Here we go again with the up and down weather patterns that are disrupting the water temperatures and the fishing patterns. The water temperatures dropped 10 to 15 degrees in a period of two days this past weekend and it has created some very interesting fishing conditions. Most of the fish have shifted to deeper water as well as becoming quite a bit more lethargic. We are still catching some nice fish but it isn’t anything like it was last week.
 

Walleyes especially have become more reluctant and finding them has been challenging, but once we find them they are still eating jigs tipped with minnows or crawlers. Most of the walleyes have been in 12 to 16 feet of water holding tight to the bottom. We have also been picking up a few catfish while targeting the walleyes along with some decent smallmouth bass.
 

The panfish have also moved to deeper water and the crappies that we are finding are suspended out over 14 to 20 feet of water holding anywhere from 2 to 6 feet off the bottom.
 

We have been running slip bobber rigs as well as spider-rigging and drifting to find schools of active crappies. Locating a school can take some time but once we find an active school we mark the location with either a marker buoy or we mark the location on our GPS and work the area thoroughly.
 

The guys that are out musky fishing are picking up a few nice fish on bucktails and glide baits while targeting shallow weeds and wood along with a few fish that we have been finding around rocky shoreline areas and humps.
 

We have been out bear baiting for a few weeks now and our baits are getting visited quite regularly by some pretty nice bears. With season a few months away we are only baiting about once a week right now but as season gets closer we will start to amp things up a bit.
 

Phil Schweik
Hooksetters Guide Service
Phone: 715-693-5843