Chequamegon Bay & Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 9-21-15

My good buddy Nate Gove from Crystal, MN was back with me on Saturday along with his son Nick from New Hope, MN and long time friend Bill Roth from Eden Prairie, MN.  I always look forward to having this gang in the boat.  Lots of laughs and some nice fish always seem to be a guarantee.  The boys didn’t disappoint…  We started the day on Chequamegon Bay with some stiff north winds to contend with.  The “hit and miss” pattern that we’ve been experiencing was evident from the start with our first spot producing nothing.  Our second stop was a different story however as we got into a good run of smallmouth up to 20″ on minnows over rocks in 12′ – 15′ of water.  Action was fairly steady with a few double opportunities and some really nice fish in the net.  Water temps on the bay held around 59 degrees.  In the afternoon we decided to head inland and do some exploring.  My favorite thing to do…  We started out hot with Bill putting on a clinic on how to work a drop shot rig as he landed a few nice smallies up to 18″.  Nick added a nice 18″ largemouth as well.  Our great start ended however as the bite slowed.  I’ve noticed that the late afternoon bite has been tough lately for all species.  Kind of funny how that works…  As always, it was a great time spent with some awesome guys.  Looking forward to our next trip fellas!!!

 

Paul & Devin Bruening from Decorah, IA returned to Angler’s Haven on Sunday, and we spent the day in the Hayward Lakes area.  The wind was blowing again, and I’m starting to feel like I’m always leaning in one direction…  Paul and Devin are excellent fishermen, and it’s always a treat to have them in the boat.  We started the day by targeting walleyes and found active fish up to 17″ in 35′ of water on minnows.  We were busy in a hurry, and a nice 32″ pike decided to crash the party when he completely cleared water to grab a minnow as it was being pulled into the boat.  That fish wanted to be caught.  Just like that that party was over, and the walleyes shut off.  Off to smallies…  It was a “one spot, one fish” deal, but we put some nice fish up to 18″ in the net on drop shot rigs and slip bobbers in 8′ – 12′ of water.  We decided to switch things up in the afternoon and went after crappies.  Chuck McLaughlin from Mason City, IA joined us and the crew put on a clinic as we found suspended fish up to 12″ in 25′ – 30′ of water using plastics.  I’ve always said that crappie fishing is one of the simple pleasures, and this afternoon was a great example of watching good friends having a great time while putting fish in the boat.  That’s what it’s all about!!!  I don’t want to start a controversy, but I did have to chuckle when Paul asked Devin if it was bothering him a little bit when he was on a roll putting fish after fish in the boat…  Good stuff!  Thanks for another great day guys.  Can’t wait to do it again!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Peason and Keith Green from Bainbridge, IN arrived on Monday for a three day trip, and the gale force winds continued.  In fact, they got stronger…  This  is getting to be a bit much!!!  If there’s any interest in kite flying trips, this is the place to be right now!  We tried to walleye fish, but it was pretty much impossible to hold the boat on the deep water spots.  We switched to smallmouth around mid morning and used the wind to our advantage as we worked wind swept breaks in 8′ – 12′ of water with minnows to put some really good fish up to 20″ in the net.  We had to move around quite a bit to stay on biters, but the effort was worth it as George and Keith put some bruisers in the boat on drop shot rigs and slip bobbers.  George even added a bonus 17″  walleye that decided to check out what all of the smallies were doing.  We switched to crappies for the afternoon, and found suspended fish in 27′ – 30′ of water.  The big winds we were dealing with made it a struggle to stay on top of them, but we had some good flurries and caught plenty of nice fish up to 12″.  Smallmouth in the morning and crappies in the afternoon…  I kind of like that plan!  Water temps hit 69 degrees on another unseasonably warm day.  I can deal with the warm temps, but this wind needs to stop.  I know…  Be careful what you wish for!  With two more days left to George and Keith’s trip, I can’t wait to see what we get into.  Stay tuned…