Minocqua Area fishing Reports

[mudbrook]

Minocqua Area Fishing Reports

[mudbrook]

Minocqua Area Fishing Report Mon, May 12

Not having seen a cloud in a week makes for some tough fishing conditions!  High pressure, cold mornings and either no wind or too much wind.  Lake temps rising nicely (58-62 degrees) with LOTS of sun should make for some nice weed growth.  Hungry fish to follow!

Crappie:  Good-Very Good – By late last week, Crappies moving in to warm themselves in the shallows.  Small floats with a lightly hooked minnow still best.  Tiny plastics on small 1/8 – 1/32 oz jigs.  On cooler mornings, anglers finding Crappies out in 6-8’ of water, still feeding, just waiting for the warm up.

Largemouth Bass: Good – Cruising shallow, warming flats.  Shallow running, square billed cranks, 3” Keitech swimbaits, twitching stickbaits all producing.  Typically, North shores where sun has the most affect.

Bluegill: Good – As with their other sunfish cousins, warming afternoons in the shallows on worms, waxies, small leeches or tiny plastics.  Finding Gills in 1-3’ in warmest parts of lake.

 Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Having spawned, warming up for egg production not as critical.  Food is!  Vegetation in 4-6’ as Perch feeding on insect larvae, small minnows.  Slip-floats best right now to deliver small leeches, minnows into pockets in weed beds.  Nice Perch reported, 9-11”, but not in numbers.

Northern Pike: Fair – Surprisingly slower than expected.  Live bait on a jig with wire leader or under a slip-float.  Twitchbaits and 3” swimbaits not worked very fast enticing some hits.

Walleye: Poor-Fair – This species typically at the top of the May reports!  Very scattered, very negative.  Light pick ups and drops using large fatheads, dace and even medium leeches.  Could be the cloudless skies/high pressure/full moon period, but the usual post spawn feed hasn’t seemed to happen.  Night angling producing better using lighted slips and large fats or leeches, casting Rattlin Rouges along shoreline cover.

With stormy weather forecasted for Thursday (5/15) and rain Fri/Sat (5/16-5/17), a sharp drop in air temps (80’s 5/12-5/13) to highs 40’s for Sat (5/17).  Expect the first part of the weekend to be a challenge.  We desperately need rain, but hate to see this nice mild warm up end.  The following week looks to be a cool one, more clouds, a little rain.  Expect a bit of a drop off in Crappie/Gill/Largemouth action, but hopefully a pick up on Walleye and Pike.

Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
https://www.kurtsislandsports.com/