Fish Reports

September 29, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley Some more seasonal weather is here, and along with it some declining water temperatures. This is fine by most anglers. The cool rain we had on Monday also helped in bringing the temps down a little. We still (I've been saying this since May) could use a two-day soaker for our water levels. We have has some of the leaves get off the trees, and the hunters should be much happier by next week. Still no hard frost, however. Turnover on most of our lakes has occurred, and the cleanup process is going on daily. Some lakes are still pretty green, but more and more anglers tell us the lakes are getting nice and clear. Don't be surprised if we get a severe cold front and they turn over again. Water temps very, but are around 62 degrees on most lakes. Walleye fishing has been consistently good, especially for turnover. The fish have been locating on weed edges throughout the area on both the big and the small lakes. Weeds have been the key. With leeches gone for the year, jigs and minnows have been by far the best bait for these fish. Try the larger fatheads, as walleye tend to look for larger minnows in the fall. Both ends of the Chain have been producing quite well in 8' of water or so on a daily basis, with the daytime fishing being much improved in the last two weeks. On the larger, clear lakes, fish in the 12' level right on the edges and deep weed lines for best success. Some nicer fish in the mid 20's have been showing up. Musky fishing is right on the cusp of that great fall bite. Before it got so warm, the fish were hitting suckers pretty well. Then the warming temps slowed that action down. The cooler temps will restart that sucker action with a bang. All types of baits are working now, even surface baits. In fact, several of the bigger fish caught last week were on surface baits. Mid sized suckers are working best. Bass action has slowed, especially the smallies. With turnover, they just disappeared from their favorite structure spots. Try some redtail chubs with jigs in deeper water at this point. They just aren't up on rocks as they were earlier. Largemouth are in the weeds, and hitting bigger baits. The musky guys get nice largemouth every fall fishing the weeds. Mepps or spinnerbaits work well at this time of year. Panfish action has slowed, except for the perch. They have been hitting right mixed in with the walleye on the deep weed edges. Use fathead minnows for nice perch at this time of year. If the water temps continue to go down, we can expect great walleye and musky fishing. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

September 22, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley We are a little too much in a roller coaster weather pattern for most anglers liking. We have had some great, cool weather. This has been interspersed with some unseasonably warm weather, so the water temps have been going up and down. We have temps in the low 60's at this point, with turnover having occurred on most area lakes. We need consistent cold weather to get these lakes cleaned up and clear from the turnover process. Wed also like some serious frost to get rid of the leaves for the hunters. Water levels remain low, so some boat landings are difficult for those of you with bigger boats. We'd sure like a cold front that brought some considerable rain along with wind - that would help all our outdoor conditions ( even though it would be miserable to fish or hunt through!). Walleye fishing remains good to very good. In the last several weeks, they have finally started hitting in deep water on some of the big clear lakes. We just hadn't seen that all summer. The weed pattern remains good also - with the fish in 10 - 12' on the clear lakes and 8' on the Chain. Numbers of fish in the weeds have been very good, with some size also showing up. Jigs and minnows are definitely the bait of choice now, with large fatheads remaining a good choice. For you musky fishermen we have two words - oh boy. With turnover finally getting cleared up a little on many lakes the musky fishing has improved - and some big fish are now being caught and seen. The sucker bite has improved greatly in the last week or so. It is that time of the year that all bait types work - even surface baits. The live sucker bite has started, with some nice fish being caught this week or quick-set rigs. This pattern will only get better as the fall goes on and the water temperatures decline. When the water temperatures hover in the low 60's, the fish seem to locate in the weeds or on the weed edges. Bass fishing has gotten tougher with the cooler temperatures. Believe it or not, the smallies have gone into the weeds - we think they're chasing minnows up in those weeds. Largemouth are also in the weeds, and throughout the fall we'll hear from the musky guys that they are catching them on musky lures. Panfish have still been hitting, particularly the perch in the weeds. They often act just like the walleye, and you'll catch them on the weed edges mixed right in with walleye. Bluegills and crappies have slowed down at this point. All in all, we'll have a great week with colder weather. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

September 15, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley We have had a significant drop in the water temps, which has brought about turnover on many of our area lakes. While it may seem earlier this year, it is just about the normal time for it. When you consider that our lakes were cooler this year than last, it is just about the right time. This will make fishing lake selection harder for a while. One big difference this year is that some of the big lakes and some smaller lakes "turned" at the same time - the small lakes normally turn over first. We are starting to get some nice fall color at just the right time. Our hunters would all like a hard freeze or two to get those leaves off the trees and improve the sight lines. The early goose season was judged a success by many hunters, and with archery, grouse, fall musky fishing and a few walleye yet to catch there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get done all our annual fall enjoyment. Walleye fishing has been good - very good. Many of our guides have reported catches of good numbers of fish on a daily basis. The main bite seems to be returning to minnows at just the right time, as leeches have become hard to find. Jigs and fathead minnow have been the bait of choice - and fishing in the deep weeds is the pattern of choice. This means roughly in the 8' range on the Chain, and 12' or so on the clear lakes. There are also some fish in the holes on the Chain, but they seem to be running small. Musky fishing is really responding to the turnover situation now, with some lakes having "shut down" somewhat with turnover. We have been a little befuddled with the slow sucker fishing so far, but it improves greatly after the turnover and with cooler water temps. The expected warmer weather late this week will not help musky fishing at all. You can fish lakes that are turning - go shallow with bright baits. Even in the green "gunk" of turnover you'll occasionally get nice fish in this shallow water. We have had luck on all baits this last week, but as always it seems to be sporadic. The water temps are down at this point in the low 60's pretty much everywhere. Bass action will finally slow down with the cooling temps, but you can still get some nice fish. Smallies actually will feed in the weeds and along shorelines at times in the fall. We'll also see some really nice largemouth along those weed areas in the fall. Spinners, shallow running cranks minnow imitations and small jerk baits will work well. Panfish action remains good. We have been getting some really big perch mixed right in with the walleye along those deep weed edges. Again, as with the walleye, fathead minnows are working best in those deep weeds. Crappies have finally slowed a bit, but some people are still reporting them on the Chain. Bluegills have slowed a little, with some decent fish still in the mid level weeds on waxies and worms being reported. All in all, we are very weather dependant at this time of year. If it gets cold, the lakes that have turned over will clean up and provide us with great walleye and musky action. If it gets real warm, expect these lakes to remain green and "dirty" until the water temps fall again. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

September 10, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley Is fall really here? Warm weather predicted for this upcoming weekend will not help the fall fishing patterns at all. We have said this before: we want a slow, steady decline in the water temps throughout the month of September. The cool weather of last weekend was perfect. Through the time of this writing, water temps had declined roughly 8 degrees or so, giving the fish a clear message that winter is on the way. Let's hope this trend continues! Water levels are low again. Some lakes are lower than others, but all lakes could use a real "soaker" of a rain. We usually get some wetter weather in the fall, so let's hope we get a big one. In the meantime, prepare for tough boat landings on some lakes. Walleye fishing has been good - really good. Some of our guides have been absolutely smacking them on the big clear lakes. The basic pattern has been a deep weed feeding pattern. Look for weeds in the 10 - 15' range, and use jigs and minnows. The bite has been a very aggressive bite, so you can expect some good numbers combined with some size. We have also seen some good fishing on the Chain, with a few fish in the holes and a lot of fish in the deepest weed edges. Again, jigs and minnows are the best baits. Some people have been successful with slip bobber and fatheads also. Musky fishing is inconsistent, but will improve with colder weather. The pattern remains the same - when it's good it's great. And when it's bad, well.... All types of baits have been working, but for this writer the best have been bucktails retrieved at the deepest weed edges we can find. We expect a good to great feeding pattern in the weeds in September if we can keep this temperature decline going. Basically, the fish stop suspending in favor of much more movement up into the weed flat areas. Bass fishing has been good - particularly the smallmouth. The pattern is shifting subtly to minnows, as the crayfish die off in the fall and the fish start actively feeding more on minnows. Also try some nightcrawlers in 10' or so off the rock bars - or 1/2 half of a crawler. This has provided good results on lakes like Butternut, Franklin and Kentuck recently. Largemouth have been roving the weeds feeding with aggression, so try some spinnerbaits for them. Panfish remain good, with the bluegills having moved deeper in the weeds. Fish them in 8 - 10 feet now for best results. Waxies or worms work well. There has been some great big perch action in the deep weeds also. They are quite often mixed with and acting like the walleye. Fathead minnows have been working well for them. Keep hoping for a continued cool down for best fishing. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

August 25, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley Much cooler nights now are again starting us to look forward to fall and the great fishing we can expect. We have had much cooler water temps than last year for the whole fishing season now, and there is no reason to believe that won't hold through the fall part of the fishing season. The biggest similarity to last year is the very low water levels throughout the area. The weeds are beginning to die, particularly those shallower weeds. As these weeds die, the whole food column abandons the dead areas. When we talk "weed fishing" now, we mean almost exclusively the deep weeds, Where did the summer go? Walleye fishing has been surprisingly good. We usually get a slump at this time of year, but it has held up quite well in most areas this year. The best daily pattern has been those weed walleye, especially on the darker water lakes. Our guides report good action on Catfish, Cranberry and Eagle Lakes on the Chain in 8 - 10 feet of water in those green weeds. Fathead minnows have been working best, but leeches have been productive also. As at all times of the year, there is a feeding spurt in the evening that provides the best action of the day. The one pattern we have not seen as strong this year is the deeper water pattern on the big clear lakes. Bass action has remained good, especially for the smallies. They remain concentrated around hard bottom structure, and are feeding of crayfish as they do all summer. Red or brown crankbaits or tube jigs have been quite productive for the bigger fish in 8 - 10', and leeches have been a great bait for the smaller fish on top of the rock bars. For largemouth, think weeds and heavy cover. Even as the water temps cool a little, these fish will stay in the cover. They are ambush fish, so running spinnerbaits or topwater baits near the weeds or piers, trees and the like will get some nice fish. Musky action is inconsistent at this time of year. When the fish are "on" they can provide great action and good size - but when they are "off", well.... There is probably more consistent action at night, but we have experienced some great daytime fishing lately. The best overall bait at this point has been the Bulldawg. Weed action for these fish has been only OK. As we get into September, look for some improvement in this weed action as the bigger fish move into the weeds to fish daily. Panfish action remains good, with great numbers of bluegills being caught. These fish have moved into deeper weeds as the lake levels have declines. They are still hitting best on waxies. Crappie action has stayed surprisingly good all year, with these fish being in the deepest weeds and providing much better than normal action for this time of year. Minnows are best for these crappies. Perch, also are in the deeper weeds. Stay tuned for the great fall walleye fishing. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

August 19, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County BACK ON THE WATER -- MUSKIES START TO IMPROVE! Well with the Monday night league over and Fall just around the corner things are starting to show a little improvement. Trees "yes" are just starting to show change. Today I had Tom & Jan with me for muskies, and they are from Orlando, FL. They see the Disneyworld fireworks from their yard every night. Jan has been out fishing Marlin, Mahi Mahi, and all the great salt water fish. For her birthday she wanted tp catch a fish that she never caught before and that was MUSKY!! With a little breakin time both Tom & Jan were casting like pros. I wanted to get out early as moonset was at 9:10 am. Well as you know muskies are the fish of 10,000 cast and that is an average, therefore some people catch them right away while many make all those cast. It was not Jan's day but Tom did catch his first musky of his life and did it in the first hour. It was not a big fish but it was his first and to top it it was a pretty TIGER. Interesting to the time he caught the fish---------------- 9:03 am Tom was using a bucktail brown body copper blade, Jan was using a white bucktail with silver blade. She did have two follows but missed the big fish as it came in at the boat for a strike. She did not see the fish and never started the figure 8. It seemed to be a hot fish but a chance missed, fish was about 38 to 40. Tom & Jan are fishing 3 days with me, tomorrow is a fun day for crappie, walleye, bass, but Thursday is back to Musky so I will keep you posted. Fred Brogle Have Rod... Will Travel... http://www.haverodwilltravel.com

August 18, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley Just as we're looking forward a little to fall weather, we get a real shot of summer weather. The water temps have gone up to the highest of the year despite some cool nights. Water levels are getting even lower - as low as last year in many cases. August can drive us crazy from a weather standpoint, especially if we're looking forward to that fall weather. Walleye fishing has remained better in the evenings and at night, but some fish are being caught during the daytime. Location for the daytime fish is in the deepest weeds that you can find. These weeds have remained greener than the shallow weeds, and are still holding a lot of baitfish. Catfish and Eagle Lakes on the Chain have been producing both during the daytime and at night. Deeper weeds on the Chain, by the way, are only 8 - 9' in depth. On the deeper clear lakes, this evening pattern is even stronger. The walleye are suspending during the daytime and only coming up onto structure at lowlight conditions to feed. Jigs with minnows or leeches are working equally well on most lakes. The row trollers are getting a few of these suspended, scattered walleye during the daytime hours, but they're tough to locate with jigs. until they concentrate on the structure at night. Bass fishing remains very good, with the smallmouth continuing to bite well. Crayfish imitations work on all area lakes best. You can use either tube jigs or red/brown crank baits to good effect. Another way to fish these smallies is to slip bobber them with leeches in 8 - 12' of water off the sides of the rock bars. Largemouth bass continue to hit best in the evenings, but will feed all day long. They remain in the "slop" - weeds and wood in relatively shallow water. Surface baits or silver spinner baits work quite well for these fish. Musky action has been surprisingly good, with some nice fish being caught during the daytime for a change. They are in deeper weeds and deep water during the daytime at this point. The best baits by far have been the whole family of deeper running rubber baits such as Bulldawgs. The lakes that are clear and have very deep weeds have these fish holding in the deepest weed beds. Night action remains good and will hold right through September. Surface baits and bucktails remain the favorite of the night fishermen. Panfish action remains good also, with bluegills providing very good action in the weeds. They have been hitting in both deep and shallow weed beds, with waxies providing the best action for these fish. Crappies have also been in the deep weed areas, and minnows work best for them. It's been a great panfish year so far. Should be a good week - look for those smallies to provide the best gamefish action. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

August 12, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County BACK ON THE WATER - Tuesday - CRAPPIES ANYONE? OK occassionally I get a crappie request, maybe once or twice a year... I am generally fishing the big fish in the pond... However Brian from Ohio said they don't have many crappies out his way and his son Derrek want to catch some. They had this day booked for awhile and I had some reservation with the last two nights and the cooling temps as I am fishing these crappies in 5 feet of water. Anyway it was a rod bending experience ALL MORNING as father and son could not mange more than on rod each. The action was continuous as they were looking for a fish fry to feed 10 back at the campsite. We kept 30 and one perch and released to rest. It was really great to have some no stop action for 4 hours and I never had to move off the first spot. The clincher was I had 3 muskies all mid 40's surface around the boat and here I am with 4 pound ultra light and not one musky rod or bait. GO FIGURE. Anyway here is Brian and his son Derrek with the stringer they caught!! Fred Brogle Have Rod... Will Travel... http://www.haverodwilltravel.com

August 12, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County BACK ON THE WATER (Tuesday) CRAPPIES ANYONE!!! OK occassionally I get a crappie request, maybe once or twice a year... I am generally fishing the big fish in the pond... However Brian from Ohio said they don't have many crappies out his way and his son Derrek want to catch some. They had this day booked for awhile and I had some reservation with the last two nights and the cooling temps as I am fishing these crappies in 5 feet of water. Anyway it was a rod bending experience ALL MORNING as father and son could not mange more than on rod each. The action was continuous as they were looking for a fish fry to feed 10 back at the campsite. We kept 30 and one perch and released to rest. It was really great to have some no stop action for 4 hours and I never had to move off the first spot. The clincher was I had 3 muskies all mid 40's surface around the boat and here I am with 4 pound ultra light and not one musky rod or bait. GO FIGURE. Anyway here is Brian and his son Derrek with the stringer they caught!! Fred Brogle Have Rod... Will Travel... http://www.haverodwilltravel.com

August 12, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County BACK ON THE WATER -- A DIFFERNT TYPE OF DAY (Monday) Well lately I think I have been sleeping in the boat as it has been on the water sun-up to sun-down and more. Yesterday Keith, his friend Ken and his son wanted to get some more musky fishing in but wanted a backup for bass.Normally I do not do this as when musky is the target I only want musky gear in the boat... I do not want anything else to get in the way. However, today made the exception as I had two fathers and a son and I know the musky fishing has been spotty. Anyway I was booked for a half-day (four hours). We fished about 3 to 3-1/2 hours for musky and rasied one fish. The bass had been good on this lake so I had the gear in the boat and we change over. Water temps are starting to cool with some chilly night hitting 39 & 40 degrees, surface temps now in the lower 70's. The bass bite has been either deep in the weed or deep on the drop. So we started targeting these areas. Now Keith originally asked about walleyes and I said I had not been fishing them lately but the bass was better. So know we started fishing bass with only a little time. The last spot I had good top weed and a quick drop. I said we could get bass or walleye here. The guys were tossing the old jig and leech and it wasn't bass there... it was walleyes. HIGH NOON bright sun 13 to 15 feet of water and they got a couple nice fish. Here is one walleye over 20 and one over 16. Here are a few pics! After this is was the Monday Night League and only 6 fish were caught from 90 anglers, I wast one of them. I did get about a half dozen big Northerns one over 32, big and fat. Fred Brogle Have Rod... Will Travel... http://www.haverodwilltravel.com

August 11, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County FISHING WITH THE GUIDES by George Langley We've really had a hint of Fall in the air over last weekend, with the night time temps getting pretty cool. On some mornings there has been fog over the lakes, which means that the water temps are starting to cool down a little. This can be tough on the fishing at this time of year, as the fish seem to "shut down" on days when the temps are going down. Later in the Fall these drops in temperature will actually help the fishing, but not now. Water levels continue to drop, which is not good. Some landings again are tough with bigger boats, but all in all things are not as bad as last year at this time. Weeds are beginning to die off in the shallows especially. You'll see a lot of brown, unhealthy looking weeds in 2 - 4' of water. The deeper weeds remain healthy and green. There is a thermocline on all of the deeper lakes - usually in the 20 - 26' range. If the cool weather continues, look for an early turnover this Fall. Walleye action has been surprisingly good, with fish being caught even during the day on the weed edges. The Chain has been quite productive, with Catfish Lake being the best producer. While most guides are using leeches, some fish are being caught on fathead minnows also. The big lakes are harder to figure out during the daytime. The fish are suspending out over deep water in many cases, scattered out. In this configuration they are hard to find and harder to fish for. The best bet in this pattern is to fish the evenings when they move up on to structure to feed. Bass action remains good. Our guides report catches of 30 - 50 fish per day in many cases on the good smallmouth lakes. The basic pattern remains the same - hard bottom, 10' or so of water and crayfish imitations. It has been a great year for smallies. Largemouth fishing has been good also, with the fish in slightly deeper water now that the shallow weeds are dying on some lakes. Surface baits like the Skitter Pop have been quite effective for largemouth, especially in the evening. Spinnerbaits work quite well also. Musky action has been erratic, which is kind of standard for this time of year. There has been a lot of night feeding going on, which can mean bad daytime fishing. If you are able to go on a cloudy day, that is the time to get out there at this time of year. All bait types are working now. Most night fishermen are going out after supper and staying out until midnight at least. Panfish action has been good, with the weed fishing for crappies being very good. Usually by this time of year the fish are hard to find, but this year they have stayed in the deep weeds all summer. Bluegills are in the shallow weeds and the shallow brush piles. Waxies best for the 'gills. Perch are in the weeds also, with the bigger perch in the deeper weeds with the walleye. All in all, we expect a very good week - try these smallies for great action. Good luck and good fishn' George Langley Eagle Sports Center http://www.eaglesportscenter.com

August 7, 2008 - Vilas County Lakes, Vilas County BACK ON THE WATER -- Wednesday -- Father & 3 Sons OK! going to get some back to back reports on some bass fishing. On Wednesday I took out Ed and his three sons; Luke, Derrek, & Nate. The solunar fishing report was listed as poor however the weather conditions appear to be right. The guys wanted some bass fishing and as you remember the other day when I was ouot with Don he got some nice bass while I was fishing musky. Fairly calm winds, from the N/E however with a storm front coming in that night gave us the possibility of catching fish. However the original forcast proved to be the case. The bite was not there and only a few bass were caught. I had a few pictures of the boys and Ed with fish but only one made it to press. Here is Ed with one of the nice bass. See Thursday followup!!! Fred Brogle Have Rod... Will Travel... http://www.haverodwilltravel.com