Oneida County

The cool/hot weather pattern for the summer of 2023 continues.  This week…cool.  Air temps at night in low 50’s has cooled lake surface temps into low 70’s to upper 60’s.   Fishing somewhat affected, but not overly.
 
Largemouth Bass:  Very Good-Good – A bit of a drop in action, smaller Bass on average, less willing to commit (like most males)!  Smaller Wacky Worms (4”:3”), as well as a simple crawler or leech below a slip-float.   Cool mornings tough, but evenings better for top-water action on plastic frogs and spiders in calm shadows.
 
Smallmouth Bass:  Good – Off-shore gravel/rock humps topping at 14-22’.  Ned rigs, drop-shotting and football jigs with plastic creatures or craws.   Also finding Smallies along outside weed lines of coontail in 14-18’ taking big leeches.
 
Bluegill:  Good – Active in 8-10’ weeds.  Typical worm/small leeches.  Tiny jigs tipped with waxies also productive!
 
Yellow Perch:  Good – Better mid-morning on. as water warms a bit.  Finding nice Perch of 8-11” in cabbage of 8-12’.  Beavertail (small night crawler) under slip-floats best.   Medium fats also working.
 
Northern Pike:  Good – Working chubs or suckers on jigs with wire leaders through dense weeds on cool mornings.  As temps rise, casting spinnerbaits and chatterbaits over same weed tops best.
 
Musky:  Good-Fair – Bucktails over cabbage beds mid-morning on.  Top-water towards dusk.
 
Crappies:  Fair – Scattered through tall curly leaf cabbage in 10-14’.  Tiny twister tails, Charlie Bees and Crappie Thumpers working to locate.  Finish up with small minnows fished at weed top level.
 
Walleye:  Fair – Night time trollers on deep clear lakes using deep diving (14-20’) cranks.   Lighted slip-floats over gravel humps baited with crawlers or leeches.  Redtails along weed edges of 10-14’ in the early AM.
 
The “cool” has slowed some early morning action, but the overall bite is not bad.  If fishing early, slow down size bait/lure to induce bites.

Overall, a nice week after the festivities of the 4th subsided.  Lakes were not overly crowded and some good fishing was had.  A few overnight rains/thunderstorms but not enough to affect anything.  Water temps ranging 69-73 degrees on most bodies.
 
Largemouth Bass:  Very Good – Bass remain active, dawn to dusk.  Daytime fishing using plastics (Wacky, Beavers, Craws) in the weeds, as well as twitching stick baits (Husky Jerks, X-Raps) and lipless cranks (Rattle Traps, Rattlin Raps) very effective.  Top-water action best early and late.  Whopper Ploppers, Choppos, Spooks and Combat Frogs close to shore weeds and lily pads.
 
Smallmouth Bass:  Very Good-Good – On lakes, outside weed edges using tubes, Wacky Worms choice!  Rock bars try drop-shotting 3” Gulp Alive Minnows, Z-Man TRD Craws or Berkley Leeches.  Nice bass this week, tops Shelly Justice with a 20 ½” C&R.
 
Bluegill:  Very Good-Good – Gills working cabbage flats taking Mini-Mites, 1” twister tails, small leeches.   Best action in water of 6-10’.
 
Yellow Perch:  Good – Stick to cabbage (broad leaf if possible) in 6-10’.  Weedless jigs (1/16) tipped with ½ crawlers, medium leeches or fatheads.  Also, the lightest Ned jig tipped with small ½ plastic Ned worm or tiniest rubber craw you can find work great also.
 
Musky:  Good – Bucktails and top-water best over cabbage beds early and late in the day.   Good numbers of fish moving in the mornings.  Late mornings work outside coontail of 12-18’ using rubber baits parallel to edges.
 
Northern Pike:  Good – Casting chatterbaits and spinnerbaits over weed tops.  Fish more active of late.
 
Crappies:  Fair-Good – Some better reports as anglers finding Crappies working tall narrow leaf cabbage in 8-12’.  2” Twisters, Kalins Crappie Scrubs and 2” Ripple Shads to locate.  Slips and small minnows to zero in.
 
Walleye:  Fair – Varying reports from anglers fishing deep rock finding fish on larger lakes and flowages to some finding weed and wood fish in water from 10 to as shallow as 4’.   Crawlers and leeches first choice, but redtails, black chubs, as well as jigging twister tails also producing!
 
Forecast for drizzle and clouds July 12th-14th with highs in low to mid-70’s should make things comfortable for the week.   With stable temps and some shield from the sun looking to see some better Walleye and Crappie action.

Was out with Rod for walleyes for 5 hours on a big lake. Was slow for the first hour on the first spot but then they started biting, got a few then 2 nd spot they were on fire for 3 hours straight. He had slip bobbers down one after another some times two at a time. Was a great time. We caught so many fish couldn’t keep track. Slip bobbers over weeds was the only way to go. Thanks Rod if was fun. I have the weekend open anyone would like to catch a lot of walleyes call me 

Had a great day on the water the other day with Bob and Vinnie. A big lake with deep water, we fished humps with weeds on top and 12 to 16 fow over 2 foot of weeds. Slip bobbers lets us fish over the weeds with out getting in them. We caught lots of walleye’s and too many bass to count. Thanks again guys awesome day. I have days open coming up.

Got a little rain last week, thankfully!  Our mosquito population was dropping (poor things), but the rain and humidity helped pump a little life back into those friendly little buggers!  Now that we have hit July, most summer patterns are starting to emerge.  Things will stabilize for the most part and with the exception of any daily changes from storms etc., should be fairly consistent.
 
Largemouth Bass:  Very Good – With Largemouth populations high, a lot of anglers are catching these fish whether they mean to or not!  Mornings, twitchbaits and top-water action great.  Work inside weed edges (Husky Jerks, X-Raps, Whopper Ploppers).   Mid-mornings through mid-day, Wacky Worms, Jig and Creature, Sweet Beavers all good choices.  Towards evening back to shore with Jitterbugs or plastic Frogs and Spiders.
 
Smallmouth Bass:  Very Good – Most action off deep gravel drops using drop-shot rigs with 3” craws, Ned rigs or suspending hair jigs below slip-floats.  Nice fish in the 17-20” range this week coming from 16-23’ rock slides.
 
Bluegill:  Very Good – Gills working weed beds in 7-10’.  Use Mini Mites, small leeches or worms.  Evenings with small poppers providing great action on calm water.
 
Yellow Perch:  Good-Very Good – Still very nice (9-12”) Perch in cabbage beds of 8-12’.  Use weedless 1/16 oz Invasion jigs to work 1/2 crawlers along plant bottoms.  Slip-floats with medium leeches or medium fatheads also good choice.
 
Northern Pike:  Good - Casting spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and 4” swimbaits over cabbage flats.  Jig and chub/sucker using wire leader to prevent bite-offs.  Twitchbaits also bringing good fish to the boat.
 
Musky:  Good – Fast burning bucktails has been effective.  Top-water baits early and late.  Word of a 50”+ by a row troller in this morning, waiting on details!
 
Crappies:  Fair-Good – Different reports.  Some from water as shallow as 6’ during mid-day while others finding fish mixed in tall narrow leaf cabbage using small bladed lures such as Charlie Bees, Road Runners and Beetle Spins to find fish.
 
Walleye:  Poor-Fair – Dark waters best as most clear water lakes not giving up fish ‘til dusk or after.  Crankbaits after dark, either casted over off-shore humps or trolled.  Daytime bites on leeches or crawlers, best near drowned wood.   Look for cloudy or windy days to increase daytime bite.
 
A very busy 4th of July holiday.  Lots of boat traffic, but early birds can fish a while in peace ‘til everyone else wakes up!  Have a great 4th and celebrate this great country we live in!!

Had Charlie and his son in law out this morning. We fished 20 ft. rock piles with slip bobbers and leeches. Got lots of walleyes the largest was 28 inches which was charlie's largest ever. Caught some nice smallmouths as well. 

Fished with Pat and Zach today for Walleyes on a clear lake. They were on fire for five hours in 16 fow over weeds with slip bobbers and leeches. Thanks guys awesome. I have days open.

Finally some normal northwoods weather.  Sweatshirt and long pants in the morning and t-shirt and shorts in the afternoon.  Boy howdy did we have a cold front that came thru a little over a week ago.  It dropped lake temps over 20 degrees on some waters.  It took a good four days to recover from that one.  We had another cold front come thru a couple of days ago but it wasn't as near a severe as the other one.  24 hours and the bite was back on.

Looks like we got some steady weather coming in and that's always good news.  Fish do like it consistent. Good or bad weather, they don't like to acclimate to new conditions.

Walleyes are still very active but bashful with small windows.  It can be very frustrating at times to be patient enough to wait for the fish to put the bait in it's mouth instead of dragging it a little ways and dropping it.  So you need to adapt.

We had a few days where everything was being caught on leeches with slip bobbers.  Then in the past few days we had to revert to the pitch and drag cuz the boobers weren't producing anything.  Go figure.  You need to adapt.

As of today the bite is back to crawlers and some leeches.  And that's for SM and LM Bass, walleye, northern and panfish. But I expect that to change because it always does.  I always take crawlers and leeches with me so I can adapt.

Now, I'm mostly speaking of live bait in this report but as usual plastics will normally work just as well.  I've said it before, learn how to use them.  If you're not sure how come into the shop and we'll show you what works for us.

It's been a mixed bag of filets everyday lately and I expect that to continue.  It looks very promising for the week of the 4th so get out and make some memories.  And if you're not catching much, adjust and adapt!

Hey, the shop is set up for summer right now.  Folks come in frequently and tell us our selection is second to none!  And they are correct.  If you can't make it in you can always order from our website, at www.deweycatchemandhow.com and we'll ship your order to you or hold for you until you get here.  We add new items there all the time.  Blackfish gear is 20% off right now.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, spikes, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Dace, Blacktails, Redtails, Walleye Suckers, Medium and Large Musky Suckers, Jumbo Leeches, Panfish Leeches, M/L Mix and L/J Mix Leeches

Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 5am to 7pm
Friday from 5am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 5am to 6pm

Let's squelch a few rumors.  The shop is for sale.  Business is great but Linda and I are ready to retire.  WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!  If you have an interest in owning and operating the largest non-franchised bait shop in Wisconsin, call our Realtor, Eric Johnson, at 715-892-1234 or call Jeff at 715-892-2751.

Jeff Bolander, owner of Dewey, Catchem and How Bait Shop and Guide Post at www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.comFacebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DeweyCatchemAndHow
Thursday 6/29/23

Had a husband and wife with their son yesterday morning. They caught lots of walleyes for most of the morning. Everything came on leeches along weed edges.

Finally, a break from the heat and straight sunshine made it to the Northwoods in the form of much needed rain, clouds and cooler temps.  Following several days in a row of highs in the lower 90’s, looks like more typical Northern Wisconsin temps of upper 70’s to low 80’s.  Most patterns had been off, but are now starting to solidify!
 
Largemouth Bass:  Very Good – Early mornings and evenings usings top-water (Whopper Ploppers, Buzz Baits, plastic frogs & spiders and the classics, Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers).   Mid-mornings work twitchbaits over cabbage tops (Husky Jerks, X-Raps and custom jerks from FAFO, if you can find them) as Bass seen chasing schools of bait fish along surfaces in these areas.   Later in the afternoon, slide down the water/weed column using Wacky Worms, Ned Rigs and Carolina Rigs to entice bites from the plant bottoms.
 
Smallmouth Bass:  Very Good – Working into summer patterns of deep gravel/rock during mid-day.   Drop-shot 3” minnow or craw imitations.   AMs finding Smallies cruising outside weed lines hitting deep running cranks (also FAFO’s) or tubes in 12-16’ edges.
 
Yellow Perch:  Very Good – Loved the heat!  Catching nice 9-12” Perch scattered through out 8-12’ cabbage on weedless jig with bait (minnows, ½ crawlers or medium leeches).
 
Musky:  Good – Double bladed #8 bucktails, surface baits worked well for anglers fishing early and late.  Shallow fish, inside weedlines and inlets.  Fast retrieves during heat last week, a bit slower this coming week.
 
Bluegill:  Good – Some reports of Gills moving in to spawn and being done in 4-5 days due to heat.   Still some bedding on larger lakes.   Evening shoreline casting with poppers effective.  Mid-morning thru afternoons using small leeches, worms, thunderbugs and tiny tube jigs best.
 
Northern Pike:  Good-Fair – Outside of a HUGE 44” Pike brought to net in Guide George Metrich’s boat, overall, Pike activity good to NOT great.  Swimming 4” swimbaits on ¼ oz heads along 10-14’ weed edges or working spinnerbaits over cabbage of 6-8’ in the mornings working best.
 
Walleye:  Fair – Bright, cloudless, calm days made for tough daytime bites last week.  Best at dusk or early dawn using XL leeches or redtailed chubs along 10-14’ weed edges or out over rocks in 16-20’
 
Crappies:  Fair-Poor – Been a bit of a mystery as anglers best reports are of smaller fish (7-9”) on lakes where populations are high!  Fishing deeper weed edges of 12-16’ using 1/32 oz jigs tipped with Gulp Alive or small minnows.
 
Looks liked some rain mid-week, then nice weather for over the 4th Holiday.  Should continue to see fishing moving into good predictable summer patterns for next 6 weeks until mid-August cool downs.