Steve Suman
The forecast shows an absolutely beautiful first week of fall ahead, with sunshine and blue skies, highs in the upper 60s to mid-70s, and lows in the upper 40s to low 50s. This is about as good as it gets for fall days! Enjoy!
“In the Quiet Lakes’ area, last week’s weather boosted water temperatures to the upper 60s,” says Greg at Happy Hooker, “with reports of 74 degrees in some spots. Temperatures this week should cool the water.
“Muskies are hitting live bait and bucktails, jerkbaits, crankbaits, and twitchbaits, and are following baitfish pushing to shallow weeds, timber, and rock.
“Walleyes are tight to cover and hard to find. Depending on the lake, try deep weed edges or hard to soft bottom transitions with walleye suckers and plastics on jigs.
“Northern pike action improved with the warm-up and anglers report success on live bait, plastics, and topwaters in/around shallow weeds. It is later in the year, so key on green weeds that hold good oxygen.
“Largemouth bass are active on crawlers in/around large weed beds. Plastic worms and topwaters still work.
“Smallmouth bass are on rocky points and bars hitting minnows and plastics on deep edges. On some lakes, fish might relate more to deep weed edges than rocks.
“Panfish are pushing back to shallower cover with the warm-up. Minnows on jigs and under floats are great choices for crappie and perch, while crawler chunks under floats can be the key for bluegills.”
Jarrett at Hayward Bait says cooler temperatures should increase fish movement.
“Muskies are active on bucktails, swimbaits, and musky suckers over shallow weed flats and drop-off points near shallow water. Retrieve lures so fish see your sucker.
“Walleyes are deeper, with some moving shallow. For deep fish, troll crankbaits and crawler harnesses. Fish will transition from deep to shallow, and slip bobbers and jerkbaits will work again. Action peaks during sunrise and sunset.
“Northern pike anglers are seeing fish in 5-20 feet. Spoons, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and jigs/minnows work well.
“Largemouth bass will grab wacky or Texas rigs; smallmouth bass will hit topwaters and drop-shots on rocky structure, and neither refuse Ned rigs. There are plenty of options to find fish shallow and deep.
“Crappies are on deep structure and roaming basins. Some fish move to shallow cribs and weedlines in fall. Vertical jigging for suspending fish is good with minnows and plastics, and small rattlebaits. Keep baits tight to cribs.
“Bluegills are on shallow to mid-depth weeds and cribs. Live bait and plastics on small jigs work well. On sunny days, bluegills feed on bugs on the surface ‑ and provide an excellent topwater bite on ultra-light poppers and flies.”
Mike at Jenk’s says the Chippewa Flowage is down 2.5 feet and the water temperatures 62 degrees.
“Musky action is around weeds in 3-8 feet. Surface baits, particularly Hawg Wobblers, globes, and creepers, and bucktails, are working best, with many follows all the way to the boat. Floating suckers while casting, and doing figure-8s on every cast, are the key to success.
“Walleye fishing is slow overall. Anglers report success with crawlers and minnows around shallow to mid-depth wood and stumps in 8-12 feet. Productive artificials include shallow to mid-depth crankbaits and various 3- to 4-inch plastic minnow on swim jigs or darter jigs.
“Northern pike remain aggressive in shallow to mid-depth weeds. Tinsel Tail spinners and chatterbaits are the baits of choice, and anglers can again use northern suckers with water temperatures decreasing.
“Largemouth and smallmouth bass are quiet, likely because fewer folks are targeting them. For largemouth, cast spinners and frogs around weeds. For smallmouth, target wood and rock with Ned rig plastics and chatterbaits.
“Crappie fishing is solid on cribs in 16-20 feet. Crappie minnows are the go-to for live bait, but incorporate some plastics into your tactics as well. One-inch Gulp! Minnows are producing many crappies.”
This week, DNR fisheries biologist Max Wolter discusses unsolved fish mysteries in the Hayward area.
“As a young angler, I had a healthy sense of curiosity about why fish behaved the way they did and why you could find certain fish in certain areas and not in others. Guess that is how one becomes a fish biologist.
“A fun part of this job is that I still get to wonder about those things. Sometimes we find the answers… and sometimes we do not. My short list of local ‘fish mysteries’ has entries for which I do not have answers.
“Mystery #1 is why Round Lake crappies love Richardson Bay, but generally seem to avoid Hinton Bay. To a human, each bay has similar habitat types, but there must be subtle differences making Richardson more appealing.
“Another mystery is why East Fork Chippewa River sturgeon do not use the habitat in the Chippewa Flowage. Sturgeon are common in Barker, Hunter, and Blaisdell lakes. They also really like some of the lower flowages on the Chippewa River, such Lake Holcombe and Lake Wissota.
“Our efforts to find sturgeon in the Chippewa Flowage, however, have been fruitless, and we never get angler reports of sturgeon catches or even jumping sturgeon. It would seem appealing for them to spend time in a huge reservoir to which they have direct access.
“Other little mysteries have to do with species distribution. Why do some lakes have three species of bullheads, while others have just one or two? How did Ghost Lake and Black Dan Lake get white crappie, while other lakes in the area did not? Same with warmouth and longear sunfish, both present in just small portions of the Chippewa River drainage.
“Maybe someday we will understand these fish mysteries, or maybe not, but that is what keeps fishing interesting!”
The 47th annual Hayward Chapter-Muskies, Inc. Fall Tournament is Friday through Sunday, October 3-5, on 17 Hayward area lakes. The event offers more than $30,000 in prizes and trophies. Each registered angler receives an entry for the Grand Prize, a 2025 Lund 1775 Pro Guide boat, 60hp Mercury motor, and ShoreLand’r trailer, awarded by drawing at the Sunday awards ceremony. Entry fees (after September 22) are $120/adults and $25/youth 16 years and younger.
For details, visit Hayward Chapter-Muskies Inc. or call (715) 634-2921 or 558-2835.
National Hunting and Fishing Day is this Saturday, September 27, recognizing generations of sportsmen and sportswomen for their contributions to the conservation of our sporting heritage and natural resources. Through self-imposed fees and excise taxes, sportsmen and women have raised more than $57 billion for conservation ‑ more than $100,000 every 30 minutes! For details, visit www.nhfday.org and www.nssf.org.
The 23rd Annual Cable Area Fall Fest is Friday and Saturday, September 26-27, in downtown Cable. For the schedule of events, visit “Cable Fall Fest” or call (715) 798-3833.
The Tommy G. Thompson State Fish Hatchery in Spooner is hosting an open house Saturday, September 27, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. See muskies and walleyes up close, take a guided hatchery tour, and more. Visit “Thompson hatchery open house” or call (715) 416-8217.
ATV/UTV Trail Report
All ATV/UTV operators born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, who are at least 12 years old for ATV and at least 16 years old for UTV, must complete an ATV/UTV safety certification course to operate legally on public ATV/UTV trails and areas in Wisconsin. The DNR requires trail passes for non-residents and Wisconsin residents must display a registration sticker. Riders must run headlights at all times when operating. Visit the DNR ATV website for rules and regulations.
Check for trail openings, closures, and more at HLVCB ATV/UTV trail conditions report. Contacts for forest ATV/UTV trails are as follows: Sawyer County Forest (715-634-4846), Chequamegon National Forest (715-634-4821), and Flambeau State Forest (715-332-5271). Sawyer County snowmobile and ATV trail maps are available from Hayward Lakes Visitor & Convention Bureau
Fishing Report
Water temperatures are yo-yoing somewhat, affecting fish transitions, with cooler water improving fishing action. As always, check with bait shop personnel for the latest on fish locations, movement, best bite windows, and bait preferences and presentations!
Musky:
Muskies are showing signs life in and around shallow weeds, weed flats, wood, rock, and points out to 10 feet. Suckers, bucktails, twitchbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits, crankbaits, and topwaters are all producing interest ‑ and make sure to figure-eight retrieves!
Walleye:
Walleye fishing is slow, with most anglers targeting muskies. Best success is during sunrise and sunset on shallow weed edges. Find fish on deep soft to hard bottom transitions, deep weed edges, and wood and stumps in 6-14 feet. Try walleye suckers, fatheads, and crawlers on jigs and slip bobbers, jerkbaits, and trolled crankbaits and crawler harnesses.
Northern Pike:
Northern pike action is very good with the warmer temperatures. Find them in 4-22 feet around green weeds, weedlines, weed edges, and baitfish and panfish concentrations. Favored baits include northern and walleye suckers, spinners, spinnerbaits, spoons, swimbaits, chatterbaits, bucktails, and crankbaits.
Largemouth Bass:
Largemouth bass anglers continue to do well in/on/around weeds, weedlines, weed beds and flats, weed edges, cribs, brush, and baitfish concentrations in various depths. Crawlers, plastic worms, Ned, Texas, and wacky rigs, spinners, spinnerbaits, frogs, and other topwaters all produce.
Smallmouth Bass:
Smallmouth bass fishing is good on deeper rock points, bars, edges, wood, and cribs, as well as on somewhat shallower weed edges and other cover. Top baits include sucker minnows, plastics, drop-shots, Ned, wacky, and Texas rigs, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters.
Crappie:
Crappies are on deep structure, shallow and deep cribs and weedlines in 12-20 feet, bogs, brush, and in basins. Baits of choice include crappie minnows on jigs and or under slip bobbers, various plastics, and one-inch Gulp! Minnows on jigs, and small rattlebaits.
Bluegill/Perch: Bluegill and perch fishing is good for anglers pursuing those species on shallow to mid-depth weeds, cribs, flats, brush, and bays. For bluegills, use waxies, leaf worms, crawler chunks, plastics, and Gulp! baits on jigs and plain hooks under slip bobbers. For perch, use minnows on jigs under slip bobbers.
Upcoming Events
Sept. 13: Seasons opened: Deer (archery/crossbow); Grouse (Zone A); Turkey; Cottontail rabbit (North Zone); Squirrel.
Sept. 16: Regular goose season opened in Northern Zone.
Sept. 20: Woodcock seasons opened.
Sept. 22: Fall Equinox.
Sept. 25-27: Annual Treeland Premiere Musky Fly Fishing Championship. Full. (715-462-3874).
Sept. 26-27: 23rd Annual Cable Area Fall Fest (715-798-3833).
Sept. 27: Duck season opens in Northern Zone.
Sept. 27: National Hunting and Fishing Day.
Oct. 3-5: Hayward Chapter-Muskies, Inc. ‑ Fall Tournament (715-634-2921; 558-2835).
Oct. 4-12: Gun Deer Hunt for Hunters with Disabilities (see regs).
Oct. 4: Stone Lake Cranberry Festival.
Oct. 6: Full Harvest Moon.
Oct. 7: Bear season ends.
Oct. 11-12: Youth Deer Hunt (see regs).
Oct. 15: General inland trout season closes (see regs).
Oct. 17-19: Ladies Musky Fishing School ‑ Deerfoot Lodge & Resort (715-462-3328).
Oct. 18-Nov. 16: Elk season, first period (by drawing).
Oct. 18: Seasons open: Pheasant; Bobwhite Quail; Hungarian Partridge (see regs); Sharp-tailed grouse (by drawing).
Oct. 18: Trapping seasons open: Coyote; Muskrat; Mink; Fisher.
Oct. 18: Trapping/hunting seasons open: Bobcat; Fox; Raccoon (resident).
Oct. 21-22: Orionids Meteor Shower, south 2-4 a.m., 15-25/hr., Swift streaks.
Nov. 2: Daylight Saving Time ends ‑ turn back clocks one hour.
For more information on area events and activities, visit the Hayward Lakes Visitor and Convention Bureau and Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce websites, view the Calendar of Events, or call (715) 634-8662 or (715) 634-4801.