 | "Guide Service & Outfitter" |
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Muskie fishing is starting to get hot. Water tempatures are in the 70's and going up. The fishing this past week was slow at times, but other times it was great. My clients raised 8 muskies in one hour last Saturday morning, 5 of the fish were in the 40's and one went close to 50 inches. I worked the same spots with my next clients that afternoon and could only move two fish. They did catch a sub-legal muskie but not what we were looking for. The feeding windows are still small but seem to be getting longer as the water warms. Getting out Tuesday after work to try some new baits proved to be a good idea, I worked the North shore of Pewaukee lake just outside the weedline. The first 4 fish that hit were Bass, sticking with the baits a fat 38 inch muskie did make my day. The muskies are still working the weeds and will continue to do so until the bait fish move deeper. Trolling the deeper water has not produced any numbers yet. The hot baits are bucktails/spinnerbaits, top water baits, Suicks, twitch baits and crank baits. Working the top of the weeds in the morning and late afternoons have been the most productive. Working the weedlines with crankbaits when the sun is high in the sky is your best bet if you are fishing mid day. Trolling is a option but with all the bait fish in spawning and the weed beds filled with fish why not fish where most of the fish are. Muskie fishing in general will start to get very good as the bass and bluegills finish up with their spawning. Working the outside of the spawning areas with Suicks, Slammers, Lip Rippers and other baits that imitate injured fish will continue to work very well. Twitching minnow baits will produce some violent strikes when the muskies are turned on. Look for the topwater bite to get going, don't miss out on the action. Stop by Smokey's Muskie Shop for a first hand look at some of the new topwater baits to hit the market. The walleye fishing is still excellent with catches of limits possible for those who are willing to sort through all the sub-legals. The average walleye is between 12 and 14 inches, most of the legals are in the 16 to 18 inch range. There is a good class of fish in the 25 to 27 inch range but are very hard to get. Most of these fish spend very little time shallow but can be caught working the weedlines close to deepwater at night. Working the drop offs close to weedlines also will produce larger walleyes at this time of the year. Most of the walleye action has been around the Rocky Point area and on the West end by Walks Island. Bass fishing is excellent, the fish are in shallow and still very active. Remember to release these fish to keep our population of bass growing. Years ago Pewaukee lake was one of the best bass lakes around, countless tournaments that were held in spring seemed to put a hurt on them. In the last couple years the bass have made a good comeback, lots of young bass have been reported by panfishermen. I have caught my share fishing for muskies. Catch and release at this time is very important, let them go so they can grow. Panfish are everywhere in the shallows. With the spawn in full swing look to catch the biggest bluegills in area close to deep water. The Rocky Point area has been producing some large bluegills, Walks Island and some spots on the North shore have some larger than average bluegills working the shallows. Look for the spawning process to end in the next week or two as the water tempatures get into the mid 70's. The crappies have moved deeper but some still are hanging on the weedlines. Look for the crappies to bunch up in schools in 30 foot of water. Take advantage of the smorgasboard of action Pewaukee lake has to offer. Fishing is at its best with something for everyone to enjoy. Contact Dick Smiths Barn or Smokey's Bait Shop for more details. I will see you on the water !!! |
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The muskie action is getting better on Pewaukee Lake. Fish are starting to get active and are chasing baits to the boat. The muskies are getting interested in top water baits also. I know of three muskies that were fooled by a top water bait this past week. Most of the fish caught were in the 30 to 40 inch range. There was two muskies that were found dead this weekend by fishermen, a 47 incher and a 48 incher. Proper handling of fish is a must, use your net as a livewell and do your work on the fish in the net. When the fish is free of the bait and you are ready for a picture then lift it out for a quick picture and put her back in the water. The time out of the water is the key to a good release, never should a fish be out of the water for more than a minute or two,anything longer is just too hard on the fish. The muskies are after bucktails, top water baits, twitch baits and glide baits. Crank baits will start to work as the water warms into the high 60's to low 70's. I hit the water Sunday around 11am with a friend and worked a weedbed for a couple hours and moved 4 muskies on Suicks, I did catch a nice 30 inch pike on a Suick before we got ran off by the storms. Getting back out Sunday after the storm proved to be tough, working some weedbeds without any action I decided to try to work the weedlines deeper. A crank bait was my choice to get down to the base of the weedline to see if I could trigger a strike. I caught a 35-inch muskie off the North shore weedline and a lot of Bass. I went back to casting as the sun started to drop to look for some of the bigger fish I have seen before. Using about 20 different lures in 5 spots without a follow left me stumped. Storms just seem to make the muskies drop lower in the weeds or suspend deeper. I should have just stuck it out with the crank baits and weedlines. Friday night I had a few muskys interested but no takers, my partner Mark Sankey showed me how its done with a nice 37-inch muskie that we boated just before dark. So far no one lure type has stood out this week, you just have to put the right lure on at the correct time. A Suick or a bucktail has been my action lures this week. Top water has worked for others. Fishing in general has been great for Walleyes, Bass, Crappies and panfish. The Walleyes are still working the weedlines with action all day long. Most of the fish are in the 12 to 14 inch range with a few bigger fish mixed in just to keep you thinking the next one will be legal. Some of the Walleyes are starting to work out to the break lines and suspending. The Crappies are also mixed in with the Walleyes, I found some large schools of Crappies suspending in 30 to 35 foot of water. Some good size Crappies were taken by the kids at the tournament we had a Smokey's last Saturday. The Bass are going bonkers, if you like to catch Large Mouth Bass it time to get on the water and take advantage of the hot action. The kids in my boat caught over 30 Bass on Saturday, most of the action was from Bass just legal or under. We were using live bait with slip bobbers casting into the weed edges that had rocks and gravel. The Bass are active everywhere, we fished from deep weed edges to shallow gravel flats. Just about any Bass lure should work at this time. I talked to a few Bass fishermen that were casting Rattle traps and they said the action was excellent. I would use the 3/4 oz rattle traps or even the 1/2 oz traps. Spinner baits, minnow baits, top water baits or rubber baits will all work. The Bass are just starting the spawn and should be in shallow for a couple weeks Panfish in general are just starting to move very shallow and can be caught very easily. Wax worms or small pieces of a night craller will work. Remember not to use a large glob of bait, a small piece will work and you will catch more fish with less bait. Look for the panfish in shallow sand, gravel or some type of hard bottom. Taylors Bay along the willow trees will be outstanding. The area along the west face of Rocky Point will have lots of good sized panfish, the area in front of the Condo on the North West end is also a great place. One other multi species area would be the rock bar just outside of the bay from Smokey's Muskie Shop. Be very carefull in this area, lots of rocks but lots of Bass and panfish. Chester Island West of the rock bar is also a very good action spot, the North side will produce the best. Well the kids tournament we had at Smokey's Muskie Shop went great on Saturday with lots of kids getting out fishing. Five of us local guides took out the kids for 4 hours of fast action fishing. At 12:30 we all met back at the launch for a full meal and awards. Trophys were awarded for the top 3 fish in length along with gift certificates, the next three kids got the cretificates for 4th, 5th and 6th. One boy caught his first legal muskie, he caught it on his first cast, the first time he fished for muskies. Do you think he is happy. Yes, he took first place and owes Eric from Smokey's a big thank you for putting him on the fish. All the kids did get two or three prizes by the time the event was over. I would like to thank everyone involved expecially the guides that took the kids out. Dan Peckels, Eric VonDerVellen, Roy Hinkforth, Tim Sheppard and myself are the guides that work getting the kids on the water. Dan Peckels and his significant other Jeanne did a great job with the prizes and food. Next year we will do it again around the same time. Have you taken your kids out fishing yet? Now is the time, the fish are shallow and active. Stop by at your local bait shop and ask whats working and where, they will be glad to help you out. You can also contact me via e-mail and I will be glad to help you. See you on the water !!! |
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Fishing this week is starting to pick up.
The water temperatures are in the 64 to 65 degree range and will keep a steady increase through the week.
The muskie are still not very active but showing improvement with each day. Most of the action has been
in the larger weedbeds like Taylors, West end and the narrows. Bucktails and spinnerbaits have taken
a few fish up to 41 inches. Glidebaits and twitch baits have still moved fish for me. I had a low 30’s
fish come up for a 7 inch Slammer Friday night but he missed the bait at the boat. That fish came off a
deep weedline on the West End of Pewaukee Lake. I did catch a nice 41 incher on Saturday on a Mini Power
Probe working the weed edges on the South shore. The Walleyes are still working the weed beds and are very easy to catch this time of year. Look for them to stack up on the windy side of structure or weed beds. Early mornings and evenings have produced the best for me. If the wind is blowing you could catch them all day long working the weed edges that have wind blowing on them. Points and some of the breaks are starting to hold numbers of fish also. The panfish are working the shallow water ready to start their spawning. The Bass are very active and in the same areas the panfish are. The crappies are schooling up and starting to suspend; most of the action for crappies is along the North shore in 25 to 30 foot of water. Very large schools have been hanging around for about a week off the North shore with a few boats taking advantage of them. Look for the muskie fishing to take off in the next week or two. Every year when the water gets into the 60 to 66 degree mark the muskies are hard to catch. With the water temperatures getting close to the high 60’s it will not be long before they start to get active. I will be out this week starting Tuesday night working the weed beds looking for active fish. I will try some trolling just to mix it up with the patterns and techniques. My go to baits are still Glide baits, twitching, and bucktails. These are the essentials, one rod rigged with a Undertaker or a Power Probe, one other rod will have a 7 inch Slammer or some other twitch bait and the third rod will have a bucktail or some type of top water bait. All this talk about fishing is getting me pumped to get out tomorrow. One other thing I would like to mention is a small kid’s tournament that will be held at Smokey’s Muskie Shop on Saturday morning. My self and a few other local guides are taking kids out fishing from 8am to noon fishing for panfish and anything that will we can catch. We will have some trophies to hand out and prizes. If you have a kid and want to join us for some fun meet with us at Smokey’s Muskie Shop before 8am this Saturday. This is just for fun and to get more kids hooked on fishing. See you on the water !!! |
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MIKE KOEPP 262-691-8909 To Schedule Appointment or For More Info: Info@mikekoepp.com |