Minocqua Area Fishing Report - 5/26/26

What a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Lots of sun, warmth and good fishing!  Anglers saw plenty of opportunities to pursue and catch their favorite fish.  Weather made fishing comfortable for a change, HWY 51 was open, life in the Northwoods is Good!

Rock Bass:  Off the Charts! – When three families of visitors to the Northwoods from the Kentucky (Louisville) area, with seven kids ages 3 to 8 can catch and release over 250 Rock Bass in a day (in shifts) of fishing…enough said!

Crappie:  Very Good – And not even peaked!  Crappies moving up to the shallows in preparation to spawn.  Crappies taking small plastics such as Bobby Garland Slab Slayers and Itty Bitty’s as well as Mini Mites or 2” twister tails.  Most fish being found in 2-3’ of water as they look for their perfect spawning grounds.

Walleye:  Very Good – Despite some hic-ups with high skies, Walleye activity early and late in the day, as well as on dark water bodies of water was very good.  Working 3-4” swimbaits in depths as little as 3’ to as deep as 9-10’.  Keying on any cover available that held bait fish that were moving into warming shallows, Walleye were also actively hitting jig and minnow or leech combos and shallow running minnow stickbaits such as Storm Jr. Thundersticks and floating Rapalas.

Northern Pike:  Very Good – Feeding heavily on small Yellow Perch, so matching the hatch (green, yellow, touch of orange) all good choices on the artificial spectrum, as well as jigging 4” chubs or suckers on weedless jigs and light wire leaders.  Any sign of green weed growth has the chance for a good Pike hang out in these shallow waters.

Largemouth Bass:  Good-Very Good – Bass cruising shallows, feeding heavily on minnows and insects.  Shallow running square billed cranks, 3” swimbaits and all varieties of soft plastics.  Nice reports of Largemouth to 20” this weekend.

Yellow Perch:  Good-Very Good – Small leeches, thunder bugs and small minnows in weedy pockets of 4-7’.  Wood in 7-10’ also producing nice Perch.

Musky:  Fair-Good – Most reports from anglers were of smaller fish, though some 42-44” fish were reported.  Small bucktails and 6” twitchbaits though some anglers caught Skies on small 7-8” live suckers.

Smallmouth Bass:  Fair-Good – Finding them was the key.  Staging out from hard shallow bottom spawning areas.  Swimming black or brown Marabou jigs or working twitchbaits out over 8-12’ areas.  Should see a major move into shallows as water temps are cracking into the low 60’s and should hold.

Bluegill:  Fair-Good – Mostly due to lack of reports or lack of anglers targeting.  Thunder bugs, small leeches, leaf worms all good.  Should see a big upswing in action moving forward.

With temps in mid-80’s to mid-70’s all this next week, expect spawning activity for Crappies and Smallmouth Bass to jump!  The warm weather will bring bug hatches and spur on some good weed growth to get things really rocking this week.  Water temps that have been hovering in the mid to upper 50’s will be heating up into the mid to upper 60’s – great week of fishing opportunities ahead.

Pics of the Week

4-year-old Molly proudly displays her big catch

Boyd, 7 years old and mother Whitney, of Louisville, KY with his first Rock Bass

Young Collis, 5 years old, with her mom and best Friend Molly, all from Lousiville, KY with a brace of Rock Bass

Hank Hildebrtand and daughter Dawson with a nice Smallie

Collis Hildebrand of Louisville, Ky proudly showing off her “Bass Thumb”!  You Go Girl!

4-year-old David of Minocqua with a nice Crappie

Hayley with a nice Pike

Joe and Ben Piernick of Oregon, WI with a nice catch of Walleye

Jack Backler with a dandy Walleye caught on a soft plastic swimbait

Josh Selness with a nice mid-20” Walleye caught on a soft plastic swimbait

Tom Condoni with a pair of nice Walleyes