Minocqua Area Fishing Report - 9/22/26

Sep 22

3 min read

Now its feeling and looking like early fall! Lake surface temps averaging 60-64° and colors starting to pop! Plenty of good fishing this past week, once the winds laid down enough by Wednesday (9/16) so anglers could control their boats and get down to business.

Musky: Good-Very Good – Musky very active, providing lots of action for anglers no matter how they fished. Bucktails, top-water twitchbaits and swimbaits. Even the sucker bite has turned on! Most action related to shallow weeds for anglers casting Wizards and Hunseys as well as Flap Tails and Pacemakers. Outside weed edges on suckers and Crane baits. Swimbaits out over open water where schools of panfish (Crappies, Gills) schooling.

Largemouth Bass: Good–Very good – Heavy weeds (that don’t show signs of die-off) docks, boathouses. Pitching Wacky Worms, silencers (Coike’s), tubes around structure. Drop-shotting or Ned rigging in the tick stuff. Top-water action still good along inside weed lines as well as stickbaits twitched over weed tops.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Some really nice Smallies being caught and released, in relatively shallow water. Said it before, I think those big, fearless brutes are not intimidated by Musky at this time (see photos of 20-22” ers caught this past week). Shallow weeds, shorelines of 4-8’. Top-water (Whopper Ploppers), cranks (Shallow Shad Raps) and twitchbaits. Off-shore #’s, on gravel/rock bars of 15-26’ this week. Drop-shotting, heavier Ned rigs best.

Northern Pike: Good-Very Good – This is perfect Pike weather! Chasing bait fish in shallows, cast spinners (Mepps 3-4:5’s), light spoons, spinnerbaits and 4-5” swimbaits. Fish Active so keep lures (or live bait) moving.

Walleye: Good – Fell off early in week (or just to dang windy to feel a bite). Once weather cooperated, Walleye easier to pick up. Weed line Walleye along 10-14’ using smaller redtails or large fatheads on 1/16-1/8 oz jigs. Gravel hump to mud line transition zones using 1/8-1/4 oz jigs depending on depth (18-28’) using medium redtails or ½ crawlers (especially over mud). Jiggin Rapalas (#5-#7) and Shiver Minnows on deeper rock/gravel bars of 20-30’ very effective on the larger lakes.

Crappie: Good – Lots of suspending schools roaming outside weed edges in 12-18’. Slip-floats to hold light jigs or Crappie minnows at proper depth. Motor until you see schools on locator, then circle upwind and float offering to schools.

Yellow Perch: Good – Not as much attention, but nice Perch being caught by weed/Walleye anglers on large fatheads. On Flowages check mud flats of 8-14’.

Bluegill: Good – Losing participation with the young ones back in school. Still very nice Gills around drowned wood and suspended schools outside weed edges (shallows dangerous place with Musky in town). Small plastics (Mini-mites, 1” tubes), leaf worms, pieces of crawler or wax worms on tiny jigs (1/32 oz).

Another great week of fall weather with low in upper-30’s to highs in mid to upper-60’s with no precipitation. Surface temps will slowly drop overnight, great time to be fishing before turn-over. Fish tend to be active and willing to chase. While focus from here on out will be mostly on Musky, all species in a positive feeding mode.

Pics of the Week

Sue Gall with her grandson showing off his first ever Musky!

Samantha Gillich with her first Musky, nice 42” casting a swimbait!

Finnley of Slinger, WI with a 14” Largemouth!

Dad, Travis of Slinger, WI, holding a 30” Northern Pike caught by Finnley!

Beautiful, thick 42” tiger Musky caught and released by James Rupcich of Dwyer, IN, on a sucker!

Tony Stefanski, again, with a whopper 20” Smallmouth Bass shore fishing with a Whopper Plopper!

Jeff Johson with a monster 22” Smallmouth caught with a shad rap while kayak trolling!