fishing reports St. Croix River-Amery-Balsam-Big Round-Wapo-Turtle Fishing Reports

[Nick Kuhn]

I've only ever done the ice fishing contest out there. I don't target bass too often, and if I do I go to lakes that are a little closer because the all seem to put out decent fish. I think it has Eurasian milfoil which helps it stay fairly clear. The pattern in that part of Wisconsin for clear lakes + Eurasian milfoil seems to be higher numbers of bass but smaller fish. But again, I have no experience targeting bass in open water out there so it could be different. And to be quite frank I hate fishing milfoil so I probably never will hit that lake for anything but the contest.

[Nick Kuhn]

Got out again last weekend. Water temp was down to 58 degrees. It looks as though panfish have shifted out to deeper water. Lot's of marks more than 20 feet down off of points in 30 FoW. Muskies were the name of the game for the weekend again. Small pike were to be found everywhere in the shallow, still alive weeds (coontail and cabbage seem to be still green, milfoil is dead). Tried trolling for them deep among the smaller fish we were marking but that was fruitless. Casting over deep water also wasn't triggering anything. The only 2 sightings came on topwaters over the weeds right at sunset. One fish missed completely, the other I had on briefly before I paid the price for having dull hooks on my topraider. May be a while before I get out in Wisconsin again. But I will be fishing the metro this weekend, hopefully hooking more than small pike.

[Nick Kuhn]

Made it out this weekend. Fishing was good Saturday, boated a muskie on a big tube in a neck down area. My buddies were out in the area and really got into the perch off the first break line. Sunday was much slower, didn't see a muskie and marked hardly any fish for that matter. As calm as it was I expected to see some baitfish activity, but none was to be seen. Not sure where they went, water was down to 52 degrees (possibly turnover conditions), and most weeds are kicking the bucket. I'm expecting most fish to head out deeper or hang around cribs from here to ice up, maybe venturing to any weeds that stay alive for a quick feed.

[Nick Kuhn]

What great weather we had for opener. Saturday was a little breezy, but Sunday was picture perfect. I would guess water temperatures were mid-50's, but my opener mishap this year was forgetting the head unit for the fish-finder home. That wasn't too much of an issue though, as the fish-finder between the ears was working. Weeds were coming in nicely, and fish were actively using them to feed. Lot's of action from pike and walleye on jerkbaits right along the developing weed edges. Pulled most of them out of what I would guess was 4 to 5 feet of water. Most other fishermen were out deeper, didn't ask if they were having any luck. Didn't catch many bass. Saw a few on beds so for the most part left them alone, but did get a few to hit in some very skinny water (maybe 10 feet from shore is all). I'm unsure of how far along in the spawning process they are, so I can't tell you when they will venture out to more typical haunts. Sunfish and crappies were all up in the weeds, and with the calm Sunday you could see them feeding at the surface.

 

 

[Sinker]

 Thanks for the report Nick. Looks nice to be on the water again. Still chasing turkeys myself. Good Luck.

[Nick Kuhn]

Was out last weekend and still found fish in very shallow water. Most action coming in 5 feet or less. The wind helps the bite considerably (as the cover isn't very thick), so use the wind to your advantage. Unfortunately Saturday was dead calm and made things tough until lowlight. Water temps are rising fast, I had upper 60's to around 70 this weekend. Bass still appear to be bedding.

[Nick Kuhn]

Made it out last weekend. Did a full day of muskie fishing Saturday, and a little in the morning Sunday. Water temps were 75-78. Saturday moved quite a few fish off deep weed edges. Lot's of lazy follows low in the column, but a couple seemed a little more interested. Slow moving baits seemed to get attention, fast moving stuff was ignored. Wasn't able to trigger any strikes, but fish were following on a pretty regular basis. Sunday morning didn't move a thing. Not sure if the wind kicking up or the heat turned them off.

[Nick Kuhn]

Was up for the 4th. Didn't get any muskie fishing in, too many guests at the lake. Did take the nieces out though, fishing was rather tough with all the traffic (and my skills with a 2 foot Barbie pole aren't so great). Fish have definitely moved to summer haunts. Perch were found out on the deep flats, and the one walleye I caught was there too. Did pull some quality gills (9.5") and crappies (11.5") off the deepest weeds I could find. Bass were up in the slop as they normally are on our lake. Had one decent pike on that straightened a hook out on me: again on the deepest weeds I could find.

 

[Sinker]

 Thanks for the report Nick. Nice to see kids fishing these days. Looks like they had fun.

[Nick Kuhn]

Was out chasing muskies over the weekend. Water temps were around 74 degrees. Action was extremely difficult to find. Had one fish come up and miss a glidebait, looked like it came from straight below down in the weeds. Otherwise nothing to report on the muskie front. Marked a lot of fish suspended at 20 feet in roughly 30 feet of water, and they didn't move all day. Tried trolling over the top to no avail. My guess is heavy rain (all the rivers and streams were very high) and inconsistent weather has the fish hunkered down deep. I did manage a few bass off the docks though in the short time I used a smaller rod. If you want action, especially with the heat this week, that is probably the best species to target.

[Nick Kuhn]

Finally got back on the water after a month of missing out. Water temperatures are holding in the upper 70's, at least this weekend with the light winds allowing the surface to really warm up. Target species was muskies this weekend, and they seemed fairly active. Raised several fish on glidebaits and shallow jerkbaits Saturday. Fish seemed cautious as they wouldn't follow and made short strikes at the lures. My dad managed to hook a dink, but the other fish couldn't find the hooks. Fish were sitting on the break outside of weeds. Sunday the bright sun and light wind seemed to push the fish down. Couldn't raise anything casting. Opted to troll, and boated a 39" trolling along the dropoffs were the bottom met the thermocline. Also remember to upgrade to a coated or protected net: this fish clearly had a bad experience with a net in the past.

 

 

[Nick Kuhn]

Finally made it out fishing again (been a long time). Went after muskies. Fish were predictably found in and near still green weeds. They would chase practically anything, just couldn't trigger them. Water is in the upper 50's, so turnover should be occurring soon. Might be time to drag around suckers to trigger those shy fish.

[Nick Kuhn]

Made it out again Saturday. The water had turned but the muskies didn't seem to mind. Found them in similar but different locations (baitfish seem to be patrolling the shallows searching for food). Stuck a small one myself and my brother got a nice 41.5" that was thickening up for fall. A lot of people dragging suckers, and buoys are starting to disappear from the lakes so be careful navigating.

[JBMasterAngler]

Any area ice reports, particularly apple river flowage? Might give it a try this weekend. 

[Nick Kuhn]

I'm hearing 7 to 8 inches in the area from a friend, but he hasn't been on the flowage. 

[JBMasterAngler]

Made it out there today. Ice was 7 inches, however, the top third was frozen slush. Didn't even need to use my auger, as none of the holes from previous anglers had frozen. Caught about a dozen sunnies. Not potato chips, but not quite keepers either. Nothing on tip ups. Wind blew me off the lake after a couple hours. Looks to be a good lake to explore with better weather and ice conditions.

[Sinker]

 Thanks for the report. I don't fish the Apple but now I have an idea about the ice conditions in general. Good Luck!

[Nick Kuhn]

Made it out for opener this weekend. Water temperature was around 56 both days. A cool front and bright blue skies seemed to slow the bite for everything except the pike. Pike were active and aggressive along developing weedlines. I could see small panfish schooling over the curly-leaf patches that had already grown in. We caught a few bass off the inside edge of the weeds, but nothing to write home about. For the first opener in quite a few years I did not catch a walleye. It appears an early Spring may have them a little later into their pattern than normal. Saw one angler catch a small one with a jig and minnow off a windswept point in about 14 feet of water. Marked a few fish deep on the windy side, but couldn't get any of them to bite on artificials. Weed growth is somewhat erratic as well this year. Some areas are growing in quite well, others that you would figure to have good growth by now are still barren. 

[Nick Kuhn]

Finally got on the water to do some more ambitious muskie fishermen. Water temps jumped from 58 Memorial Day all the way up to 72 this weekend. The rapid increase has bluegills bedding in the shallows. While I couldn't trigger any muskies, they weren't far behind in the shallow weeds. Bait choice didn't seem to matter, fish would follow off any kind of weedbed that wasn't curly-leaf. My dad did get a little dink on a small bucktail. Otherwise the fish seemed more curious than aggressive. The bright skies probably weren't helping matters. Expect lakes to start to green up quick now that the water has warmed. Also expect all form of biting insects to be out in full force.

[Nick Kuhn]

Got out over the long weekend. Water temps were in the lower 70's. This should be about the last weekend you will see curly-leaf pondweed alive. As a result, expect fish to shift deeper as the curly-leaf dies off. Panfish were active on nightcrawlers along the breaklines and just outside of them. Still seeing some bug hatches on the fishfinder, and small fish are swarming to those areas. Bass and pike could be taken off weedlines with a variety of casting techniques. Tried for muskies just one day, but boat traffic kept them tight lipped. Could get them to chase just about anything off the deep weed edges, but despite throwing pretty much the whole tackle box at them couldn't trigger any to bite. Hopefully that action picks up as the boaters give the lakes a break for a bit.

[Sinker]

 Thanks for the report Nick. Fished north of Hudson a few times this weekend but the boat traffic was pretty busy so not the best of luck for fish.

[Nick Kuhn]

Got back on the water for consecutive days for the 1st time since the 4th of July. Water temps are hovering in the low 70's. Bright blue skies and dead calm winds has been the weather for the past few Saturdays. This has made for some tough fishing. Muskies seem to have all but abandoned shallow water during those conditions. A substantial number of panfish can be seen sitting near the base off dropoffs, practically glued to the bottom. I've tried a variety of techniques to see if muskies are located down there, but during the day nothing has been working. What has worked is to wait and see when those panfish start to rise in the water column late in the day (right around sunset). At that time, motor to a favorite spot adjacent to deep water. For a short time there will be some active muskies. Topwater baits over deep weed edges produced one mid 30s fish for me, and a number of other near misses. All activity though has been between sunset and a half hour after sunset.

Pike however seem to be active all day. Look for them a little shallower, in the weeds just up from dropoffs. Bass fishermen also appeared to be having success punching the same weeds. Saw a crappie fishermen hammering them at low light over some cribs.

[Nick Kuhn]

Made it out for muskies last weekend. Water temp was around 64 degrees. Still lots of green weeds to be found. Still marking a fair number of panfish just off the first breakline. The larger fish were tougher to find. Saturday was relatively calm and made fishing very difficult. Worked all depths with all presentations with nothing to show for it. Sunday had more wind, and that helped a great deal. Active fish could be found on the deep weed edge in windy areas. Had several follows, bait didn't seem to matter. Picked up a dink and a 35" on a jerkbait, and had a third fish shred the tail on a phantom soft-tail (missed the hooks altogether). Erratic weather this coming week may curb the activity some.

[JBMasterAngler]

Fished apple river flowage yesterday. Ice ranged from 5 to 6.5 inches. There was some slush in places, but not too bad. Caught about 2 dozen sunnies, not too small, not too big. Nothing on tip ups. Are there even a lot of pike in the flowage? I know it’s a popular muskie lake.

[Nick Kuhn]

In the summer I catch a fair number of pike. I wouldn't say there are a lot of them, but you should be able to find some (or more likely find some bass). The thing is they bunch up in the shallows in the summer, places you likely wouldn't fish through the ice.