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| Northern WI is experiencing much colder than normal temps for this time of the year, with frost warnings, etc. Wausau expects the high for today will be 8 or 9 degrees colder than the lowest high temp for this day on record. Since the temps are more like late October, not really sure what pattern to start with. Any suggestions would be helpful. Been watching the loon on the lake where I live and he has been out over deeper water this week, rather than on the first break (4-6 feet) where I normally see him this time of the year. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | time to break out the sucker rods |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | I would move shallow first, and then back off as needed... slow down the speed of everything will also help.
Like BNelson said...drag a sucker or maybe a chicken carcass. Haaa ! |
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Posts: 21
| fished Minocqua chain thursday - monday. Fish were shallow, 4' and under over the thickest weeds we could find. Large slow rolled blades outfished everything else. lake had dropped about 8 degrees since previous sunday. |
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| Top H2O - 9/9/2020 1:20 PM
I would move shallow first, and then back off as needed... slow down the speed of everything will also help.
Like BNelson said...drag a sucker or maybe a chicken carcass. Haaa !
Well, I can find a whole fresh chicken carcass a lot cheaper and easier than suckers right now. |
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Location: Vilas | While air temp might seem like the end of Oct... the water temp isnt.
Air temp tells you what to wear.
Water temp tells fish what to do, so do what you normally would do at the current water temp
Edited by sukrchukr 9/9/2020 3:01 PM
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| sukrchukr - 9/9/2020 2:10 PM
While air temp might seem like the end of Oct... the water temp isnt.
Air temp tells you what to wear.
Water temp tells fish what to do, so do what you normally would do at the current water temp
Good point, but that has also dropped much faster than you would expect for early September. Not as dramatically as air, but still lower than you would expect for this time of the year. The chain I live on is shallow and just as it heats quickly in the spring, it can cool quickly. |
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Posts: 315
| Despite the cool weather, the last two fish I encountered were both in very thick weeds in two feet of water. One just exploded on a NiteWalker and had another to the boat twice on a Psycho Sist’r. On my flowage, water temps have dropped from low 60’s to upper 50’s today. Frost possible tonight will bring the temps down a little more, but warm weather is coming. I won’t be putting the top waters away yet. As long as weeds remain green, fish should be there. Great fishing is still ahead! |
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Posts: 1192
| Globe or a Hawg Wobbler. |
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| Thanks for the replies, sounds like the fish are still where I would look for them in an "average" September. |
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Location: Vilas |
Thanks for the replies, sounds like the fish are still where I would look for them in an "average" September.
X 2 |
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Posts: 33
| John, I've been finding them in weeds at about 7 feet in a lake not far from your chain. They've been attacking flaptails pulled slooooooow
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| OldMuskyGuy - 9/9/2020 7:49 PM
John, I've been finding them in weeds at about 7 feet in a lake not far from your chain. They've been attacking flaptails pulled slooooooow
Thanks. Normally on Thursday mornings I go kayaking with a group of other retirees but apparently I was the only one that didn't think it was going to be too cold tomorrow so maybe I will go out and try a couple spots. After paddling a kayak for a couple hours, casting musky baits usually doesn't sound too appealing ;>). |
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Posts: 1208
Location: E. Tenn | 67 degree water Saturday, 59 this afternoon on the Three Lakes Chain. Saw some suspended down deep...18-22' over 25+ FOW.. Jiggged a Bondy all afternoon Monday, after casting shallow, but clearly not shallow enough.
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Posts: 33
| " apparently I was the only one that didn't think it was going to be too cold tomorrow"
Just told my wife I'm probably going out in the morning. She just said "have a good time". Guess she knows I'm crazy by now |
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Posts: 177
| Any predictions on what effect, if any, the rain on saturday will have? |
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Posts: 2279
Location: Chisholm, MN | Vilas15 - 9/10/2020 2:25 PM
Any predictions on what effect, if any, the rain on saturday will have?
Wet clothes and bites |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Walker, MN | I would say fish how you'd normally catch them, but do it with renewed vigor. Late season cold fronts will just fire them up a bit in my experience. This could be off of a breakline in 20 f.o.w. or in 2 f.o.w. |
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Posts: 1208
Location: E. Tenn | Vilas15 - 9/10/2020 3:25 PM
Any predictions on what effect, if any, the rain on saturday will have?
Channel 12 in Rhinelander is guessing an inch of rain, with a high around 60 on Saturday.. That's a helluva lot more comfy than mid 40s in a steady rain for most of the day on Wednesday..
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| miket55 - 9/10/2020 10:39 PM
Vilas15 - 9/10/2020 3:25 PM
Any predictions on what effect, if any, the rain on saturday will have?
Channel 12 in Rhinelander is guessing an inch of rain, with a high around 60 on Saturday.. That's a helluva lot more comfy than mid 40s in a steady rain for most of the day on Wednesday..
Was out yesterday evening in Oneida County, water temps 58 to 61. 53 degrees when I left home, 44 and dropping when I returned about an hour after sunset. No fish, but really beautiful on the lake, although it felt more like mid October. Right after sunset a flock of geese came right over the boat, high lighted against the faint glow to the west.
Little surprised to see that weeds are dying and starting to float. Seems early but maybe not. |
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Posts: 50
| Given recent weather conditions, should one favor clear or stained water if given a choice?
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Posts: 2279
Location: Chisholm, MN | It seems early compared to what we’re used to these days but it’s not really abnormal for history. Muskies love fall. As long as it’s not turning over they should be bitey. I wouldn’t overthink it too much. |
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Posts: 112
Location: Illinois | I was on the Chippewa Flowage and temps dropped 10* in 2 days. Fish completely shut off. I fished everywhere and threw everything and then trolled a little. Saw 1 small fish. In 5 days. |
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Posts: 1208
Location: E. Tenn | North of 8 - 9/11/2020 8:21 AM
miket55 - 9/10/2020 10:39 PM
Vilas15 - 9/10/2020 3:25 PM
Any predictions on what effect, if any, the rain on saturday will have?
Channel 12 in Rhinelander is guessing an inch of rain, with a high around 60 on Saturday.. That's a helluva lot more comfy than mid 40s in a steady rain for most of the day on Wednesday..
Was out yesterday evening in Oneida County, water temps 58 to 61. 53 degrees when I left home, 44 and dropping when I returned about an hour after sunset. No fish, but really beautiful on the lake, although it felt more like mid October. Right after sunset a flock of geese came right over the boat, high lighted against the faint glow to the west.
Little surprised to see that weeds are dying and starting to float. Seems early but maybe not.
The only flocks of geese I saw were very high, and southbound..
...had similar results, but it was enjoyable nontheless..
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Posts: 69
Location: Royalton, MN | I did terribly on Vermilion Sat-Weds. I was really looking forward to that trip. Temp started at 64 and ended at 62. Reportedly, the temp had dropped 10 degrees in the week prior. Bays were 59-60 during the cold snap. Frost overnight, air temp 29 at the lowest on Mon/Tues night.
Couldn't find biters in the thick weeds nor on the breaks. Only follows were at dusk on the shallow rocks on slow-rolled bucktails. Pulled a lot of spinnerbaits and topwater in the thick weeds without so much as a follow. Tried the rubbers and Beavers on the breaks with no luck.
Really really disappointing. I hammered them up there this time of year last season. |
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Posts: 177
| Caught one and hooked one in the rain on Sat. One in thick shallow weeds and the other shallow rock near weeds. Water temps hovering just above or below 60 depending on the lake and even which side of the lake you're on.
Edited by Vilas15 9/15/2020 7:46 PM
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Posts: 1208
Location: E. Tenn | Dropped a Fish Hawk over the side of the boat. 62 at the surface 60 at 20' and 50 at 25...
Had one rocket up on a shallowraider at boatside (over 16 FOW)
.... Never saw it until it did its best imitation of a great white doing acrobatics with the seal in its jaws. It was probably the most fun I had catching a sub 40"..
Edited by miket55 9/15/2020 11:37 PM
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Spent about 5 days fishing a couple different Hayward area lakes this week. Was excited about the time of year and cool down, but we blanked. Had just a very few small lazy follows and no fish boated. Best we did was net a 40 for a guy that had lost his net. That fish came on a sucker. Ee ran suckers for a couple days with nothing chasing them down.
We fished a lot of good weedlines, sometimes casting up to the inside weedline in a few feet of water, and a little casting off the deep breaks. Bucktails, rubber, and topwater got a lot of play time with giving jerks and cranks a fair try too. Just couldn't get anything going. Very surprised. Only thing I can come up with is too much of a cool down too fast, but I really don't know. Always do very well in mid September for both size and numbers. |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | I haven’t seen a musky in over a week, and it was 5 days for my neighbor who goes out one or two times a day.
Today it is a nice fall day - upper 50s and blazing sun. We face southwest, so the shore water warms up in the afternoon, and I just saw an upper 40s fish sitting in about a foot of water next to my dock. I tried and she followed, but couldn’t entice her to eat.
Maybe it’s time for us to go seriously shallow,
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| Was out for about 4 hours this afternoon, top water in the weeds, dawg out over deeper part of the lake. Nothing going but gorgeous afternoon, starting to be a lot of color along the shore. I did troll for about a half hour before returning home and found large balls of bait fish in several spots, all between 8 and 12 feet of water. Marked some larger fish relating to bait but no dice.
Side note: If considering a trip to northern WI to check out the colors while getting in some fishing, I would not wait too long. |
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