Chippewa Flowage Fishing Reports

[vman59]

Was up again this weekend as I am every weekend. Crappies and gills and perch are biting very well. Walleyes are hit or miss but the only thing I have seen that is somewhat consistent is the small walleye suckers under a slip bobber in deep wood. Now I fish the SE side where there is predominately deep water so i can't speak for the west side. If you use the walleyes suckers try and get the smallest ones you can seems to be what they prefer. Just a little bigger than a fathead. Hope it helps.

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi V-man,

Thanks for your report. I have Walleye suckers with as well as the fatheads and so far for me the fatheads have been producing. I like to use crawlers this time of year too. At times they will produce, I always have them along.

If I could get leeches, I would still be using them. They are always a good bait choice. With my system of fishing, I use three poles with three different bait options to see what the Walleyes want. I let them tell me what's for dinner. In my book "The Walleyemaxx System", I explain exactly how I go about finding and catching Walleyes by experimenting with the differing baits. Both live bait and artificials. To order your copy, click on the link to my HSOforum below and then the tab on the menu bar for the walleyemaxx system book. It's a good read. I see you own a bait shop in Haugen, email me , maybe we can set up a plan to sell my book through your bait shop. Good luck fishing.

Walleyemaxx

[Jarrid Houston]

Hey Tom,

Welcome aboard. Nice to see a fellow guide on the site providing reports. I guide the waters of NW WI - Douglas Cty (mostly). Always nice to network with others around the area. If anyone asks about the flowage, I will let em know about you, and I assume you can do the same for me. gd luck my man.....

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi Jarrid,

I agree that we should help each other. What is the name of your guide service so I can recommend you to people going up that way? You've been doing this for a long time now. That tells me you are successfull. Glad to be on this site with people like you and vman. I'll be making more and more reports as my guide business grows.

Thanks for your introduction. We'll have to meet up some time for a cold one. Maybe during a Packer game between ice fishing and the open water fishing.

Walleyemaxx

[Jarrid Houston]

Houston's Guide Service.

Cant watch the pack with you for I am a fan of the purple! haha

but I will make it out your way and hit you up sometime (if Im not to busy). Gd luck! and tight lines.

[Tom_Christianson]

Yikes on the vikes.Ha. We'll have to meet up and watch the Minn. Wild hockey. Good luck fishing.

Walleyemaxx

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've posted my 'tip of the month' for October. This month's tip talks about the post turn over pattern as well as the fall patterns. To view my tip, click on the link below to my HSOforum, then click on the tip of the month tab on the menu bar. Good luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx

[vman59]

Crappie fishing remains good as does blue gills. The Crappies are deep over 25ft(at least that has been my experience) and the gills have been 15ft-20ft. I Have been using a black tube jig with a white skirt tipped with a 1/4 piece of night crawler.

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Fished for about six hours yesterday and it was slow. A Northern and four Perch. Missed some hits, but otherwise it was very slow. I think the high Barometer with a perfect blue sky had something to do with it. At least we had a decent southwest wind making a little chop on the water.

Started out fishing the deep wood pattern again, but didn't catch any fish untill I moved to the deeper weeds. 7-10 feet. They were still green so they still hold fish. The water temps were 57 degrees. Not to much colder then last week. Caught the fish on jigs and minnows. I was trying to find Walleyes,but they were tight lipped.

Looks to be the same weather pattern today as it was yesterday but I'll be out trying to convince some Walleyes it's time for dinnner. Good luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday the weather was just knockdown gorgeous. Clear blue sky with warm temps after a cold morning, and just a gentle breeze from the South west in the A.M. that swithched to North West in the afternoon. The sun brought out the color on the trees and that was awsome.

The fishing wasn't to bad. The Walleyes started to wake up a little. I caught three and kept one. The Crappies were active as usuall. Caught ten and kept eight. caught some smallmouth Bass too and released them all. With the Crappie and Walleye I'll have a nice meal.

Caught all fish on jigs and minnows and slip bobbers baited with minnows. Tried a piece of crawler for a while, but nothing wanted that. caught all fish in the deep wood. Tried some weed spots, but nothing there. The water temps went up from Saturday to 61 degrees. With the light winds and bright sun forecaast today, I expect the water temps to keep rising. I also saw some bugs hatching. Small black bugs were landing and laying thier eggs by the thousands. That will make for some tough fishing, but I'll be out trying my luck. Good luck fishing everyone

Walleyemaxx

[vman59]

sorry i don't own a bait shop it belongs to a friend of mine.

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Spent about six hours fishing the Big Chip yesterday. Caught a mixed bag of Perch, LG Mouth Bass, and a couple of small Walleyes. Kept the Bass and Perch and released the small Walleyes. Caught them on jigs with minnows and crawlers. and on the slip bobbers baited the same. Fished a lot of weed areas that in the past have produced Walleyes for me, but again I didn't catch any Walleye untill I fished the deeper wood. I caught the Bass in the weeds. Perch and Walleye out deep.

The water temps started out at 58 degrees and were 62 when I left in early afternoon. We are in the midst of a warm beautifull fall. The air temps were in the high 70's. I haven't seen a cloud in three days now and the wind is almost nonexistent for most of the day. It blows from the SW, than switches to NE and back and forth, but so light it just makes a ripple on the water. The forecast is for the same weather pattern thru Sunday. With the color of the trees and the warm air temps, now is a good time to plan a trip up our way. The Walleyes are a little slow yet, but the Crappies and Perch are providing a lot of action.

There are mud bogs floating around now so keep an eye out for them. They just barely clear the surface. I posted a picture on my HSOforum of a mud bog with lots of seagulls on it. You get an idea how hard it can be to not see one if you're not carefull. Also pictured is a loon with a Crappie in it's beak. The Crappie is about 12" and the loon was having a hard time swallowing it. Hard to see the Crapie unless you zoom the picture in. Good luck fishing everyone.

V-man, sorry about the confusion. I saw the link at the bottom of your posts and assumed it was your bait shop.

Walleyemaxx

[RiverFish]

Thanks Tom for the reports. I mainly fish the Biron and Wisconsin Rapids Flowages, and I am reading your reports to pick up any info I can from you.

Great time of the year to be out fishing.

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi Riverfish,

With the leaves turning color and the warm temps, it is nice to get out and enjoy. I fear when the cold comes, it's gonna come fast and cold quick. So lets enjoy now. With the water temps going up and down like a yoyo the Walleyes are off thier feed. But it'll pick up soon. Good luck fishing.

Walleyemaxx

[DanM]

Hi Tom, I too appreciate your reports. I have been fishing the Chip since 1966, when my folks started vacationing at Clement’s Resort on Moore’s Bay. I have to say, this may have been the worse year for walleyes I have ever experienced on the Chip. We have a home on Lake Hayward which gives me the opportunity to fish the Chip and several other lakes in the area. We are leaving this evening for Hayward and I am debating to whether to give the Chip another try or go somewhere else. I fish the East side, any suggestions that might help a disheartened fan of the Chip would be appreciated.

Thanks, Dan

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi DanM,

Nice to hear from another old timer. I've been fishing the Big Chip since 1960. My uncle had a trailer at Hermans back then. My Dad Used that when I was a kid untill he put a trailer in at Tiger Musky in 1965. I've fished many different waters, but just love the Chippewa Flowage. Email me at [email protected]. I'll email you back some spots on the east side that have been producing for me this year. Good luck fishing.

Walleyemaxx

[vman59]

No problem Tom. Well back up to the camper this weekend chasing the crappies. I gave up on eyes on the east side been a tough year for them.

[Tom_Christianson]

Hey Vman,

I'll be looking for you. If you see me, stop and say hi. Always nice to talk about fishing in person. Where is your camper? In a park or do you have some land? Good luck fishing.

Walleyemaxx

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Got a late start today but wound up with a nice mixed bag of Walleyes, Crappies, Bass, and Perch.Caught fish right away than there was a big lull. Just as the sun hit the tree line, the Walleyes started banging away. In a brief flurry I boated four Walleyes and lost one at the boat. I kept one that measured 15" and released all the others. They were all basically the same size. Caught a mess of Crappies keeping six and kept two Perch.

Caught everything on minnows. Jigging and slip bobber. Caught Crappies at every spot I fished out in the deep wood. Got the Perch and Bass out deep too. The Walleyes I caught in a new spot I discovered last week but didn't get a chance to fish it. It is a 12 foot bar that has wood and rocks on it that drops off into twentytwo feet. I saw fish suspended around it and caught the alleyes on top of it. Those are the most active Walleyes I've seen for awhile. I'm going to keep an eye on that spot.

The weather was absolutly gorgeous. Warm with a filtered sunshine. The air temps were in the low 80's to high 70's. the wind was strong out of the Southwest, but felt good with the hot sunny day. The wind was strong enough that it prevented me from fishing where I wanted to most of the day. I had to find places out of the wind. Toward evening it still was brisk, but I was still able to fish my new spot. The water temps started out at 59 degrees and were 60 when I called it an evening.

The fall colors are now past thier peak, but the weather is forecasted to be warm for awhile yet, so be sure to make some time to come up and enjoy the northwoods. Good luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx

[vman59]

Was up for the last weekend. Didn't even bother trying for eyes haven't been into them sine Labor day weekend. Did very well on crappie's and gills. Most suspended over cribs over close by. Also picked some crappies up on some humps I fish allot. Two-tone green tube jig tipped with a piece of crawler has been producing the best for me. Caught allot of different age class gills and crappies which is always good to see. Closed up the camper and done for the season got bow hunting to do now , freezer is full of fish now the venison. Good luck to all who still are at it on the Chip!

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Fished the morning thru afternoon Sunday. No Walleyes, but a lot of Perch and a blugill. It was slow going for most of the morning. I jigged all the usuall spots with very little action. There was almost no wind with lots of sunshine. I fished a lot of the deep wood, but nobody home. So I went to some weed spots. I finally caught a Perch. There happens to be a big soft bottom flats adjacent to the weeds, and with the wind just barely making a ripple on the water, I drifted for Perch. I drifted a 1/16th ounce jig with a half a crawler hooked wacky style. That did the trick. I caught numerous Perch for an hour and a half. I kept just 8 for the table and released the rest.

With a desire to watch 'da' Packers, and having fish to clean first, I called it a day. I wasn't disappointed by the Packers, and have a nice fish dinner to boot. Doesn't get any better than that.

The air temps were 82 degrees when I left, and the water temps started at 61 degrees in the morning and were 64 degrees when I left. There was very little wind and in fact when I was drifting, the wind just died for stretches at a time then would kick up and barely move the boat. It was a northeast wind when it did blow, but a very light wind.

The trees are past thier color peak, but there is still some leaves yet to turn, and the weather is forecast to stay beautifull for another week or so, and the panfish and muskies are providing a lot of action now. The Walleyes will pick up once the water starts to cool down, so make plans to come up and enjoy our neck of the woods. Email me and we'll make plans to fish the beautifull Chippewa Flowage. Good luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx

[vman59]

Had two very nice musky's come up and take a look at crappies I was getting. One was extremely nice approx 50 inch or better, just floated and the surface next to the boat for a few seconds. Almost long enough to get my camera but not long enough. The other was in the lower 40's.Saw the big one in the thorough fair( the narrows going from Pete's bar area south down towards the church bars) when fishing some humps.

Be careful out there the water is low so use common sense..

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

It was tough battling the high winds today. No Walleyes, but lots of Perch and a LG Bass. It was a case of not being able to fish where you want, but rather where you could. Winds were strong out of the Northwest with gusts up to 40 mph. Air temps were high 40's -low 50's. the water temps are down to 58 degrees, and the algae bloom is still going strong. It was cloudy most of the day with some sunshine poking thru now and again.

Caught the fish on jig and minnows and crawlers. Nothing would touch the slip bobber rigs. Fished mainly weed areas because I coud not hold with the anchor in the wind over my deep wood spots. Obviously, the Walleyes are still deep. Hopefully tommorow I'll be able to fish where I want. Good luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx

[Tom_Christianson]

Hi everyone,

Another windy day on the water again. Same as yesterday, I couldn't fish where I wanted,but where I could. The waves from the extreme NorthWest wind reminded me of the deadliest catch. The white caps were really rolling.

I wound up the day catching a lot of fish. Kept 19 Crappies and a perch. caught and released a small Walleye barely bigger than the perch. caught all the fish on jig and minnows and slip bobber and minnows. I'm fishing with large fatheads and just nailing the Crappies. A buddy of mine told me of a good method for crappies, but all you have to do is fish for Walleyes and you'll catch all the crappies you want.

The water temps are down to 56 degrees now. Air temps were high 40's with that cold NW wind. Partly cloudy all day with no rain. Just a terrible wind. Hopeing tomorow brings a lot less wind. Good luck fishing everyone.

Walleyemaxx

[vman59]

Went up today and put the camper in storage and brought the boat home for the season. DNR is out shocking and they shock a pretty good number of walleyes, not sure the exact figure Just what I heard at sisko's. Only age class that were few and far between from what I heard was the 7-8 inch eyes very very few of them but good numbers of the rest of the age class's. time to sit back and wait for hard water.