Hayward Wisconsin, & Chequamegon Bay Fishing Report 5-25-18

It’s been an in interesting start to our season for sure, but I don’t think anyone should be surprised.  Late ice outs have a way of keeping you on our toes.  That’s certainly been the case so far this year, and every day has presented certain challenges.

A typical May cold front that blew into northern Wisconsin over the weekend seemed to put a damper on the bites we had going, but we know how to roll with the punches.  Long time customers and friends Mark & Levi Hayman were back on Monday to teach some fish a lesson.  Levi has grown up way too fast…  He’s not 7 yrs. old anymore, and the fish just don’t stand a chance!  I’m not sure why this team had never experienced smallmouth bass on Chequamegon Bay, but they can check that off the list!  Weather forecasts have consistently called for North winds over the past several days, so we planned accordingly.  Shorts and T-Shirts aren’t going to work.  Layer and peel as needed was the program.  Water temperatures were in the mid 50’s to start the day, and we didn’t have much of a wind.  We popped a few fish right away using suspending stick baits with some nice smallies and pike hitting the net.  Pike are definitely in GO mode right now, and use caution if fishing shallow water.  They owe me for a few Rapalas…  The bite was inconsistent throughout the morning, but we were able to find two spots in 3′ – 5′ of water that were holding fish.  There was lots of hits and misses while catching a few, and it was just a matter of dialing things in.  After lunch, we circled back to the last group of fish we had found in the morning but they disappeared.  Back to Plan A…  Sometimes you just have to grind it out, and I had the perfect crew to take care of business.  We ended our day landing a respectable number of smallies up to 19″ in a variety of sizes and colors.  It was a “Twitch, Twitch, Pause” presentation, and they’d always smash it on the pause.  We just kept throwing things at the wall to see what would stick, and Levi was on point.  The highlight of our trip had to be Mark landing a high 30’s pike after a long tussle on light gear.  He deserved that fish, and it was just shy of the 40″ mark.  Heck of a battle!  Water temps ranged from 55 – 60 degrees, and I think the cork is about to pop on the bay.  We just need to get rid of these North winds Mr. Weather Man…  Fine job as always Levi.  You’re one heck of a fisherman and a great kid.  I think your dad had something to do with that…  Congratulations on some awesome fish.  Always a fun day!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Hayward Lakes on Tuesday, and some warm weather pumping in had me thinking weed walleyes.  Jim Pones (Brownsville, TX) & his son Jim Jr. (Villa Park, IL) were back for their annual trip.  It didn’t take us long to get on top of exactly what we were after.  Water temps are rising fast, and weed growth is coming up along with it.  Our first spot was a long point with some new cabbage in 5′ of water, and the eyeballs were there.  Small jigs and minnows were the program, and we were off to a good start landing some solid fish.  Spot #2 didn’t produce, but our next stop was all we needed to fill the box.  The Pones gang dropped the hammer on good fish up to 20″, and completed their limit with plenty to throw back.  The shallow weed bite has just begun, and this pattern should hold true for the next few weeks.  Find cabbage, anchor, and jig em up.  It’s that simple…  With our walleye mission accomplished, we decided to look for crappies in the afternoon.  Crappie fishing is goofy right now.  No other way to say it.  You’ll find some fish up tight spawning, and you’ll find some deeper staging.   You have to keep moving, picking up one or two at each stop.  We ended up catching a few small fish on jigs and plastics in 2′ – 4′ of water, but never really got into a groove.  Water temps ranged from 62 – 65 degrees, and I have a feeling things are going to be happening fast over the next week.  It’s time!  Great to have the Pones crew back in the boat and looking forward to see what’s in store for Day #2 of their trip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some days don’t work exactly how you draw them up…  The Pones gang was back with me on Wednesday, and we decided to change things up a bit.  We targeted a new lake in the Hayward area with with walleyes on our mind but ended up in the middle of a pike convention.  We hit a couple of spots in 4′ – 6′ with weeds and found all of the pike we could handle on jigs and minnows.  We switched our direction around mid morning and went in search of crappies.  I pulled into the first spot and found good looking weeds in 5′ of water.  Jim Jr. immediately caught a 12″ crappie.  Game on!  Maybe not…  It was the strangest thing.  Fish were surfacing and boiling all around us.  We could even see their backs above the surface, but it was nearly impossible to get them to bite.  Flat water and high skies might have had something to do with it, but we weren’t able to get any kind of a rally going.  After throwing a variety of presentations at them, it was time to bail.  We were able to put a few nice fish in the boat up to 12″ on plastics and slip bobbers, but the struggle was real.  Plan B…  We circled back to our walleye bite from the day before, and it was a good move all around.  We bounced around a bit before getting into fish, but eventually found a good mix of walleyes up to 17″ and pike in 4′ – 6′ weeds using jigs and minnows.   If you can believe it, water temps hit the high 60’s by quitting time.  Winter to summer just like that!  Weed growth is critical right now, and there are still several lakes that are behind.  Our best bite should be on the way.  The Pones crew did one heck of a job rolling with the day, and the results were worth it.  Way to go fellas.  See you next year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were headed back to Chequamegon Bay on Thursday with rain in the forecast.  It was impossible to plan on what to wear with one site telling me North winds and 55 degrees and another telling me South winds and 85.  How do you plan for that?!!!  Either way, we were going to need rain gear, and we sure gave it a work out.  Paul (Colgate, WI) and Nick Spaude (Franklin, WI) returned to chase smallmouth bass, and they cooperated.  It didn’t take us long to get into fish, and Nick had our first fat pre spawn fish in the net right away.  It was a good start, and the trend continued despite the steady rain.  We had a consistent bite throughout the morning despite the steady rain and boated a bunch of fish up to 19″ in 2′ -4′ of water using plasitcs and stick baits.  There’s not doubt though that the highlight of the morning was when Paul decided to get tangled up with a big pike.  I mean BIG…  Mike Lee set our boat record last week with a 44″ GIANT, but Paul decided to up the ante a bit.  After an amazing battle on light tackle, He put a 44″ BEAST in the net that had a 20″ girth.  It was an incredible fish.  I don’t want to start a conflict, so I’ll let you decide which fish is bigger…  I’m sure our late ice out has everything to do with these big fish still in shallow and eating.  Hey, no complaints here.  That was amazing, and I wonder if I’ll ever see another one like that?…  Our afternoon produced as well, and the Spaude gang connected on a bunch of smallies along with more pike.  It wasn’t a crazy fast bite, but certainly good enough to keep us busy.  Water temperatures ranged from 58 – 62 degrees, and I saw the first smallie spawning beds of the year.  It’s on!  Thunderstorms moving in sent us to the landing a bit early, but no one was complaining.  It had been one heck of a day.  Excllent work Spaude’s.  We won’t forget that trip any time soon…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thunderstorms rolled through our area on Thursday night, and it definitely effected the fishing on Friday.  I was back on Chequamegon Bay with Paul and Nick for day #2 of their trip, and the first spot we hit was promising.  We had a nice smallie double in the net right away and put several other fish in the boat.  Not a bad start…  We were working 3′ – 4′ of water with a variety of slow sinking plastics and suspending stick baits.  The bite was weird through, and we lost several fish that were hooked up briefly.  It was really hard to stay buttoned up.  Eventually, we stumbled into another pike convention.  We landed a bunch up to 30″ and broke off on a few before it was time to move.  I haven’t seen the pike bite this nuts in several years.  They’re starting to get expensive!  After checking out the area we had fished yesterday, it didn’t take long to figure out that those fish were gone.  Lake Superior doesn’t forgive, and weather systems can change things drastically.  No worries.  We knew were the fish were and doubled back to finish out the day.  An edge along a sand bar in 5′ of water was holding fish, and they woke up around mid afternoon.  The Spaudes rallied and tangled with a bunch of fish to end the day.  Nick landed two 20″ magnums, and we has steady action until quitting time.   There wasn’t a better way to wrap things up.  Water temps hit the mid 60’s, and we used a variety of slow sinking plastics and stick baits.  Not one bait stood out however.  It was just a matter of locating active fish, and sticking with it.  Two great days with two great guys, and it’s going to be real hard to top that pike Paul caught.  We’re sure going to try though…  See you next year boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great Memorial day weekend everyone, and please remember our fallen soldiers who made it all possible!