Wapo and Bear Trap Muskies

[WallyGator12000]

Anyone fish these lakes much? I am going up to a buddies cabin this weekend, we're going to be out all weekend...I'll post a report when I get back, but just wondering what the consensus on these lakes were about quality of muskie fishing...and if you wanted to throw in some tips, they are welcomed and appreciated, but certainly not expected

[DonBo]

If you really wanna catch fish here, stick to crappies.

[WallyGator12000]

So...crappie colored baits...check

[Nick Kuhn]

Well I've never fished it myself, but I fish the area a lot and do know a few things about the lake. Wapo was just very recently added to the stocking list IIRC, so any stocked fish will be less than 30" at this point. Prior to that it was a class C muskie lake, meaning some were in there but not many. I believe any fish that were in there were migrants, either coming upstream from the Apple River or downstream from Deer Lake. Maybe there eventually were enough for them to be established fairly well on there own, but I would bet against it. I'm not 100% certain this is correct information, but to the best of my knowledge that's the way it is.

Otherwise I did hear that bass were on a feeding frenzy in the lake (as of October 1st), but you know how quickly things can change.

[WallyGator12000]

Thanks for the solid info, I checked the DNR stocking reports and you were dead on, the lake just started the stocking program in '05. Instead we trailered the boat over to Deer...last night saw 1 fish up near the top chasing baitfish, couldn't get him to bite. My buddy caught a 44" on a topraider just a little further down the shore. The fish we saw were shallow. Of the 5 boats on the lake, saw one catch a fish, talked to two of the others and they both had follows, plus one caught another 42".

[upnorthtmh]

I have caught 6 muskies over the last 5 years in Wappo. Each time throwing spinners for bass. One was my first cast of the summer in 57 degree water. Really surprised me. Biggest was a 42 but all of them had real nice girth. I kind of stopped fishing the lake but will be going back now that I know they are stocking muskie. Anyone know how big the muskies are when they stock them?

[Nick Kuhn]

They throw them in during the fall at about 10 inches. Right now the one's they've stocked would only be in the 25" range. 2-3 more years and the stocked batch will be worth catching. I'm not saying bigger ones are impossible to catch, but it's not the lake in the area I would target for them. That may change in the future though. I'm sure it will be a largely untargeted species for a few years until it gains a better reputation in that lake, meaning they could be easier to catch.

[trimbelle22]

My Uncle caught a 50+" on Wapo/Bear Trap 20-30 years ago when there weren't supposed to be many in there..