Jerry Hartigan, Turtle Flambeau Flowage, Mercer, Wisconsin, Fishing Guide Reports & Conditions

FISHING REPORTS:

Fishing started out good in the last week with walleyes up in the new weeds. Beetle spins and minnows were producing some bigger fish in 3 to 5 feet of water. Fish were also in shallow wood hitting on crawlers a on a weedless jig. Walleyes, perch, lots of rock bass, and an occasional crappie. Smallmouth were everywhere with fish hitting what ever we were using, with a leech on a slip bobber working very well. Musky have been decent, with a 45 incher hitting a topwater, and we got a 46 on a sucker in the last couple of days. The last few days have been very difficult on the Flowage with a huge mayfly hatch coming out. There were bays that had thousands of mayflys floating on the water with a constant stream of them flying up off the water. Combine that with the huge schools of perch minnows everywhere and it makes for a difficult day. The few walleyes we caught yesterday were, one from wood, one from weeds, and one from a rock shoreline. I'm heading out this afternoon, if it doesn't rain, so we will see if things are better.
Jerkbait Guide Service <info@flambeauflowagesports.com>
- Tuesday, June 08, 2010 at 07:49:10 (PDT)

Well the walleyes have finally moved up a little shallower and have been hitting a little more aggressively. Shallow wood anywhere from 4 to 9 ft has been holding fish. Jigs and minnows has been working the best, but beetle spins and crank baits have been producing fish when the are in an aggressive mood. There has also been a good bight after the sun goes down. Smallmouth are still along the shorelines, but are changing daily with the water temps. A few days ago we fished mostly bass and landed 19 on a slow day. Tube jigs are working well, but the fish are hitting anything from surface baits to spinnerbaits. Crappie have been up spawning in the shallows, but the low water levels have made the difficult to find and catch. I got chased off the water today by lightning after a short day so we will see what tomorrow brings.
Jerkbait Guide Service <info@flambeauflowagesports.com>
- Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 14:17:33 (PDT)

With the water temps going up fast there is lots going on in the area lakes. I have been out on the Flowage guiding the last 3 days and this afternoon the surface temp was 64 degrees. That's with dead calm conditions or a light east wind. Crappies were up shallow, but the spots that they usually spawn in are so shallow that they are only 1 1/2 feet deep. We did see some crappies, but the boat was beaching before we could get near the fish. Some overcast skies with a little wind would make the fish a little more accesable. The smallmouth are making beds along the shorelines, with mostly smaller males cruising around the beds. We caught a few fish yesterday very shallow, but today the few bigger fish that I saw would not even look at a tube jig or a xrap. I'm sure things will change quickly. Walleyes are still in 12 to 16 ft of water in the wood. We have been picking up a few fish in spots, but it has not been a good bite. I am sure things will change quickly with the walleyes coming up shallow and getting more aggressive. I will let you know how things go in the next few days.
Jerkbait Guide Service <info@flambeauflowagesports.com>
- Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 13:47:53 (PDT)

Walleye fishing have been decent the last couple of days depending on the weather fluctuations. Most of the fish we have been getting have been in 10 to 12 feet of water and tight to wood. Weedless jigs and minnows are still working the best, but I did get some fish on Gulp minnows yesterday. Slip bobbers have also picked up some walleyes and nice perch. Shallow stump fields have held some walleye and smallmouth, but the bite is very erratic. It's raining out right now which is great for the water levels but there is a winter storm watch for tonight, which sucks. It's supposed to be in the high 50's by Sunday so at least it will warm up fast.
Jerkbait Guide Service <info@flambeauflowagesports.com>
- Friday, May 07, 2010 at 09:23:42 (PDT)

Overall fishing over the opener was slow and very difficult. 30 mph wind gusts on both Saturday and Sunday made it almost impossible to fish most of the spots that were holding fish. Any calm spot that was out of the wind was full of boats. Water temps in the mid to high 50's made it more like June than early May. The walleye's that were found did not seem to have much of a pattern as they were in anywhere from 15 to 5 feet. Jigs and minnow were the best choice with very few fish reported on crankbaits. Water levels on the Flowage are 3 feet down so caution is advised on travel. If you just take it easy and go slow there is not a problem. Once the wind dies down I will have more info on the patterns.
Jerkbait Guide Service <info@flambeauflowagesports.com>
- Monday, May 03, 2010 at 14:45:26 (PDT)

The last few days have been mostly walleye fishing and overall the bite has been really good with limits coming quickly. Most of the fish have started moving deep with the best spots I have found have been about 15ft. The edges of the river channel has been holding a lot of fish, you just need to work down the side looking for turns or shelves that are holding fish. I did find a small bay right next to deep water that had lots of wood in it that was just loaded with bigger fish. You just needed to pitch a 1/8th oz jig up shallow and work it down the drop. We have also been getting some nice perch in wood and brush in about 10ft of water. Yesterday we did a Musky tournament with about 40 people. Below freezing temps and 25mph winds made it terrible conditions. One 41 inch fish won the whole thing being the only fish that was caught. We lost one monster fish but its to painful to talk about. I will be back and forth between walleye and musky for the next few days, so I will let you know how it goes.
Jerkbait Guide Service <info@flambeauflowagesports.com>
- Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 06:51:09 (PDT)