Thursday, 11/9/23
Hmmm, just about the time we start thinking that we're almost done selling suckers a new weather report comes out. Highs in the 40s and 50s next week with many days not getting below freezing. For all you ice fisherman that had one foot outside of the garage with your shack in tow, step back. It's gonna be a while longer I fear. Just please let us have a bunch of ice before we get snow. We deserve a good long ice season. It's been a while, eh?
Not many folks out there beating the water right now, just the diehards. And that's a shame cuz the weather, for the most part, has been decent. About the only consistent MO to report is find'em deep. A couple of guys caught 80 walleyes in one day and they had a hard time getting one under 20". They were fishing 20-40' humps. Same thing with Crappie killers, Bluegill bashers, and Perch poppers. If there is deeper water on the body of water you are fishing, go fish it.
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All 13 Fishing reels in stock are 50% off while supplies last.
We have plenty of musky suckers right now. M-$10 L-$13 and XL $15
We continue to prepare for our Black Friday / Cyber-Monday days from November 24th to December 3rd. There will be some unbelievable specials WRJO remote broadcasts and many many giveaways and raffle prizes. Come on in the store to check it out. We are adding new items every day to the specials list. We have a current list of those specials on our website. While you're on the site make sure to sign up for our newsletters so you will be the first to know when we add more items.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday & Sunday 7am to 5pm
Let's continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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
715-892-2751 cell
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
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Things seem right on track for a typical November, something not seen for a couple seasons. Colds last week, with a couple mornings hitting 10-13 degrees, produced ice on shallow ponds, bays and shoreline ice on some launces. Most lake surface temps registered as low as 42 to 46 degrees, though one report of 49 degrees on a deep lake with lots of surface area to cool.
Musky: Fair-Good – For this time of year. Action slow, but size better. Fish caught holding more weight than earlier in fall, looking “swoll”! Suckers by far producing the most hits, but even those some times just pick up and drop. Not sure if the tentative hits are due to lack of interest or are they getting slightly educated. Don’t believe Musky have memories like us, but have seen late season fish “corral” suckers for quite a while. Fish with noticeable marks, so I know we had caught a couple weeks earlier, but wouldn’t commit to a November Sucker! Still others grabbing hold. Seems depths of 20-30’ popular for anglers throwing Grandmas, Rubber Baits and big gliders. Some shallow weed fish still being caught on Jerks and twitchbaits.
Walleye: Fair-Good – Not a lot of anglers targeting. Those that are using chubs or suckers along deeper gravel/mud transitions. Drowned wood on flowages holding Walleyes as well
Not much else on the fishing front to report. With the deer rut in full swing, grouse and duck hunting still going on, outdoorsmen’s attentions are divided. With forecast of low in 20’s, but highs in the low 50’s next Tuesday-Friday, don’t expect any ice reports soon. Keep those Musky rods ready.
Musky: Fair-Good – For this time of year. Action slow, but size better. Fish caught holding more weight than earlier in fall, looking “swoll”! Suckers by far producing the most hits, but even those some times just pick up and drop. Not sure if the tentative hits are due to lack of interest or are they getting slightly educated. Don’t believe Musky have memories like us, but have seen late season fish “corral” suckers for quite a while. Fish with noticeable marks, so I know we had caught a couple weeks earlier, but wouldn’t commit to a November Sucker! Still others grabbing hold. Seems depths of 20-30’ popular for anglers throwing Grandmas, Rubber Baits and big gliders. Some shallow weed fish still being caught on Jerks and twitchbaits.
Walleye: Fair-Good – Not a lot of anglers targeting. Those that are using chubs or suckers along deeper gravel/mud transitions. Drowned wood on flowages holding Walleyes as well
Not much else on the fishing front to report. With the deer rut in full swing, grouse and duck hunting still going on, outdoorsmen’s attentions are divided. With forecast of low in 20’s, but highs in the low 50’s next Tuesday-Friday, don’t expect any ice reports soon. Keep those Musky rods ready.
Ending October with 3” of snow in Arbor Vitae. Yesterday’s (10/30) low at launch, 18 degrees. Surface temps averaging 47-48 on 10/30. Despite cold and wind, anglers still fishing for Musky, Walleye and to a lesser extent, Smallmouth and Crappies.
***UPDATE*** Kurt’s on the water this morning (10/31) guiding and finding surface temps as low as 44.5 degrees.
Musky: Fair – Bite seems off from most reports. Not a lot of opportunities and even fewer boated. While suckers have been best, working twitchbaits (Cranes, Grandma’s) and gliders (Smity Jerks and Phantoms) in water 8-14’ moving some fish. Hold boat out in 15-20’ and cast into shallower weeds
Walleye: Fair – Not many reports. But of those gathered nice fish in 27-37’ of water on chubs or suckers.
Smallmouth Bass: Fair – Taking the higher ground with Walleyes deeper. Fish gravel/rock in 18-28’ using similar baits as for Walleye.
Crappie: Fair – The few anglers targeting finding Crappies over cribs using medium fatheads in 12-16’
With forecast mostly showing lows in the 20’s, most highs in mid-30’s with a couple of days cracking the low 40’s (mostly this coming weekend, 11/3-11/5) expect surface temps to crawl down into low to mid-40’s. Live bait and slow retrieves the key. Rod guides and reels freezing up, bring extra reels! Warm clothes, gloves, hats and tall boots to access landings with no docks.
***UPDATE*** Kurt’s on the water this morning (10/31) guiding and finding surface temps as low as 44.5 degrees.
Musky: Fair – Bite seems off from most reports. Not a lot of opportunities and even fewer boated. While suckers have been best, working twitchbaits (Cranes, Grandma’s) and gliders (Smity Jerks and Phantoms) in water 8-14’ moving some fish. Hold boat out in 15-20’ and cast into shallower weeds
Walleye: Fair – Not many reports. But of those gathered nice fish in 27-37’ of water on chubs or suckers.
Smallmouth Bass: Fair – Taking the higher ground with Walleyes deeper. Fish gravel/rock in 18-28’ using similar baits as for Walleye.
Crappie: Fair – The few anglers targeting finding Crappies over cribs using medium fatheads in 12-16’
With forecast mostly showing lows in the 20’s, most highs in mid-30’s with a couple of days cracking the low 40’s (mostly this coming weekend, 11/3-11/5) expect surface temps to crawl down into low to mid-40’s. Live bait and slow retrieves the key. Rod guides and reels freezing up, bring extra reels! Warm clothes, gloves, hats and tall boots to access landings with no docks.
We all knew it would happen but we're never ready or accepting of it. Cold and snow. Yes it did snow this morning and its after noon and it's still on my deck. Yuck. First thing that comes to mind when this happens is please be careful walking around in you boat. It won't take much for a slick spot to put you on your butt. Ouch! Looking out over the next couple of weeks the weather man's guesstimations are for lows in the low 20's and highs in the low 30's. That'll help bring down those water temps from their current middle and upper 40's. (Please don't start calling the shop yet asking for ice conditions).
Fishing is still pretty good. We had one heck of a rain day last Wednesday which really put the flowages and rivers on the rise. The Rainbow has risen over 2.5' since Wednesday, now down 7.5'. I was out with clients on Thursday and you could watch the sand bars disappearing. I've never found the fishing to be to good when there is a quick big change in depth on the flowages. We got our fish that day but they were spooky. You couldn't only get within about 50' of them. The Livescope came in handy again. We had to throw slip bobbers at them cuz they just wouldn't stay close.
It seems that almost all of the lakes are done turning over. If I was going to choose a lake to fish now it would be a smaller one that has turned over at least a week or so ago. The smaller lake would have a better chance of holding fish that are acclimated to the change by now.
Not much has changed as far as baits used or how species of fish are reacting to those baits. It's still a mixed bag and not real normal. Maybe this flow of colder weather will take care of some of that and we can get into some kind of consistent late fall pattern.
If you can stand it, get out there. You'll probably be alone and have the fish all to yourself. Be safe in you boat as well as driving your boat. This is a fantastic time of year to bag the big one. Get in the photo!
------------
All 13 Fishing reels in stock are 50% off while supplies last.
We have plenty of musky sucker right now. M-$10 L-$13 and XL $15
We continue our change of inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday and Sunday 6am to 5pm
Let's continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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 Guides
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
715-892-2751 cell
Saturday 10/28/23
Fishing is still pretty good. We had one heck of a rain day last Wednesday which really put the flowages and rivers on the rise. The Rainbow has risen over 2.5' since Wednesday, now down 7.5'. I was out with clients on Thursday and you could watch the sand bars disappearing. I've never found the fishing to be to good when there is a quick big change in depth on the flowages. We got our fish that day but they were spooky. You couldn't only get within about 50' of them. The Livescope came in handy again. We had to throw slip bobbers at them cuz they just wouldn't stay close.
It seems that almost all of the lakes are done turning over. If I was going to choose a lake to fish now it would be a smaller one that has turned over at least a week or so ago. The smaller lake would have a better chance of holding fish that are acclimated to the change by now.
Not much has changed as far as baits used or how species of fish are reacting to those baits. It's still a mixed bag and not real normal. Maybe this flow of colder weather will take care of some of that and we can get into some kind of consistent late fall pattern.
If you can stand it, get out there. You'll probably be alone and have the fish all to yourself. Be safe in you boat as well as driving your boat. This is a fantastic time of year to bag the big one. Get in the photo!
------------
All 13 Fishing reels in stock are 50% off while supplies last.
We have plenty of musky sucker right now. M-$10 L-$13 and XL $15
We continue our change of inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday and Sunday 6am to 5pm
Let's continue to squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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 Guides
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
715-892-2751 cell
Saturday 10/28/23
Working through the last quarter of October. Still a lot of leaves from the birch and poplar on trees giving a golden hue to the landscape. Lake temps have leveled off in the 48–52 degree range. Fishing pressure has been light again as the forecast seems to have kept anglers off the lakes, though conditions once again were not as bad as predicted.
Musky: Good – Not as good as expected for this time of year. Still some fish being caught very shallow (3-5’) using jerkbaits (Suicks) and jointed cranks! While others being found out past existing weeds in 18-30’ of water taking live suckers, heavy gliders (Smitty Dogs) and rubber (Madussa). Not a lot of follows seen or reported. While others were surely caught, largest reported was by Kurt Blaiser of St. Germain with a 48” on a Smity rigged sucker.
Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – While most reports coming from anglers targeting Walleyes, it’s been hard to ignore the reports of Smallies feeding on gravel humps in 18-30’ of water. Most caught on chubs and jigs, but drop-shotting 3” Gulp Alive Minnows, ¼ oz tubes also effective. Though tops was a 6# fish caught on a Suick while Musky fishing.
Walleye: Good – Deep gravel humps and some transition mud best using chubs or large fatheads. Depths of 18 to as deep as 40’. Caution pulling fish over 27+ feet advised. Short hook set and slow retrieve.
Crappie: Fair – Bite slowed as did # of anglers targeting. On afternoons when sun came out, bite improved using medium fatheads.
Largemouth Bass: Fair – Not many, though the few that were caught ran large (17-20”) and heavy. Green cabbage in 8-12’ when found.
Forecast has highs in upper 50’s with rain through Friday (10/27) then falling through the weekend. Lows in the low 20’s with highs from Sunday (10/29) through Tuesday (10/31) to go 38 to 31 degrees. Six cold mornings from 10/28 to 11/2 will bring temps well down into the 40’s by the weekend of November 4th. Time for the (Fool?) Hardy!
Musky: Good – Not as good as expected for this time of year. Still some fish being caught very shallow (3-5’) using jerkbaits (Suicks) and jointed cranks! While others being found out past existing weeds in 18-30’ of water taking live suckers, heavy gliders (Smitty Dogs) and rubber (Madussa). Not a lot of follows seen or reported. While others were surely caught, largest reported was by Kurt Blaiser of St. Germain with a 48” on a Smity rigged sucker.
Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – While most reports coming from anglers targeting Walleyes, it’s been hard to ignore the reports of Smallies feeding on gravel humps in 18-30’ of water. Most caught on chubs and jigs, but drop-shotting 3” Gulp Alive Minnows, ¼ oz tubes also effective. Though tops was a 6# fish caught on a Suick while Musky fishing.
Walleye: Good – Deep gravel humps and some transition mud best using chubs or large fatheads. Depths of 18 to as deep as 40’. Caution pulling fish over 27+ feet advised. Short hook set and slow retrieve.
Crappie: Fair – Bite slowed as did # of anglers targeting. On afternoons when sun came out, bite improved using medium fatheads.
Largemouth Bass: Fair – Not many, though the few that were caught ran large (17-20”) and heavy. Green cabbage in 8-12’ when found.
Forecast has highs in upper 50’s with rain through Friday (10/27) then falling through the weekend. Lows in the low 20’s with highs from Sunday (10/29) through Tuesday (10/31) to go 38 to 31 degrees. Six cold mornings from 10/28 to 11/2 will bring temps well down into the 40’s by the weekend of November 4th. Time for the (Fool?) Hardy!
Can you hear it? I can. The fish are making reservations for the fall feed. Turnover is almost done everywhere. Most water temps are in the low 50's. Forecasts are mostly highs in the low 50s and lows in the low 40s to upper 30s. Its about time, eh.
We are still pounding the crappies and walleyes on lakes that have turned and the flowages. All crappie and walleye along with the perch are hugging the bottom.. Some are suspended but those don't seem to be hungry.
Musky fishermen are taking advantage of the sucker bite right now. Also smaller bucktails and jerk baits are productive.
It's nice and quiet out there so take advantage and hit the water and catch one that you'll take a photo of and then pester everyone you know by showing it to them. Yeah! Like Tommy used to say, "Gotta go! I hear a Walleye callin' me!"
We have plenty of musky sucker right now. M-$10 L-$13 and XL $15
------------
All 13 Fishing reels in stock are 50% off while supplies last.
We continue our change of inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday 6am to 5pm
Let's squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
715-892-2751 cell
Friday 10/20/23
We are still pounding the crappies and walleyes on lakes that have turned and the flowages. All crappie and walleye along with the perch are hugging the bottom.. Some are suspended but those don't seem to be hungry.
Musky fishermen are taking advantage of the sucker bite right now. Also smaller bucktails and jerk baits are productive.
It's nice and quiet out there so take advantage and hit the water and catch one that you'll take a photo of and then pester everyone you know by showing it to them. Yeah! Like Tommy used to say, "Gotta go! I hear a Walleye callin' me!"
We have plenty of musky sucker right now. M-$10 L-$13 and XL $15
------------
All 13 Fishing reels in stock are 50% off while supplies last.
We continue our change of inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday 6am to 5pm
Let's squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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
www.DeweyCatchemAndHow.com
715-892-2751 cell
Friday 10/20/23
At the halfway point of October, conditions are about as normal as we used to see for this time of year. Most lakes have, or are in midst of turn-over. Lake surface temps checked over the past four days have ranged from as low as 48 degrees to a more average 53-55 degrees. This has scattered certain species of fish as is to be expected, other species have picked up the pace.
Due to rough weather, mostly wind and cold, few species were targeted this past week.
Musky: Good-Very Good – The sucker bite is under way in a big way! A recent Musky “challenge” had 40 Musky recorded in one day with 90% of the fish boated on suckers. Jerk baits and jointed cranks scored the rest. With most lake temps running 53-55 degrees, there was still a surprisingly shallow bite, some as shallow as 2-3’. On small, but deep lakes, Skies found suspended 15-20’ down in 25-35’ of water.
Walleye: Fair – Very scattered following turn-over. Be ready to check a lot of spots. Live bait on jigs/Lindy rigs out producing jigging Raps and Shiver Minnows right now. Gravel, rock, mud – depth of 16-35’ or more. Be patient and willing to move.
Crappie: Fair – Wind made holding position tough. Crappies on lakes also scattered. Flowage fish relating to river channel wood.
With forecast of lows in 40’s to highs in mid-50’s should keep lake temps holding into low 50’s. Good enough to pattern some good fall fishing for the next week.
Due to rough weather, mostly wind and cold, few species were targeted this past week.
Musky: Good-Very Good – The sucker bite is under way in a big way! A recent Musky “challenge” had 40 Musky recorded in one day with 90% of the fish boated on suckers. Jerk baits and jointed cranks scored the rest. With most lake temps running 53-55 degrees, there was still a surprisingly shallow bite, some as shallow as 2-3’. On small, but deep lakes, Skies found suspended 15-20’ down in 25-35’ of water.
Walleye: Fair – Very scattered following turn-over. Be ready to check a lot of spots. Live bait on jigs/Lindy rigs out producing jigging Raps and Shiver Minnows right now. Gravel, rock, mud – depth of 16-35’ or more. Be patient and willing to move.
Crappie: Fair – Wind made holding position tough. Crappies on lakes also scattered. Flowage fish relating to river channel wood.
With forecast of lows in 40’s to highs in mid-50’s should keep lake temps holding into low 50’s. Good enough to pattern some good fall fishing for the next week.
Still good news on the fishing front. I haven't cleaned this many Walleye in a while. And the Crappie are mega sized. But is it like this everywhere? No. The good news and bad news about the northwoods is there are a ton of lakes to choose from. The bad news about this is the fishing report this time of year will very greatly depending on what type of water you are on. The flowages are on fire for Walleye, Perch and Crappie. The waters are low so be careful. The method for catching these critters on the flowages varies greatly depending on the weather. Take crawlers, medium and XL fatheads, small plastics and small cranks and one of those should work at sometime during the day.
Big clear waters are tough right now. One of our customers showed me a MegaLive shot showing piles of fish that he just couldn't get to bite on Fence Lake. That's the frustrating part about MegaLive (Humminbird) and LiveScope (Garmin). They show you just how many fish are down there ignoring you!
The smaller lakes are doing very well. It is that time of year to look for the deepest spots in those smaller lakes for fish trying to stay outa the sun. Look for baitfish balls and that's where you'll find the fish. Again, take crawlers, medium and XL fatheads, small plastics and small cranks and one of those should work at sometime during the day.
The biggest thing holding back fishing on most of the lakes is waiting for turnover to disperse the oxygen in the winter. Water temps are in the upper 50's in most places so it is close. A few days after turn over occurs, again depending on the lake, find the deepest spots in the lake to find the fish.
And I know a few of you are thinking, "that's not true on our lake". And you're probably right because not any two lakes are gonna be exactly the same. And this year especially. But generalities do exist and they are a good starting point. Go get 'em y'all. Nasty weather coming in for a bit but that always seems to turn the bite on higher!
------------
We are just starting to change inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Redtails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday 6am to 5pm
Let's squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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.com
715-892-2751 cell
Thursday 10/12/23
Big clear waters are tough right now. One of our customers showed me a MegaLive shot showing piles of fish that he just couldn't get to bite on Fence Lake. That's the frustrating part about MegaLive (Humminbird) and LiveScope (Garmin). They show you just how many fish are down there ignoring you!
The smaller lakes are doing very well. It is that time of year to look for the deepest spots in those smaller lakes for fish trying to stay outa the sun. Look for baitfish balls and that's where you'll find the fish. Again, take crawlers, medium and XL fatheads, small plastics and small cranks and one of those should work at sometime during the day.
The biggest thing holding back fishing on most of the lakes is waiting for turnover to disperse the oxygen in the winter. Water temps are in the upper 50's in most places so it is close. A few days after turn over occurs, again depending on the lake, find the deepest spots in the lake to find the fish.
And I know a few of you are thinking, "that's not true on our lake". And you're probably right because not any two lakes are gonna be exactly the same. And this year especially. But generalities do exist and they are a good starting point. Go get 'em y'all. Nasty weather coming in for a bit but that always seems to turn the bite on higher!
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We are just starting to change inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Redtails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 7pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday 6am to 5pm
Let's squelch a few rumors. The shop is for sale. Business is great but Linda and I are ready to ease into retirement. 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.com
715-892-2751 cell
Thursday 10/12/23
Looks as if we are into a typical October, unlike last year’s Augtober. Temps for the next two weeks forecasted to barely break fifty, mostly mid to upper 40’s. Lows in the mid-30’s to lower 40’s. We lost, on average, 8-10 degrees of surface temp since last week’s highs of 68 degrees, getting close to turn-over time on some lakes by this weekend. With these temps and the focus on certain fall species, the report is as follows…
Musky: Good-Very Good – With water temps dropping, the sucker bite has picked up. Fish still relatively shallow on suckers (8-14’). With all the wind (and rain) the top-water bite seemed to have fallen off (when turn-over hits I typically put them away) but bucktails were still scoring in water as shallow as 3’! Report from guide Jake Smith holding a low 40” fish caught on a Smity Large Jointed Crank, just this am (10/10) with reports of surface temp at 56 degrees shows just how close we are to turn-over. It will be gliders, jerks, twitches and suckers this weekend!
Walleye: Good-Fair – With noticeable thermoclines on many lakes about to break (due to turn-over) Walleye locations that have been relating to gravel/mud transitions of 18-30’ could break open into deeper depths. So far chubs and suckers on 1/4 – 3/8 oz jigs or fished Lindy rig style as well as Shiver Minnows and Jigging Raps have produced. Some Walleyes weed related, but could change for a while after turn-over. Check out deep mud of 30-40’, but be slow on presentation and especially bringing up fish from such depths. Flowage Walleyes relating to wood, but all are low. Even the Turtle Flambeau Flowage is lower than usual.
Crappie: Good-Fair – While some anglers on lakes have been reporting nice catches of very shallow cabbage 3-6’, using 1” Berkley Gulp Alive Minnows, that bite will probably peter out with cold. Drowned wood, cribs have been holding Crappies for anglers using medium fatheads.
Northern Pike: Good-Fair – Active with cooler temps. Mepps #4 spinners, spinnerbaits and live chubs or suckers on jigs. Keep eye on bays with green weeds of 6-10’
Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Relating to outside weed edges taking medium fats or 1/2 crawlers on slip-float rigs or 1/16 oz weedless jigs.
Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – Gravel humps of 18-30’. Ned rigs, drop-shot rigs with 3” Gulp Minnows producing some decent catches.
Bluegill and Largemouth – No report
With turn-over approaching, anglers should not be afraid to continue fishing here in the Northwoods. All lakes don’t turn at the same time and there are always lakes that don’t (too shallow - less than 24’ or Flowages with moving water that won’t stratify) or haven’t (large lakes take longer).
It’s definitely sucker time for you Musky anglers. Action typically best when water is in 50’s to low 60’s so take advantage.
Musky: Good-Very Good – With water temps dropping, the sucker bite has picked up. Fish still relatively shallow on suckers (8-14’). With all the wind (and rain) the top-water bite seemed to have fallen off (when turn-over hits I typically put them away) but bucktails were still scoring in water as shallow as 3’! Report from guide Jake Smith holding a low 40” fish caught on a Smity Large Jointed Crank, just this am (10/10) with reports of surface temp at 56 degrees shows just how close we are to turn-over. It will be gliders, jerks, twitches and suckers this weekend!
Walleye: Good-Fair – With noticeable thermoclines on many lakes about to break (due to turn-over) Walleye locations that have been relating to gravel/mud transitions of 18-30’ could break open into deeper depths. So far chubs and suckers on 1/4 – 3/8 oz jigs or fished Lindy rig style as well as Shiver Minnows and Jigging Raps have produced. Some Walleyes weed related, but could change for a while after turn-over. Check out deep mud of 30-40’, but be slow on presentation and especially bringing up fish from such depths. Flowage Walleyes relating to wood, but all are low. Even the Turtle Flambeau Flowage is lower than usual.
Crappie: Good-Fair – While some anglers on lakes have been reporting nice catches of very shallow cabbage 3-6’, using 1” Berkley Gulp Alive Minnows, that bite will probably peter out with cold. Drowned wood, cribs have been holding Crappies for anglers using medium fatheads.
Northern Pike: Good-Fair – Active with cooler temps. Mepps #4 spinners, spinnerbaits and live chubs or suckers on jigs. Keep eye on bays with green weeds of 6-10’
Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Relating to outside weed edges taking medium fats or 1/2 crawlers on slip-float rigs or 1/16 oz weedless jigs.
Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – Gravel humps of 18-30’. Ned rigs, drop-shot rigs with 3” Gulp Minnows producing some decent catches.
Bluegill and Largemouth – No report
With turn-over approaching, anglers should not be afraid to continue fishing here in the Northwoods. All lakes don’t turn at the same time and there are always lakes that don’t (too shallow - less than 24’ or Flowages with moving water that won’t stratify) or haven’t (large lakes take longer).
It’s definitely sucker time for you Musky anglers. Action typically best when water is in 50’s to low 60’s so take advantage.
Still good news on the fishing front. But different. I've been hearing a lot of folks say they are having a real tough time catching fish right now. I even read one report where a guy said they fished for 5 days and almost caught nothing. I get how that can happen but normally when it does it's because you aren't being flexible in your methods. A good example follows. A buddy of mine went out a couple of days ago and we agreed that clear blue skies, very warm weather in early October are not a good combo for fishing success. We headed for where we thought the fish would be and there were very few if any on those spots. We kept looking and after searching another dozen spots we found fish right on the edge of the river channel buried in the wood and mud. That's not where they are suppose to be at this time of year but hey, who am I to argue. For the next hour we caught a dozen walleye, 2 keepers, couple nice crappie, and four keeper perch over 11 inches. And we saw 10 times that many on the Livescope so it's not like they were on fire. So it took a while but we kept looking and finally found them. That's what you have to do this time of year. Oh, and BTW, almost all of the fish were caught on crawlers and 1/32 jigs. My buddy was using 1/16 oz jigs so he spent a lot of time getting snagged and retying. Tee hee.
We're gonna take a couple of days off from fishing as the winds are gonna be up to 20mph and rainy and around 50 degrees. Icky-poo. But back at it on Saturdays. This colder weather should really help get the fish back to some of their normal haunts, I hope. But if it doesn't we'll chase them somewhere else till we find them.
The fish are still french-kissing cover right now. Stumps, rocks and weeds are their haunts. Again on the Livescope, we watched fish hugging the stumps and they would not venture out more than a foot or so for the bait. Precision casting was key. Also deep weed edges next to deeper water is working well. Keep moving until you find a school or two.
Walleyes are hugging the bottom in wood and rocks, crappie are suspended about half way down and bluegills, perch and sunfish are searching the bottom for food. One day we found crappie in 32 fow on the bottom but they were very bashful.
Musky are still all over the place, shallow, deep, rocks and weeds. Not many but some real nice ones are being caught. The musky suckers are starting to prove to be worthy bait. I had someone come in the shop the other day and mention that he was told that suckers are scarce. First I've heard of that but we sure have plenty. M/L/XL $10/13/14 respectively.
In general the flowages are very productive but watch yourself. Water levels are around 10-12' below normal so don't let that rock, stump or sandbar get you! Just navigate the river channels and look for cover a fish might like.
Pretty warm temps are on their way out. Normal highs in the 50's are starting. A little rain, a little sun, should put the pee and vinegar back into the fish activity. So hit the water! And while your at it, take the kids out, find a deep weed edge and enjoy the smiles.
------------
We are just starting to change inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Redtails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 8pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday 6am to 5pm
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.com
715-892-2751 cell
[email protected]
Thursday 10/5/23
We're gonna take a couple of days off from fishing as the winds are gonna be up to 20mph and rainy and around 50 degrees. Icky-poo. But back at it on Saturdays. This colder weather should really help get the fish back to some of their normal haunts, I hope. But if it doesn't we'll chase them somewhere else till we find them.
The fish are still french-kissing cover right now. Stumps, rocks and weeds are their haunts. Again on the Livescope, we watched fish hugging the stumps and they would not venture out more than a foot or so for the bait. Precision casting was key. Also deep weed edges next to deeper water is working well. Keep moving until you find a school or two.
Walleyes are hugging the bottom in wood and rocks, crappie are suspended about half way down and bluegills, perch and sunfish are searching the bottom for food. One day we found crappie in 32 fow on the bottom but they were very bashful.
Musky are still all over the place, shallow, deep, rocks and weeds. Not many but some real nice ones are being caught. The musky suckers are starting to prove to be worthy bait. I had someone come in the shop the other day and mention that he was told that suckers are scarce. First I've heard of that but we sure have plenty. M/L/XL $10/13/14 respectively.
In general the flowages are very productive but watch yourself. Water levels are around 10-12' below normal so don't let that rock, stump or sandbar get you! Just navigate the river channels and look for cover a fish might like.
Pretty warm temps are on their way out. Normal highs in the 50's are starting. A little rain, a little sun, should put the pee and vinegar back into the fish activity. So hit the water! And while your at it, take the kids out, find a deep weed edge and enjoy the smiles.
------------
We are just starting to change inventory over from summer to winter. We also have a big WAREHOUSE WINTER PRE-SEASON SALE and an END OF SEASON SALE going on now. If you're thinking about a new Auger, Shelter, Flip-Over, Hub, clothing and/or any type of electronics, now may be the best time to buy them. Most items are at cost or below. See the web site for details. The sale is limited to items in stock, in-store or on the website. No special orders. Blackfish gear is still 20% off right now and now all CLAM Ice Armor gear is at least 20% off. The END OF SEASON SALE gets you at least 25% off pricing on Rods, Reels, Rod/Reel Combos, Beaver Dam Tip-Ups, Musky Lures and more items when you buy two or more.
Right now for live bait we have Jumbo Crawlers, Small crawlers, Panfish Worms, Wax worms, Crappie Minnows, Regular Fatheads, XL Fatheads, Blacktails, Redtails, Walleye Suckers, Northern bait, Medium, Large and XL Musky Suckers.
Our normal weekly hours are:
Monday thru Thursday from 7am to 6pm
Friday from 7am to 8pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday 6am to 5pm
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.com
715-892-2751 cell
[email protected]
Thursday 10/5/23
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