Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 10-24-15

George Hollow from Elmhurst, IL and Wilbur Mennell from Warrenville, IL returned for a fall trip, and we spent Thursday in the Hayward area on an absolutely spectacular fall day.  Comfortable temps, high skies and light winds sure made us appreciate what we had and what we had coming…  Our mission was smallmouth, and it took us awhile in the morning to get a pattern figured out.  The shallow bite that we were on a week ago disappeared, and we ended up finding fish in 15′ – 20′ of water.  These were BIG fish however.  George and Wilbur landed some absolute monsters including a 21″ fish that George put in the net which had to be in the 6 lb. class.  That was one monster smallie!  We used jigs and minnows, and water temps held from 54 – 55 degrees.  The smallie bite shut down in the afternoon, and we struggled to get anything going until we made a move to the weed edges in 15′ – 18′ of water.  There we found a fun mixed bag of wallyes up to 20″, smallmouth, and largemouth.  It was a fun way to end the day with every bite being a mystery.  George and Wilbur are always great company, and we shared lots of laughs throughout the day.  I’m not sure why the guy with the power saw was so jealous of the leaf blower guy George!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George and Wilbur were back in the boat with me in the Hayward area on Friday, but we had a drastic change of weather conditions.  A typical fall front had moved in, and we were faced with high winds, rain, and dropping temps.  Perfect…  We worked it out though and found some cooperative smallmouth up to 20″ in 15 ‘ – 25’ of water on minnows.  We caught fish in spurts throughout the day and had to move frequently as things would fizzle out after we put two or three fish in the net.  Electronics were key, and we only stopped to fish spots where we saw fish.  Water temps held around 52 – 53 degrees on a gloomy, windy, but fun day.  As always, George and Wilbur kept the conversation interesting, and I’m still trying to figure out if George hit Wilbur in the head with his minnow on purpose.  I’ll let you figure it out boys…  A late day rally with a bunch of big fish caught on our last spot was a perfect way to end the day and trip.  Thanks for a really fun two days fellas, and I’m already looking forward til the next time!!!

 

 

Our annual Roppe trip was upon us as Rick, Scott, and Joe from Birchwood, WI were back in the boat with me on Saturday.  Hard to believe that a year has passed since I had these guys in the boat.  The Roppe’s are dear friends, and this year’s trip had a little extra meaning to it.  Rick had gone through open heart surgery not long ago, and this was his first venture outdoors since.  We targeted crappies on a Haward area lake, and the Roppe men didn’t disappoint.  They caught huge numbers of fish up to 11″ in 23′ – 28′ of water on plastics.  It was one of those days where you had to quit counting.  Late in the day we made a move to try and catch a big walleye, and it paid off.  Rick made it happen when he put a fat 27″ fish in the net that hit a jig and minnow in 30′ of water.  We all agreed that it’s the largest walleye he’s caught in my boat, and that’s saying something!  Rick is one tough hombre, and I’m proud of him for sticking it out on a nasty, windy, rainy day.  One question…  I’m still trying to figure out why the back of the boat was producing a different caliber of fish from the front of the boat?  Thanks for your friendship and another great day fellas.  As always, I’m looking forward to our next adventure!!!