Hayward, Wisconsin Fishing Report 7-14-16

Big rains hit northern, Wisconsin on Monday, and we dodged a bullet.  Greg and Geralyn Miller from “The Hunt With Greg & Jake” were scheduled for our annual trip to celebrate Geralyn’s birthday, and we had to delay the start of our day due to thunderstorms that unexpectedly rolled through.  We hit the water about an hour later than usual, but those poor walleyes didn’t stand a chance…  The Walleye Queen taught them another lesson, and we put a bunch of nice fish up to 23″ in the boat on a variety of tactics including dragging crawler harnesses along deep weed edges in 15′ – 18′ of water as well as using leeches with slip bobbers over deep rocks in 20′ – 25′.  We also got a few fish snapping Jigging Raps off of the bottom when the leech bite got slow.  Conditions were absolutely perfect with cloudy skies and reasonable south winds as thunderstorms moved around us throughout the day like they had us in mind…  Much appreciated Mother Nature!  After we had our fill of walleyes, it was time to switch lakes and target crappies in the afternoon.  It didn’t take long for us to get into a good school of fish up to 11″ using plastics in 10′ – 12′ of water.  Slip bobbers and straight jig presentations both worked equally well over deep weeds.  It was a super way to top of another incredible day with two of my favorite fishing partners.  Water temperatures ranged from 71 – 74 degrees on the day.  Happy birthday Ms. Geralyn.  You are and always will be “The Queen”!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More rain pelted northern, WI on Monday night, and I had an interesting ride to Hayward with a bunch of roads closed and lots of water over the highways.  What a mess!  Marty Porter and his son Henry from Sauk Centre, MN joined me for day #1 of their two day trip, and we got off to a good start putting some really nice fish in the net right away.  Big winds were a bit tough to deal with, but Marty and Henry landed walleyes up to 22″ and smallmouth up to 20″.  We located fish over rocks in 20′ – 25′ of water, and leeches with slip bobbers along with Jigging Raps produced a consistent bite.  Skies cleared in the afternoon, and we switched lakes to see what the crappies were doing.  It was a bit of a funky bite, but we caught a bunch of fish up to 10″ on plastics and slip bobbers in 10′ – 14′ of water over weeds.  We had to move around quite a bit to find active fish, but they were willing once we located them.  If it’s not happening, keep moving…  Marty and Henry did one heck of a job and caught some really nice fish on their first trip to the Hayward area.  Water temps hit the mid 70’s by the end of our day with steamy conditions and lots of wind.  Great job today Porters.  Looking forward to tomorrow boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big winds cranked up on Wednesday, and the Porters were dealt a bit of a tough hand.  We were forced to fish a small lake in the Hayward area, and even there our options were limited.  The rock and weed shoreline bite that had been producing for us wasn’t happening, and I’m guessing lake levels were up at least a couple of feet with all of the rain we’ve received.  I gained a new found respect for folks that fish river systems and have to deal with fluctuating water levels.  We switched tactics around mid morning and anchored up where we could on mid lake rocks and points in 15′ – 20′ of water.  Marty and Henry fished well, and put some really nice smallies up to 20″ and walleyes up to 20″ in the net using slip bobbers and drop shotting minnows.  It was a classic case of making lemonade out of lemons, and the these guys fished through some tough conditions like champs.  Water temps were in the low 70’s, and a normally clear water lake was extremely churned up and murky.  Winds continued to escalate throughout the morning, and we were forced to pull the pin at noon.  Thanks to Marty and Henry for two really fun days.  You’re both fine fisherman, and it was a pleasure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More rain hit our area on Thursday.  We just can’t get a break…  Desi and Shane Sipsas from Iron River, WI were with me and we drove through the flooded streets of Hayward on our way to one heck of a day of fishing.  I don’t ever remember having these kind of flooding issues in our area, and it’s crazy to see the impact of it all.  I wasn’t sure how the rising water levels would affect things, but it didn’t take us long to get into a pile of fish.  Walleyes and smallmouth are bunched up together right now on deep rock piles in 20′ – 25′ of water.  When you locate them on your electronics, anchor up and have at it!  Slip bobbers with leeches and minnows along with Jigging Raps produced throughout the day, and the Sipsas put some really nice fish in the net including smallies up to 20″ and walleyes up to 18″.  Every spot we stopped on had active fish, and this father and son team put on one heck of a performance.  Water temps remained in the low 70’s, and we fished through rain showers with gusty winds throughout the day.  I won’t complain about the weather if the fish are going to bite like that!  Excellent job today Sipsas.  Fun stuff!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best wishes to all of you good folks in northern Wisconsin digging out and cleaning up from this weeks storms, and big thanks to all of our road crews, police, fire, and emergency services that are working around the clock to keep us all rolling.  Job well done by all, and much appreciated.  You’re amazing!