Minocqua Area Fishing Report - 5/11/26
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Not the easiest week weather wise. Cold and high winds have kept lake surface temperatures hovering in the upper 40’s to low 50’s. New weed growth has been limited along with all the goodies that come with!
Northern Pike: Good – Cruising amongst any signs of new weed growth in 4-8’ of water. Slowly working a black chub on a 1/16-1/8 oz weedless jig has been best as Pike not overly aggressive. Three-inch paddle tail swimbaits or twister tails fished in same manner also picking up fish.
Walleye: Good-Fair – Bite was improving before weekend’s wind and cold. Light biting! Dragging large fatheads or large dace minnows in 6-9’ picking up finicky fish. Leeches also showing up in bellies of kept Walleyes, so not a bad idea to carry a dozen or two along. Late afternoons to early evenings when temperatures have peaked for the day seem to be best.
Crappie: Fair – Same story. Wind, cold pushed Crappies that had been moving in to warm, back out into 10-12’ depths where they are being found staging. Best to suspend a small Crappie minnow or Mini Mite under a slip float to tease them to bite.
Yellow Perch: Fair – A few being picked up by anglers targeting Walleyes in that same 6-9’ of green plant life. Medium fatheads, leeches or small crawlers (beavertails) good choices. Most showing signs of coming back from rigors of spawn – should be hungry.
Smallmouth Bass: Fair – (Catch and Release only) Working twitchbaits and 1/8 oz black Maribou jigs in 8-12’ of water (thanks Chris), most effective.
Largemouth Bass: Fair-Poor – Not much to report. Few targeting. Mostly moved back out of shallows though should return once waters warm.
Bluegill: Poor – No reports
Have a bit of a reprieve on Monday (5-11) with sunshine and temps in low 60’s, then cooler with wind and rain chances Tuesday and Wednesday before we see 60’s again. Been a slow first 9-10 days of the season. Good news is the gradual warm up will spread the upcoming good bite out for a while!
Pictures of the week
Marla Harmon of Tallahassee, FL with a nice Mother’s Day Pike
Gabbi Condini with her first Walleye of the year
Mystery angler…can anyone identify this mystery angler 😊
