Chequamegon Bay, St. Louis River, & Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 5-2-14

The Wisconsin fishing opener is upon us, and I’m giving you some good news…  There are some open lakes to fish in northwest Wisconsin.  Not all, but some.  Many small lakes, less than 300 acres have opened up over the past couple of days.  It also sounds like the Chippewa Flowage  is mostly ice free with all accesses open and water levels at or over full pool.  Get out there folks!  This winter has been a long haul for all of us, and it’s time to celebrate the end by getting back on the water.  Many of the larger lakes along with Chequamegon Bay continue to be iced over, most are on the brink of opening up.  I would think many may fishable by the end of this weekend.  I’ve posted two pictures, one of a 1,000 acre lake and one of Loon’s Foot Landing in Superior.  Most of the St. Louis River harbor is wide open and should be in good shape for the Minnesota opener when we can all fish it.  On an extremely positive note, this is better news than last year at this time.  Sunday looks like it’s going to be a pretty nice day, and those that find open water should have a good experience.  Walleyes will definitely be in pre-spawn to spawn mode, and crappies should start moving toward shallow bays if they’re not already there.

So what do I do in a situation like this?  Go sturgeon fishing of course!!!  With the unpredictable ice out we’ve had, a decision had to be made regarding our plans for this weekend.  I was going fishing no mater what…  My buddy Nate Berg filmed a show for Babe Winkelman’s Good Fishing up on the Rainy River last year, and he’s been dying to get back there.  Well he didn’t have to do much arm twisting.  I’ve never caught a sturgeon on purpose, and this is the time of year they pull some monsters out of the Rainy, so away we go!  Instead of crappie fishing for some early season fillets, my father and I are going to join Nate chasing some of the largest fish that swim in fresh water.  The new boat is rigged and ready, and the gear is packed.  Now we just need to get after it!  Best wishes to all of you this weekend.  We’ll keep you posted!