Chequamegon Bay & Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 9-30-15

Fall is finally here…  I think…  We’ve definitely had a turn in our weather conditions over the past few days, and it seems like a cool down is setting in to stay.  George Whitman from Plainfield, IL and his nephew Mike Whitman from Minoqua, WI returned for a fall trip on Monday, and we spent a half day on Cheq. Bay.  It was a fairly warm morning with light rain and overcast skies, but you could definitely tell things were about to change with endless geese flying south overhead and more loons than we could count calling back and forth.  Kind of neat and kind of eerie at the same time…  The smallmouth bite was slow but we did manage a few nice fish up to 19″ on minnows in 12′ – 18′ of water.  The highlight of the morning however was when George landed a monster 40″ pike with a fat belly after a long tussle on light tackle.  It was a great battle and an honor to net George’s largest pike ever at 82 yrs. old.  I sure hope I’m getting after it like him at that age!!!  Water temps on the bay were still around 63 degrees after the warm weekend, but a big change is coming for sure.  Congrats on landing our largest pike of the year so far George, and thanks to Mike as well for being a part of it.  I’ll see you next spring fellas!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My good friend and customer Rich Andres from Vernon Hills, IL returned to Angler’s Haven on Tuesday to try and recreate a big day he had on Chequamegon Bay last year.  A stiff NE wind and dropping temperatures made sure that wasn’t going to happen.  We spent the morning coming to a very real conclusion.  They weren’t going to bite!!!  Inland we went, and our afternoon was a completely different story.  Thank goodness!!!  We found a bunch of aggressive fish in 5′ – 20″ of water using minnows.  Inland smallies are still scattered all over the place, and you just need to bounce around to any weed or rock structure to find fish.  Action was pretty steady until quitting time with only a few slow stretches, but a move here and there got things going again.  I certainly got a workout in running back and forth netting Rich’s fish, and we were even able to execute on a few doubles as well.  Our fish ranged from 17″ – 20″, and a bonus 17″ walleye at the end of the day even landed in the net.  The afternoon weather was spectacular with sunny skies, light winds, and very comfortable temps.  One heck of a day to be on the water…  It’s always a pleasure to fish with Rich, and I look forward to every trip we have.  He works for Weber Grills, and thanks to him we’re always tailgating in style.  Thank you for another memorable day Rich and another great gift.  You’re spoiling me my friend.  See you in May!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hancock gang rolled back into town for their three day fall smallmouth trip on Chequamegon Bay.  Josh Teigen and I team up to guide this bunch every year, and it’s always a good time with some really good fish caught.  Day #1 of the trip proved to be tough sledding however with high skies and NE winds.  We encountered a serious case of lock jaw, but still managed some nice fish.  Josh had Brett Hancock from Antioch, IL and Russ Hancock from Carterville, IL in his boat, and I had Ed Hancock from Cedar Rapids, IA, Jim Hancock from Cedar Falls, IA along with their long time friend and newcomer to this trip Bert Gilgen from Cedar Falls.  We had some good spurts of action in the morning, but it was a struggle to really get it going.  We did have a couple of double opportunities and they guys landed some nice fish up to 20″ on minnows in 13′ – 17′ of water.  Water temps had started to cool down to around 60 degrees.  The afternoon was more of the same as I became convinced that we had some sort of VuhDo curse going on…  Whenever we had a bite or a fish on, bad things followed.  Time for a group hug!!!  The boys did a really good job of working through it however, and we ended the day on a good note landing some fat fish up to 20 1/2″ that included Bert’s “last cast bass” at the end of the day.  Great job today fellas.  Those fish gotta eat soon, and we’ll be ready for them!!! I’m really looking forward to the next couple of days with this crew.  Stay tuned…