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Posts: 62
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin | i am going to head up there musky fishing with a friend on the 7/20/07. i searched the forums on here to try to find more info on Potato lake. i was wondering if anyone will be up there at the same time.maybe we will run into you while fishing. get to BS for a while. trade info on whats going on as far as the bite and patteren.
I was wondering how this lake is for muskies. has anyone had any luck on this lake. what to expect on this lake as far as size and numbers will be. how good is the chance at catching a 50" er. just looking for what ever people are willing to tell me on lures, colors,areas "weeds,rocks etc.." anything would be great. its my first time there. thanks a heard of time for the help
mic |
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Posts: 147
Location: WI - Land of small muskies and big jawbones | Potato is known as a good action lake early in the season. By this time of year the water is typically very green due to algae bloom and the fishing can be very tough. Interestingly, Potato lake was among the very first lakes in WI to go to a 40" size limit, at least 15-20 years ago now, maybe longer, yet it still does not produce any numbers of large fish. Muskies Inc. data from 1970 through about 2004 indicates that of the 1,184 fish reported from Potato, 995 (84%) of them were under 40", 189 (16%) were over 40", and only 1 (.08%) of those 1,184 were over 50". If it takes 1,184 muskies caught to produce just one 50" fish I would say the odds are not real good of catching a 50" there. I also know several people who fish it regularly for many years now and thier success there mirrors the MI stats. Our MI chapter has been tagging muskies from Potato lake for probably 10-15 years now and the recapture info on muskies from Potato indicates extremely slow growth. As one would expect, the smaller fish showed the best growth rate. Growth rate of recaptured muskies between 30" & 34.5" averaged 2.26" per year. The growth rate of recaptured muskies between 35" & 39.5" slowed to about half that and averaged only 1.12" per year. The growth rate of recaptured muskies between 40" & 44" slowed down to a snails pace and averaged only .59" per year. We have no growth data for muskies larger than 44" from Potato because no one has ever reported a recaptured musky larger than 44" in all this time so far there. Based on this growth data, and assuming a 40" musky maintained a .59" per year growth rate for the rest of its life, it would take that 40" musky another 17 years to reach 50". It is also interesting to point out that the data we have on recaptured muskies by our chapters tagging program in the other area waters we tag fish from shows the muskies in these other waters have nearly identical growth rates as the fish from Potato have regardless of lake size, forage, size limits, fishing pressure etc... etc... As I said before, Potato can be a good action lake and its usually best early in the season. As far as large muskies in Potato goes, they are very rare to say the least. The largest musky I personally know of from Potato in the last 15 years was 46". I'm not trying to discourage you from going there but you asked for some info on it and thats what I gave you based on the data I have seen. As far as why the muskies in Potato show such poor growth rates and why large muskies are so rare there after being under a 40" size limit for this long?, I can only speculate. Perhaps the DNR knows the answer to this.
Edited by Lockjaw 7/13/2007 6:16 AM
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Posts: 2686
Location: Hayward, WI | Lockjaw, interesting info about Potato. I know a couple guys that both have 48's from potato, but they were caught probably 20 years ago.
I have never fished Potato for muskies, so take this information for what it's probably worth. Potato does get green in the summer, so the fish might have moved out from the weeds some. There are, or at least were a lot of smallish crappies in the lake. I have heard of people doing okay out there trolling. I would expect trolling around schools of suspended crappies might find some fish for you. Maybe move up and try the weeds in the mornings when the water is at it's coolest.
curleytail |
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| Look up " Dr Bill" at Rosies Bay Resort on Potatoe. |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Hi MM32, I haven't fished that lake for years but did have luck with small bucktails and topwaters up in the weeds. It does get green and it is probably that way right now. The lake is past it's peak as curleytail alluded to. Lockjaw can correct me if I'm wrong but it went a long time without any stocking. Our club did stock it a few years ago but still it's being neglected.
...for my money in the EC/Chip/Rusk county area, I'd stick to the chippewa and flambeau systems along with it's impoundments and attached lakes. OK numbers and your best bet for what big fish do exist around here.
If the fishing is tough on Potato, head over to Fireside or Amacoy.
Good luck,
Jono
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Posts: 786
| My success at Potato has been very limited as well. One thing is for sure, with Potato being a small lake with heavy fishing pressure, the feeding windows are very small. I usually had fished Potato in September and the ONLY TIME I had raised a fish is the last hour before dark on Tallywackers and Hawgwobblers. The water is extremely green and baits that make a lot of noise but move slowly through the water is what I would try. Kdawg |
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Posts: 786
| One more thing, Because of my limited success on Potato, I've discovered Rice Lake. From there, I've never looked back. Kdawg |
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Posts: 147
Location: WI - Land of small muskies and big jawbones | Stocking info for Potato
Potato has been stocked by the DNR with fingerlings every year since at least 1972 through 1993. Then again on years 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, & 2005. The number of fingerlings stocked averages about 1,000 per stocking which includes 300 yearlings that were stocked in 1977. That is a pretty steady dose of stocking for a lake that size and with the largest gap between stockings being only 3 years.
Years ago, MANY years ago, Potato did have a reputation for producing some large muskies. My brother lost one there many years ago that was pushing 50" but that was probably 25 years ago now. Something definitely has gone wrong with the Potato muskie fishery over the years. Perhaps the DNR knows what happened. Or maybe not. I see the DNR still has Potato classified as an A1 muskie lake. The DNR's definition of an A1 muskie lake reads as follows.
A1 - "These waters are best known as "trophy waters" for their ability to produce large muskellunge, but overall numbers of muskellunge may be relatively low. Angling action can be inconsistent in these waters, but fish that are caught have a larger average size. At certain times when conditions are right, however, these waters can also provide good action."
Looks like an updated and more accurate classfication for Potato is long overdue. I don't know anyone who catches muskies from Potato with a larger average size than what other waters produce. |
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Posts: 1309
Location: WI | I had action on oan range prop bait and black creepers but didn't boat any a few years ago.
If you can try Amacoy which is nearby. I had a lot more action at that lake on musky and other species. |
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Posts: 62
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin | thanks for all the info everyone. just wondering if anyone new what the water temps have been on potato lake,fireside,amacoy or surounding area this weekend. i think that these lake should all be about the same temps.i also see the weather is going to be hot by this coming weekend. do you think the water temps are going to be to hot to fish?
mic |
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| There are some fishin in the upper 40's in this lake!!!! I know this for a fact!!!!! i fished potato for almost 20 years!!!!! I recommend trolling brown or black lures along the shoreline and around all the sunken islands!!!!!! If you don't like trolling then throw black bucktails with yellow blades along the weeds. In the late 90's i caught and release 4 fish out of the lake all over 40 inches!!!! the biggest being a 47!!!!!!!! the last couple years the dnr has stocked a lot more walleye in the lake then musky because people that live on the lake complain about wanting more walleye. Other people don't push the lake as much because they think its polluted, but thats not true!!!!!! I am also upset that wisconsin dnr brought a lot of bluegill over from a nearby lake and put in there. This put a stunt on the size of the panfish!!!!!!! Wisconsin always screws things up!!!! if something is going well then they change it!!!!!! explains why many professionals don't like wisconsin anymore!!!!! anyway back to potato. I wouldn't waste my time in the little lake!!!!!! |
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| i agree with the guy above though!!!! potato should not be an A1 fishing lake!!!!!!! but i would say that many other lakes in wisconsin shouldn't either!!!!!!! and its wisconsin dnr that ruin the lakes!!!! the chippewa flowage the last couple years has not been producing that great either!!!!! my recommendation it to go to minnesota!!!!!!!!! |
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| Potato Lake can be very tough this time of year. I know of a few guys that night fish the lake even though the water clarity is bad. There are plenty of good lakes to choose from in the Blue Diamond area. I would suggest fishing the Island Chain, there is plenty of water to fish and a variety of structure. Not to mention, there are some real nice fish in that body of water. |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I fished Potato on Thursday for the second half of the day and I had a small fish smoke a Slippery Sam Jr. I was burning. That was the only fish I saw there, water was very green and it was the really windy post frontal day so that made it even tougher. Fish came out of the east end by all the pontoons in about two feet of water. Caught a couple of LGM Bass too. I fished Holcombe for the better part of three days last week and it was tough as usual. I only saw a couple of fish up by the Jump, but the pike kept me plenty busy. |
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Potato Lake Rusk Co. ?????