Chequamegon Bay & Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 6-30-15

Long time customers and great friends Nate Gove (Crystal, MN) and his good buddy Bill Roth (Eden Prairie, MN), were with us on Saturday for a day of chasing smallmouth on Chequamegon Bay.  These guys love catching smallies, and I love having them in the boat.  The action wasn’t fast and furious throughout the day, but we caught them in bunches.  We moved around quite a bit and caught fish up to 19″ in anywhere from 5′ – 6′ flats to weed edges in 4′ – 5′.  This was a sure indicator that fish are starting to scatter from their spawning grounds, and we’ll be fishing off shore structures very soon.  As usual, these guys performed well as we used plastics, topwaters, and crankbaits in 70 – 74 degree water on a hot day with very little wind.  A day in the boat with Nate and Bill always includes lots of laughs with plenty of good fish and this was no different.  I was only sorry it had to end…  Sorry about that Rock Bass curse Bill…  Can’t wait til next time boys!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Brogan & Sharon McCool from Palmyra, WI spent Sunday morning with me fishing Chequamegon Bay.  This was their first trip to northern WI, and we were able to show them some of the incredible smallmouth that swim in these waters.  We started out slow, but things picked up around mid morning as we put good numbers of fish up to 21″ in the net on plastics in 5′ – 8′ of water along weed edges.  Water temps ranged from 70 – 72 degrees on a cloudy day with light winds.  Even though Mike is a Bears fan and Sharon is a Packer fan, this couple fished well together and had one heck of a morning.  If we put our differences aside, everyone can catch fish…  Great job!!!

 

Monday morning was spent with Steve Johnson and his 9 yr. old son Logan from Rockford, IL out of Angler’s Haven Resort.  Steve and Logan were on a fish catching mission and put together one of the best mornings I’ve ever seen.  The day started out slow as we had thick fog that followed some heavy rain the night before.  Once the fog cleared, we got things worked out and caught largemouth up to 20″, smallmouth up to 20″, and a beautiful 25″ musky landed by Logan on a variety of presentations that included leeches, minnows, plastics, and topwaters.  We focused on deep weeds in 12′ – 18′ of water and rock/gravel bars in 3′ – 5′ of water.  Water temps held around 71 degrees on an absolutely perfect morning.  My only concern is that we’ve turned Logan into a musky hunter at such an early age…  Sorry about that Steve, but I know he’ll be a good one!  Congratulations to the Johnson boys on a morning for the books!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday evening was spent with family as my cousin Matt Evans (Indianapolis, IN) returned with his crew to northern WI for their annual vacation.  It’s always great to see this gang, and I got to spend a few hours with Matt’s son Joey and his friend Mike McCalip.  Mike started us out fast and set the tone as we caught plenty of largemouth up to 18″ along weedlines in 5′ – 12′ of water.  We then turned our attention to smallmouth, and found some fish around rocks in 5′ – 10′ of water.  Joey ended the evening perfectly when he landed a fat 18″ smallie.  I think that kid has a little of his cousin Jeff in him, and I sure am proud.  He’s going to be one heck of a fisherman!!!  We used plastics and topwaters on a warm night with very little wind.  Water temps held at 74 degrees.  Thanks to Matt, Joey, and Mike for a great evening on the water.  BAM!!!

Dan Fenske (DeWitt, IA) returned with his good friend Ryan Svoboda (Grand Forks, ND) on Tuesday.  Our original plan was to fish Chequamegon Bay, but a nasty cold front with NE winds changed our plans.  No worries…  We moved inland and caught a pile of nice fish that included a 21″ smallmouth landed by Dan and a bonus 20″ walleye landed by Ryan.  Fish bit inconsistently throughout the day as we had several hot stretches along with some slow times, but the end result was impressive.  Dan and Ryan stuck with it, and put some really nice fish in the boat as we worked 5′ – 15′ of water with plastics and live bait under slip bobbers.  Water temps held around 71 degrees.  It’s always great to have Dan in the boat, and Ryan was an awesome addition.  Lots of laughs with some really good guys and some great fish.  Not a bad way to spend the day…  Excellent job men.  Looking forward to tomorrow!

We have two impressive fish to show off tonight from a couple of good friends.  Brody Moreland (Duluth, MN) landed  fat 35″ laker while trolling on Lake Superior, and Damon Schroeder from Hayward Power Sports put a great looking 25″ walleye in the net on a Hayward Area Lake.  These are two good sticks that know how to get after it, and I’m not surprised at their success.  Congrats men.  Keep the pictures coming!!!