Midwest Fishing Report: Fall comes

(Head): Great fall musky and walleye bite, as the deer rut starts coming on; all in and amidst the lakes and the Wisconsin River of Wisconsin’s Marathon and Lincoln Counties (near Mosinee and Wausau). As we move into November and the open water fishing season starts to wind down our attention turns to deer hunting and the only thing on most hunters minds is the rut. But even with the rut, anglers should not forget that some of the best fishing of the season for the largest predators is still going on is still going on in the central Wisconsin area. Musky action is at it’s best right now and anglers targeting them will encounter some of the biggest fish of the year. Musky action in the central Wisconsin area has been very good with a lot of nice fish being caught. We have had several fish in the 30+ pound range with a couple pushing that 40 pound mark! With the water temperatures now down in the 30’s most of our action has been on suckers suspended below bobbers. When running suckers we like to run them at about 5 to 7 feet down. We have also had good action this past week on artificial baits like Suicks and Shallow Raiders. Most of the action has come by drifting in 8 to12 feet of water along rocky shorelines but we have also had some action working wood associated with sand in the afternoon hours. With most outdoorsmen focusing on either deer hunting or musky fishing there are not a lot of people out there targeting walleyes. With that said the walleye fishing in the central Wisconsin area has been very good with some very nice catches of fish coming in. Most of the fish have been in deep water (12 to 16 feet) holding tight to the bottom and at the lower end of the deeper pools. Run either orange or yellow jigs tipped with minnows for action but if you are really interested in catching the largest fish of the year go with plastics. With the rut coming on stronger, hunters should look at targeting specific areas for hunting. Scrape lines, rub lines and areas with high concentrations of does are all areas that hunters should be scouting and setting up at to be successful. Not only are these good areas to target this is the time of the year that hunters should plan on sitting all day long if they can. Mid-day hours can be some of the best times of the day for big buck activity as they are moving all day long in search of does.

Chicago river fishing report ; Only fished the south branch this week lots of fishing pressure the last few weeks so I tried something different ….a small spoon and had mixed results a few small mouth but scarce numbers . Note ; There has been lots and lots of fishing boats out lately and I usually know the other anglers but not lately . Our Chicago river fishing secret is out .

Here is this weeks fishing report. Fishing has been good for Pike and Bass. Although my time has been spent chasing those elusive Walleye. One or Two here and there, and that’s it. Sauger have been most active using night time tactics while fishing for Walleye. Ghost X-Raps seem to out fish other colors and baits, both will produce fish. Pike fishing… Dan Cahill has been fishing the lower stretches of the Des Plaines from boat and has had great success. Orange Rattle-Traps casted near lay downs have yielded some seller catches this past weekend. It seems Mr. Cahill is always on fish. Good Job Dan!! With this wet weather moving in… 1970 cfps Riverside, IL USGS gauge 11-9-2011 @ 01:00. It is time to adapt! Fish unusual structure. Newly formed high water eddies, back currents and any other area you think will hold fish. Fish are there. Water temps were 49 degrees Monday evening. On a side note… A group of fellow Des Plaines River anglers have recently formed a Brotherhood/Club for all fishermen to join in the quest to advance greater fishing in the Des Plaines River Valley. Please give us a follow on Facebook.com http://www.facebook.com/DesPlainesRiverAnglersAssociation I feel we have a great start, and awesome group core people involved already! Special thanks goes out to Nick Doumel, Andrew Ragas and Brian Toth for their hard work and dedication to our sport! Only good things will come!

River is running high (4.9 on usgs), and is probably not worth fishing again until early next week. Despite the present conditions, this rainfall along with the colder temperatures will heavily influence walleye and sauger, and a nice run of fish (possibly the one and only of this fall) should arrive as soon as water levels settle and when wading is possible again. It’s a shame that the rain has come at an inconvenient time as fishing from now into the weekend under normal conditions would be superb! River is mostly unfishable right now, so I will report on how things were prior: Before the rainfall, some really nice catches were made. Over the weekend friend, Dan Cahill, and his friend caught and released several nice northern pike on their float trip. Six were up to 30″, and the largest was a 33″. Orange and shad patterned rattlebaits fished with a medium retrieve along shoreline drop offs, channel edges, and downed wood were catching them. Water temperatures at the time were holding at 49 to 53 degrees. The next day I tried to follow up on their success by wading a few miles downstream and I couldn’t even buy a fish. Moral of the story is that it’s a benefit to have boat access. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are beginning to tail off, as fish are now moving into their wintering holes. However, a few stray largemouths are still being found in the same areas being occupied by pike. Slow-rolling white and silver spinnerbaits, slowly retrieved crankbaits, jig and pigs, and rattle baits are catching fish up to 16″. A few walleye and sauger were around before the rainfall, but not many. Dan Sims and friends got into two sauger last night on X-Raps from areas with deeper current and hard bottom. Not many other reports besides that one. Creek and tributary fishing was pretty good during the last week. Northern pike up to 28″ were common along Salt Creek, as were walleyes in the 14 to 18 inch class. Large jig and plastics (orange colors) along with 3 to 5 inch minnowbaits (orange and whites) were catching fish during the afternoon and nighttime hours. All fish were holding in deeper pools with current and hard bottom. In addition, largemouth bass up to 16-17″ were putting on a show with smaller crankbaits from similar areas. Creeks may be ready to fish again by the weekend, thankfully. As for the river, it should be good again by sometime early next week. In closing, Dan Sims, myself, and a group of our friends are in the process of establishing a club/organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of fishing along the Des Plaines River watershed. It is still in its infancy. We call ourselves the Des Plaines River Anglers Association. If interested to know more about us, please visit our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/DesPlainesRiverAnglersAssociation

Sorry this is getting to you later than normal, blame the Bears and Doug and OB on the post game. Water temps remain below 50, cool water fishing in my weird worldview. water levels slightly below normal, algae still a problem both on the bottom and in the water column in some of my favorite stretches. leaves are an aggravation but not a problem. i continue to find smallmouth feeding up on shad in softer, not always deeper flows. the wind sometimes seem to move the shad shallower against some mid stream bars and the bass do follow. Topwaters still remain a good option as do flukes, you just have to let the bass decide although flukes do gather fewer floating leaves. i have also found that rattlebaits higher in the water column are working but where the algae is following it’s either a fish or picking green slop. I kinda feel like Buck Owens and Roy Clark, a pickin and a grinnin[when it’s a fish , of course]. I worked a slacker/slower area where the leaves where more of an issue than algae floating and did well with a single spin spinnerbait tipped with a 5 inch grub slow rolled just off the bottom and worked higher in the water column. The bass ignored topwaters, rattlebaits, flukes, crankbaits, swimbait/swim jig, jig/plastic in that area. you just have to be a bit versatile in your approach at times.

Fishing time for many fishermen happens at this time of the year! In Indiana, work *jig and minnow *jig and crawler *Rattlin Rogue for walleye at Kankakee River areas open for fishing. Smallmouth Bass good along shorelines on *jig and twister tail *live minnows *Mepps #2,#3 Spinners. Two good areas include Point, near English Lake *Rt. 55 Area. Pike, largemouth bass, croppie also being caught. Illinois: Sate Line to Momence *smallmouth bass good on above baits *some walleye on *jig and minnow *shoreline nightcrawlers*jointed minnows. Kankakee Dam through Sawmill Creek good for *walleye*bass*catfish. Kankakee River State Park: Smallmouth bass *rock bass *croppie good. Wilmington Area: *Walleye fair to good around Island Park. Catfish good. Supposed to have some more rain….could make fish more active!

(Head): Good action for walleye, northern and panfish, with musky fair, in the Eagle River , Wisconsin area. Water temps in the Eagle River, Wisconsin area are hovering in the low 40s. Walleye in the Eagle River area are putting on a good bite. Fish 10-25 feet off of break edges. The walleyes are tight to bottom. Use a 1/8th ounce jig with a fathead minnow. All day bite, with peak action coming in late afternoon. Northern are providing good action in the Eagle River area. Fish 15 feet of water or less in and around weeds. Use a Husky Jerk (minnow or walleye pattern), or a northern sucker under a slip bobber. All day bite. Panfish (crappies, bluegills and perch) are locating in 10-25 feet of water off of break edges. The perch will be tight to bottom (same areas as the walleyes), with the crappies and bluegills suspending around 5 feet off the bottom, plus or minus. Use a chunk or crawler under a slip bobber or a crappie minnow under a slip bobber or hooked up to a small jig. All day action. Good bite. Musky action is fair in the Eagle River area. Fish 15 feet of water or less off of weed or break edges. Use a medium sized crankbait, jerkbait, glidebait or a 12-15 inch sucker hooked up to a quick set rig. Medium retrieve. Do a figure 8 as the lure nears your boat. All day bite, with a few feeding windows throughout the day. The feeding windows vary and are unpredictable as far as time of day goes. Anglers are getting muskies, but the fish are not jumping in the boat. (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

Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: November 7, 2011 Kenosha Co. Shore fishing in Kenosha has been generally slow, but occasional coho and browns have been taken in the harbor and off the south pier. Most fish were caught on spawn. Flows on the Pike River are low, and fishing remains slow. Racine Co. In Racine, water levels on the Root River remain low. Numbers of brown trout in the river have started to increase in downstream areas, while the Chinooks have tapered off. Decent numbers of coho have been caught, with most taken on flies. The majority of fishing pressure remains in Lincoln Park, but a few anglers have also been successful near the Horlick dam. Fish were processed at the Root River Steelhead Facility on Monday, November 7. The DNR is finished collecting coho eggs, and the fall weir season is now over. DNR crews processed a total of 3,828 fish and passed upstream 1,798 Chinooks, 1,258 coho, 57 brown trout, and 18 rainbow trout. A total of 573 coho were spawned. Milwaukee Co. In Milwaukee, shore anglers continue to catch salmon on spawn in the slip near the Milwaukee Yacht Club, and brown trout have now been reported near the McKinley launch. Water levels are low 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 can still be found in the Menomonee River near Miller Park. In Oak Creek some mature salmon are present in the deeper holes below the dam. Trollers working near the harbor have been catching mature Chinooks on J-plugs. When trollers can get offshore from Milwaukee, immature Chinooks, coho, and rainbows have been taken on flashers and flies fished about 20 to 40 feet down in 120 to 160 feet of water. Ozaukee Co. Port Washington Harbor/Shore: Fishing pressure has been light, and success has slowed a bit. Spawn remains the most productive bait. Most anglers have been catching Chinooks and some whitefish. The water temperature near the power plant has been around 48F. Port Washington Pier: Sauk Creek: The water level remains low. Fish are still in the creek, and fishing pressure has been light. The water temperature was around 44F. Flies and spawn have been the most productive lures, and Chinooks and coho have been reported caught. Sheboygan Co. Sheboygan Ramps: The lake has been too rough for boaters to get offshore. Sheboygan Piers/Shore: A few brown trout have been reported caught off the lake side of the piers, and some chinooks have been caught on spawn near the Deland boat launch. Sheboygan River: The water level remains low, and fishing pressure has been generally light. Most anglers have had moderate success with spoons and flies for trout and salmon. Chinooks, coho, brown trout, and rainbow trout have been reported.