Lake Chippewa Flowage Vacation

Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report – Cooler and more seasonal fall weather has prevailed across the Northwoods for the last week or so and this seems to have spurred on the fall fishing action. Musky fishing has continued to be very good on many waters across the north and fish have been getting most active during the mid-day hours after the water has warmed up a bit. Most anglers are seeing along of follows and shorts, though there has also been quite a few reports on musky boated.

The most productive baits have been bucktails and glide baits, though some anglers have also begun to use suckers. Most of the musky have been found up in the weed beds that are starting to die back and some of the bigger fish have been seen along the deep weed edges. Most of the musky landed have been in the 34- to 40-inch size, though fish up to 48 inches have also been reported in the last week. Smallmouth bass action continues to be good on most of the local rivers and flowage.

The smallies are still being found near woody cover along deeper water areas, with crank baits and finesse plastics being the most productive baits. Fishing for largemouth bass has become a little more consistent, and with the cooling water, more fish are changing to more of a fall pattern. This relates to fewer largemouth being found in the mid depth cover and more moving into the shallower weed beds that are starting to thin down.

Soft plastics continue to provide the most consistent action, though jig/craw combinations have also been catching some ice fish. With the declining water temperatures, walleye fishing has continued its slow improvement. The best success has been found on the area rivers and flowages, with crawlers and leeches still being the favored baits. More and more anglers are switching to minnows for lake and flowage fishing, and they’ve reported some fair success on the deep break lines and along the deep weed edges. Northern pike have also continued their active trend, with stick lure and spinner baits producing some nice fish from along and over weed beds. Panfish action has stayed consistent – with some nice bluegill, crappie and perch being found around mid-depth cover.

– Skip Sommerfeldt, senior fisheries biologist, Park Falls