fishing reports Yellow Lake Fishing Reports near Webster, WI

[Muskiemanzan13]

You can catch and release fish for sturgeon without the tag. The tag is only for harvest.

What Nick said. 

[AnderJA]

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/outdoors/fishing/3840616-13-year-old-hauls-whale-sturgeon-burnett-county-lake

 

holy hell that's monster 

[perch yerker]

"Last Saturday, they took the boat over to Yellow Lake in Burnett County, Wis."

Not that its a big secret to Sturgeon fisherman, but do we really need to name the lake, county, and show a map of how to get there and how to fish for them in the Duluth and Twin Cities papers?? 

What's happened to fisherman lore?

 

[DonBo]

It's a shark!' No, it's a 7-foot lake sturgeon caught by a Minnesota teen

By Sam Cook
Forum News Service

POSTED:   09/16/2015 12:01:00 AM CDT | UPDATED:   ABOUT 9 HOURS AGO

 

 

13-year-old David Jacobson of Garrison, Minn., kneels alongside the 86-inch lake sturgeon he caught on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, while fishing with his family on Yellow Lake in Wisconsin's Burnett County. Photo courtesy of the Erik Jacobson family

 

GARRISON, Minn. -- Thirteen-year-old David Jacobson of Garrison, Minn., had already caught a 57-inch muskie -- when he was 8.

Last Saturday, the Jacobson guys took the boat over to Yellow Lake in Burnett County, Wis., to see if someone could catch a lake sturgeon larger than David's muskie.

Oh, my, did they.

David, with plenty of help, caught a sturgeon that ranks among some of the largest ever taken in Wisconsin. The leviathan measured 86 inches long.

Nobody will ever know how much it weighed. The Jacobson clan released the fish and watched it swim back into the depths of Yellow Lake, between Danbury and Siren in northwestern Wisconsin. No girth measurement was taken.

Serious muskie anglers, the Jacobson gang had never been fishing for sturgeon before, said David's dad, Erik Jacobson.

"It was the first time we ever tried for them, as crazy as that sounds," he said. "We had all the gear. It was just a matter of changing the tackle at the end of the line."

Also along that day were Erik's dad, David Jacobson of Isle, Minn., and young David's brother, Noah, 10.

The half-hour battle to bring the fish aboard Erik's 20-foot Ranger included high drama when the sturgeon wrapped David's line around the anchor chain.

For perspective on the size of this fish, the Wisconsin state record lake sturgeon -- also caught in Yellow Lake, in 1979, was 79 inches long. It weighed 170 pounds, 10 ounces.

 

The largest Wisconsin sturgeon taken by spearing was 84.2 inches long and weighed 212 pounds.

Minnesota's record lake sturgeon, taken on the Kettle River in 1994, was 70 inches long and weighed 94 pounds, 4 ounces.

Ryan Koenigs, co-chairman of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' sturgeon team, said estimating the weight of big sturgeon based on their length is difficult.

"I'd have a hard time putting a weight on it," Koenigs said. "We have 80-inch fish that might range from 130 to 250-plus pounds."

THE FIGHT BEGINS

It was about 5 p.m. when the big sturgeon took a wad of nightcrawlers impaled on a 5/0 hook fished on the bottom in an area where the Jacobsons had seen a few sturgeon caught by other anglers.

David was first up to reel in a fish. Initially, his dad took the rod and set the hook when he heard the bait-casting reel clicking. The reel was spooled with braided muskie line and a 40-pound-test monofilament leader.

"It didn't feel that big to begin with," young David said. "But this was our first time sturgeon fishing. We had no idea how they fight or, by all means, how the big ones fight."

That soon changed.

"I thought the rod was going to come flying out of my hands," he said. "My grandpa evidently thought so, too, because he loosened the drag. That definitely helped."

Erik made a move to pull up the anchor, but he was too late. The fish already had wrapped the line around it.

"I could feel him making a run," Erik said. "I just fed him the anchor line. I have a 28-pound anchor. He took that thing and ran with it. It's amazing the line didn't break."

After David had gained back some line, Erik brought the anchor up and extricated it from the fishing line. He feared the fish would be gone, but as he played out line by hand, he could feel that it was still there.

"I told David to reel as fast as he could, and the fight was back on," Erik said.

The fight lasted about half an hour, Erik said. Several times, the sturgeon appeared near the boat. At one point, the 7-foot creature surfaced and rolled. On one pass near the boat, the fish tried to leap from the water, David said.

"It lunged out of the water but only got halfway out," he said. "Then my brother started screaming, 'It's a shark!' At that time, we knew it was a behemoth."

HOW TO LAND A STURGEON

Getting the fish in the boat would prove difficult. The Jacobsons had a big muskie net ready.

"I tried to net it," Erik said. "I got about three-fourths of the fish in the net. That was all I could get. I told Dad to take the net. I dived for the tail. It was jerking me around something fierce. We finally got the whole fish in the net. Then we didn't know what to do with it."

The fish was too big, too heavy and too slippery to lift aboard. Anglers in another boat suggested tail-roping the sturgeon -- slipping a noose of rope over the tail -- and hauling it in over the stern, which was lower to the water.

"We took their advice," Erik said.

Erik tail-roped the fish, and -- with a gulp -- released it from the net. He swung it around to the stern, where he and his dad used the rope to haul the monster onto the stern casting platform.

"I held it down by the head," Erik said. "I didn't want it thrashing around."

The Jacobsons were beside themselves.

"There was so much yelling and screaming and excitement," Erik said.

They used a tape measure to arrive at the fish's 86-inch length.

Sturgeon anglers in a nearby boat came by and offered to weigh the fish using their on-board scale. That didn't work. The fish was so long that part of it never came off the boat's floor.

So, the Jacobsons took the fish and released it into the lake.

Because the fish was not weighed on a certified scale, it won't be considered for a Wisconsin record.

Erik Jacobson has pursued having the fish listed as a world record in the catch-and-release category of the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, where the current record is an 84-inch fish, taken from Yellow Lake in 2001.

But Emmett Brown, executive director of the hall of fame, said the fish won't be considered for a record because two anglers handled the rod on which it was caught. Hall of Fame rules require a fish to be played by just one angler.

The Jacobsons can live with that.

"The experience was priceless," Erik said.

Wisconsin's hook-and-line sturgeon harvest season on Yellow Lake and several other specified waters runs from Sept. 6 to Sept. 30. The limit is one fish in possession.

[Muskiemanzan13]

Jeez, really wish they would not have stated the lake. 

Edited September 17, 2015 by Muskiemanzan13

[perch yerker]

The lake definitely does not need this publicity. Even in the first two weeks of the season there's been more guys than I've ever seen out there. Now this weekend with the sturgeon tourney and pics of that fish all over the internet, there's going to be a ton of guys out there. Showing the fish off is one thing, but giving the name of the lake and county and all that, should've just gave out the GPS coordinates to the spot for that matter. But my opinion is just another negative debby downer type. Congrats to them guys on the fish but the lake doesn't need to be in the news all over like it is. But, what do you do. Too late now. 

Could've had the pic and story in the paper without naming the water body easy enough.  Everyone wins. 

[DonBo]

 Even in the first two weeks of the season there's been more guys than I've ever seen out there. 

That's interesting because I've thought just the opposite. I've been amazed at how few were out there the times I've been on the water.

[perch yerker]

That's interesting because I've thought just the opposite. I've been amazed at how few were out there the times I've been on the water.

First weekend I thought was really slow, but it was hotter then hell.....last weekend was really busy by my estimation.  Neither of which are the point of contention however.  The point is, if this guy had a cabin on the lake he would never have offered up where he caught it.  There's a level of tact that is missing here.

Its a public waterbody, so its free for anyone to fish all they want.  That doesn't mean you need to put up a billboard with blinking arrows. 

[muskyvic]

The lake definitely does not need this publicity. Even in the first two weeks of the season there's been more guys than I've ever seen out there. Now this weekend with the sturgeon tourney and pics of that fish all over the internet, there's going to be a ton of guys out there. Showing the fish off is one thing, but giving the name of the lake and county and all that, should've just gave out the GPS coordinates to the spot for that matter. But my opinion is just another negative debby downer type. Congrats to them guys on the fish but the lake doesn't need to be in the news all over like it is. But, what do you do. Too late now. 

I would have to agree with you Don...I've thought the lake was less congested than normal this summer. Openers are always busy...especially when there's an early spring.

Did the article need to mention the name of the lake? No. But no need to worry. 

I hate to break it to you guys. This article does NOT put Yellow Lake on the map. Big Yellow is a 2300 acre lake with a diverse fishery. Of course its going to get fishing pressure and attention, especially from folks in the Twin Cities. DUH. The lake is no secret and has been well known for the past 30+ years. Books, magazines, newspapers, MuskieZan's HSO posts...I could go on. If you want less fishing pressure or a true secret spot, go find a small lake in the Burnett/Washburn/Sawyer area that is a gem. There are countless that come to mind that have a fishery FAR superb to Yellow. 

 

[perch yerker]

"There are countless that come to mind that have a fishery FAR superb to Yellow. "

I'm strictly speaking Sturgeon fishing here...nothing else.  So in that regard, I couldn't disagree with you more. 

 

[Muskiemanzan13]

On here, we post information useful to new anglers of the lake and the guys that fish this lake a lot, (me, Vic, Don, Perch, etc) discuss our trips to Yellow or whatever. This guy submitted pictures to the news and included the name of the lake and county and all of that kind of stuff. It was totally unnecessary. Not sure what the definition of a lot of guys is to you but in the 8 years I've been sturgeon fishing out there, I've never seen as many people out there as I have this season so far with the exception of that sturgeon tourney they put on. Anyways, nothing I can do about it. Another thing though, I really can't complain because the good thing is, 99% of the people I see out there, let all the fish go. Makes me happy to see that. 

Oh hey Vic, I saw a video on YouTube yesterday, you caught that muskie while you were about to take a drink....pretty darn sweet! 

Good luck,

Zander 

[muskyvic]

That's a good point...totally missed the whole "sturgeon topic" behind this thread.  As far as sturgeon fishing, I suppose this probably isn't the best publicity for the lake. Growing up I spent most of my summers in Danbury, so I had always know about the sturgeon fishery there. Most other people wouldn't. In the past few years, I've found the lake to be relatively less congested than say, 15 years ago. However, during the month of September...the amount of boats on the lake sturgeon fishing can be crazy. I'm happy to hear that the majority are being released. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Best of luck in the last week or so of the season. 

Vic

[DonBo]

If you're a sturgeon fisherman, yesterday would have been the day to be on the water. Seems every boat was hooked up. A tournament with 19 boats recorded 87 fish landed yesterday, 15 in one boat. A friend of mine caught 9. Loads of boats on the water yesterday despite some pretty windy conditions.

I only wish the walleye fishing had been as good.  

 

[Muskiemanzan13]

Yeah they were definitely moving on Saturday. Hoping to tie into some this weekend. There was not as many boats as I thought there'd be. How was everyone's summer out on Yellow this year? 

-Zander 

[jay88]

Has anyone been out fishing lately. i have been spending the majority of my time duck hunting but was thinking about getting back on the water chasing some eyes before deer hunting

[AnderJA]

Just wanted to get a quick report in.....I have been out a number of times with great success. Nothing of any real size but it has been good action. This past Sunday morning caught 31 in about 3 hours on a local lake not named Yellow. I am hoping this weather keeps up!

 

 

[Muskiemanzan13]

With the coming forecast I'm thinking we'll be on ice soon. Hopefully by the weekend after Thanksgiving. I've seen some ponds in the metro here that are locked up and skim ice on the shorelines of small lakes. Once that starts it just takes a few cold, calm nights to lock up the lakes. One more muskie trip planned for me then I'll be getting the little sticks laced up and ready. 

Good luck,

Zander 

[Muskiemanzan13]

Hit Yellow last Saturday. Dragged 15" suckers down the north shore with no results. Marked massive pods of bait in 17'-24' FOW so I trolled 10" Jakes through the schools. Running the baits 10'-14' down we caught three small muskies in the low 30's. They were caught over 24FOW.

Water temp. was 34. There was some shoreline ice on the big lake but it's probably gone by now. I'm getting very anxious to get out on ice right now and might make a drive way north this weekend to get on ice. I'm hoping we'll be on ice by the weekend after this coming one but with this forecast I just don't know that we will without going way north. Irritating would be an understatement for this El Nino garbage. 

Does anyone know if there's any small lakes up there that are locked in?

[Muskiemanzan13]

Sheesh....this place is a ghost town. Anyone getting out? Hopefully we'll see some more reports after this weekend. I'll be up in the area if not I'll be on Yellow. We will see

Good luck,
-Zander 

[DonBo]

We'll have much better ice after this weekend, should be more traffic then.  Good luck if you get out. 

[Muskiemanzan13]

How much ice on Yellow?

[Sinker]

Muskiemanzan13, I didn't go up this past weekend but I was up there the weekend before and found 8 1/2"-9" on the north side, near Ike's. Fishing wasn't real good. Good Luck.

[DonBo]

A good friend was up last weekend and said there was 15". Full size trucks and big houses all over the lake.  Crappie fishing was painfully slow for him.

[Muskiemanzan13]

Thanks guys. I was on Big Wood last Saturday and I could not believe how many people were out. Easily over 100 rigs on the lake. Not sure if there was some sort of contest or maybe everyone has cabin fever and is just getting out? Not sure. Planning on hitting Yellow and little Yellow real hard the remainder of the year. Good luck guys. 

[Sinker]

 Quick report for Yellow Lake. Went up and fished Wednesday and Thursday. Did ok for crappies. Not jumping out of the hole but enough action to keep it interesting. Caught one legal walleye. Released one that was in the slot (21") and a few shorts. Some small perch mixed in also.