St. Louis River & Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 7-12-15

Jason and Marty Keesy from Cedar Falls, IA along with Uncle Bob from Niwot, CO were back in the boat for day #2 of their three day trip, and we started with a run over to the St. Louis River on Thursday.  We’ve had a difficult time this season putting it together in the river, and this day would be no different.  Heavy rains from earlier in the week still had things really stirred up, and we pulled out by mid morning without a strike.  This is generally big walleye time for us up there, but Mother Nature doesn’t want to cooperate.  No worries.  We’ve got options…  Inland we go!  We put in a little time before lunch without a walleye, and I was definitely wondering what was up.  That was one tough morning!  We worked it out in the afternoon though, and the Keesy’s had steady action on a mixed bag of walleyes up to 20″, smallmouth up to 19″, and pike up to 32″.  It was just a matter of spot hopping until we found a weedbed with some active fish, and we didn’t have to move much after we found them as we used slip bobbers and leeches along with jigs and minnows in 6′ – 9′ of water.  Water temps held at 71 degrees on a really nice afternoon with warm temps and light winds.  I also have bad news for David Russo who I crowned the movie trivia king back in June.  You’ve been ousted my friend.  There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Jason Keesy!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all know that you shouldn’t leave them to find them, and the Keesys felt good about going right back to the same lake on Friday.  We spent Jason’s birthday chasing walleyes, and we had some scorching conditions with hot temps and variable winds that ranged from a decent chop to glass calm.  The bite was slow, but we were able to put a decent day together as we spot hopped again until we found biters that included walleyes up to 18″, smallmouth up to 18″, and pike up to 28″ on leeches and slip bobbers along with jigs and minnows.  Water temps hit 75 degrees by the end of the day as we worked around thick weedbeds and found most of the active fish off the deep edge in 8′ – 9′ of water.  Some define intervention at the end of the day sent me right back where I should have stayed, and the Keesy’s had a nice rally to put a perfect ending on a great trip.  Happy birthday Jason, and thanks boys for some truly enjoyable days on the water.  Don’t worry Bob…  You’ll always be right in my book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave Rollins along with his sons Ben and Josh from Woodbury, MN returned to the Hayward area on Saturday.  This is a fun bunch to fish with, and I was really looking forward to it.  Ben just graduated from Wisconsin, and Josh has one more year left at Iowa.  You can only imagine the jabs that get thrown between those two…  I have to admit that Iowa had the upper hand in the morning as Josh got us off to a great start, and I was surprised he didn’t get pushed into the water after landing the first four fish…  Dad and bro made a nice comeback though, and we had an excellent mixed bag day that included lots of walleyes up to 22″, smallmouth up to 18″, largemouth up to 21″, and pike up to 30″.  We also had some really cool mixed species doubles with good action throughout most of the day on slip bobbers and leeches along with jigs and minnows in 15′ – 20′ of water.  I started exploring some deeper rock structure as well, and those spots are definitely starting to hold some fish.  The mid summer pattern is setting up, and the warm temps we’re experiencing will definitely start pushing fish to deeper structures.  Water temps ranged from 71 – 75 degrees, and we had really comfortable conditions as a steady south wind took the edge off the heat.  Thanks to the Rollins men for a fun time, and congratulations on one heck of a day.  You guys were great!  Go Bucky!!!  Sorry Josh…

 

 

Cody Coker and Amanda Mooney from Superior, WI brought along their 5 yr. old daughter Makenzie on Sunday, and we spent a really nice morning cacthing crappies and bluegills in the Hayward Area.  Makenzie did an awesome job in the boat both as a supervisor and fishing master.  She learned how to watch the bobber, crank them in, and even hold them up for a picture.  It was neat to have a little girl back in the boat.  What a great age to get kids excited about fishing and being on the water.  We worked weedbeds in 10′ – 12′ of water with plastics under slip bobbers to catch crappies up to 13″ and bluegills up to 9″.  Water temps held around 74 degrees.  The fish weren’t bunched up on any one spot, and we moved around quite a bit to keep the bobbers moving.  Makenzie is going to be one heck of a fishing partner, and I bet it won’t be the last fish fry she supplies for mom and dad.  Thanks for a fun morning guys, and watch out for those boys Makenzie!!!