stacking up this time of year was barren. The water didn’t feel all that cold, so that would explain things. Anglers on Windycityfishing.com have been leaving some mixed bag reports and it looks like only one got skunked altogether. This link will go directly to the Fox Forum on WCF. Will be worth someone’s time to go right down the line doing some reading. http://windycityfishing.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=13

Dale, enjoy your column in the sun-times. Had a terrific day on the Kankakee river today. Caught and released 14 smallmouth , in the 11/2 lb range to 3Lbs. Caught three, 3lb smallies, one at about 33/4 lbs. Used lg. and med. roaches on a slip bobber in the state park around Bonfield rd. Ran out of minnow’s , brought 21/2 doz.. The feed is on!!

River is below normal stage , right now a little over 1,000 CFS. The water is fairly clear, however there is a lot of dead emergent vegetation and some leaves flowing in parts of the river. Those same sections also have a lot of algal growth on the bottom. That makes fishing any bottom presentation tough and any thing with trebles in the rest of the water column is problematic at best. With the water temps in the mid 50″s picking greeny off your lure can get old. The solution is not to quit fishing but to adapt. If you fish single hook lures such as flukes, swimbaits, swim jigs, spinnerbaits or buzzbaits it makes life easier and you can still catch fish. Late this afternoon was a perfect example of how to adapt. There was a topwater bite on, the fish would take a spook but if they didn’t hit right away, the lure was soon covered in weeds. A buzzbait would work but if they missed, you couldn’t let it sit and give them a second chance. The solution that worked best was a weightless magnum fluke with a rainbow cast high in the air and bellyflopping on the surface with a lot of splash. That got hit immediately, twice fish came out of the water with the lure. I got 9 smallmouth over 16 inches, the three biggest 18, 19 and 21 inches. Adapt, overcome, improvise Gunny Highway

Hi Dale, In Indiana, both catfish and smallmouth bass are hitting good at the Point, north of English Lake on night crawlers. Croppie fair around Rt. 55 on *crawlers*pinkie jigs*small spinners. In Illinois: Smallmouth Bass good throughout river. Some areas have large amounts of weeds floating ..downstream, other places open. Try #1 thru #3 Mepps Spinners *live minnows *top water baits where possible. Fly rodders are doing well on *streamers *frog finish poppers. Walleye fair around Kankakee River State Park and Wilmington Dam downstream.

(Head): Northern and panfish action good, with musky and walleye fair, in the Eagle River, Wisconsin area. Water temps in the Eagle River area, hovering in the mid to upper 50s. Northern are hitting well in the Eagle River area. Fish 10 feet of water or less in and around weeds. Use a small Mepps, a Husky Jer, or a northern sucker under a slip bobber. All day bite. Panfish are hanging together in the Eagle River area. Fish 10 feet of water or less in and around weeds. If the predicted cooler weather comes on, the panfish will then start moving towards weed or break edges in water from 10-20 feet deep. For the shallower fishing the perch will be tight to bottom, and the crappies and bluegills will be a foot to two feet off the bottom. If the panfish move deeper, the perch will be still tight to bottom or just off, with the crappies and bluegills suspending 10 feet or so off the bottom in 20 feet of water. Use a crappie minnow or chunk of crawler under a slip bobber. Good action. All day bite. The musky bite is fair in the Eagle River area. Anglers are getting fish, and there are follows and bites, but everyone is working for each musky they catch (please don’t forget to release every musky you catch – -and help maintain Eagle River are one of the finest musky fisheries anywhere). Fish weeds in 10 feet of water or less, using a small bucktail, crankbait or glidebait. Small suckers (10-13 inches) are also working on a quick set rig. Suckers are running $6.50-$7.50 for the smaller ones, and about $7.00-$8.00 for the bigger ones. It’s important you do a figure 8 as your lure nears your boat, as the muskies are often following to the boat. As the weather cools down the muskies will start moving deeper off of weed and break edges in 10 to 20 feet of water. All day bite, with peaks in mid-afternoon to around dusk. Walleye action is fair in the Eagle River area. Fish in 10 feet of water or less in the weeds. Use a jig and am minnow. As the predicted cooler weather moves in, the walleye will move to 10-20 feet of water and locate off of weed and break edges. Right now it’s an all day bite, without any real peak periods. (Report for the Eagle River Chamber of Commerce based on Creative Brilliance interviews with Eagle River guides Muskie Matt of Wild Eagle Lodge, Ranger Rick Krueger of Guide’s Choice Pro Shop, and Mat Hegy). Contact info for Eagle River: * Eagle River Chamber of Commerce; 800-359-6315; 715-479-6400; e-mail: info@eagleriver.org; web: www.eagleriver.org * Muskie Matt, 715-891-5980; e-mail: rfrgoutdoors@gmail.com * Mat Hegy, 715-571-7544, e-mail: lunkerclunkerguideservice@yahoo.com * Guide’s Choice Pro Shop, guide/owner Ranger Rick Krueger 715-477-2248 * George Langley, Eagle River Fishing Guides Association, 715-479-8804. e-mail: fishing@eaglesportscenter.com

High winds Friday and Saturday made being in the water rough. This alone limited angler participation on what otherwise would have been a great week of fishing. Musky: Very Good. Sucker action is in full swing. The drop in lake temps back down to the low 50’s has brought about an excellent sucker and jerk bait bite. Lots of good reports, with the best of a honeymoon bride on her first musky outing, catching a 48 inch Tiger musky. Walleye: Good-Very Good. Small shallow lakes target shallow weeds with a 1/16 oz. Jacks weedless jig and a redtail chub. Deeper lakes require vertical jigging or drifting. For vertical jigging use a 1/4-3/8 oz. jig in 20-35 feet of water; tipped with a large fathead, 1/2 crawler or small chub. For drifting, 3/8-1/2 oz. slip-weight and Snell with a medium chub or sucker. Northern Pike: Very Good. Very active with lots of action jigging live bait in a bay of 6-12 feet with standing weeds. Crappie: Good. Slip bobbers and mediums fatheads scoring big crappies of 12-14 inch at the base of the coontail edges in 15-20 feet of water. Yellow Perch: Good. Medium fatheads near drowned wood scoring nice perch of 9-11 inch. Jigs on slip-floats both effective. With wind and cold temps at night, lake temps falling back to where they should be. Expect to see surface temps of low 50’s to high 40’s this coming week.

Fishing Report Salmon fishing was concentrated below the facility for the majority of the weekend with most anglers reporting catching chinook salmon. Most anglers were using fly combinations to catch chinook salmon which are at about peak spawning run this week. Interviewed anglers reported catching 30 chinook salmon and 6 coho salmon. After this week the chinook salmon spawning run will diminish and the coho salmon will comprise the majority of the fish in the Root River. Water flows and temparture make it just about ideal for catching salmon although increase in flow and water depth will provide more fishable stream sections later this week

Well some more steelhead did show up last week. Not sure how many, but people were catching some. Steelhead and walleye action should remain good until the end the year. Not only on the Joe, but the Galien and other Southwest rivers as well. Drift fishing small egg imitations has been working well for steelhead. But don’t over look spoons and spinners, my favorite way to fish for them. If the wind lays down inlands should continue to produce, things may have slowed down with the colder weather.

Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: October 17, 2011 Kenosha Co. Shore fishing in Kenosha has been generally slow, but occasional Chinooks and browns have been taken in the harbor and off the south pier. Most fish were caught on fresh skein. Flows on the Pike River are low, and although Chinooks can be seen in the river near the mouth, fishing remains slow. Racine Co. Racine trollers have been catching good numbers of fish in 150 to 200 feet of water. Spoons and flashers and flies have taken coho and immature Chinooks, and blues, greens, and whites continue to produce. Shore anglers have been able to catch a few Chinooks on fresh skein, and the area inside the harbor near the Root River has had the most action. Water levels on the Root are low, but Chinooks and a few coho have been caught. Most fish have been taken on flies. Fish were processed at the Root River Steelhead Facility on Thursday, October 13. So far this season DNR crews passed upstream a total of 607 Chinooks, 40 coho, and 18 brown trout. Fish will be processed again on Thursday, October 20. Milwaukee Co. In Milwaukee, the majority of fishing pressure remains in the rivers, however, shore anglers in the harbor have taken some Chinooks near McKinley Marina and the Milwaukee Yacht Club. Fresh skein has taken the most fish in that area. Water levels are dropping on all Milwaukee area tributaries. In the Milwaukee River, fly anglers have been catching decent numbers of salmon in Kletzsch Park and in the vicinity of Capitol Drive. Egg sucking leeches have produced. Good numbers of fish have also moved into the Menomonee River near Miller Park. When trollers can get offshore from Milwaukee, limits of immature Chinooks have been taken on flashers and flies fished about 60 feet down in 150 feet of water. Ozaukee Co. Port Washington Ramps: Fishing pressure has been light, but trollers have had very good success fishing 50 feet down in 100-180 feet of water. Flasher/fly combinations have been the most productive, with green or purple flies taking fish. Chinooks have been the main catch, with a few lake trout and coho also being taken. Port Washington Harbor/Shore: Fishing near the power plant has slowed somewhat, but anglers using spawn continue to catch Chinooks, with a few coho and rainbows mixed in. Port Washington Pier: Most anglers have been casting spoons with limited success. The water temperature has been around 66 degrees F. Sauk Creek: The water level remains low. Fish are still in the creek but are stuck in some of the deeper pools, and anglers have been catching Chinooks, coho, and a few rainbows on flies and spawn. Sheboygan Co. Sheboygan Ramps: Fishing pressure has been light due to rough conditions, but when trollers can get out on the lake they have had good success targeting fish in 120-200 feet of water. Spoons and flasher/fly combinations have produced a mix bag of Chinooks, rainbows, and lake trout. Sheboygan Piers/Shore: Fishing pressure has been light, but at times a few coho and brown trout have been taken off the piers. Both green and silver spoons and spawn sacs have produced. The water temperature was around 60 F. Sheboygan River: Anglers have been catching Chinooks, coho, and a few rainbows. Most have been taken on spoons or by fly fishing. The river water is clear and the temperature was around 54 degrees F. Pigeon River: The water temperature was at 52F, and fishing pressure remains light. Water levels on the Pigeon are low.