August 31, 2004
The end of August is here already. That is the start of the shorter days and cooler night which signals the fish to start preparing for the fall. Most of the muskies are still hanging around in the deeper water with the baitfish. Some of the weedlines have started to produce some muskies in the low to mid 30's and it will not be long before the larger fish make their move in as the water cools.
The trolling bite has still been the hot pattern for me. Multiple fish night have been common this past couple weeks but the occasional "skunk" has showed up also. I can do my best to put you on fish but I still have not found a way to beat mother nature when the conditions are poor for a hot bite. The last 12 times out I boated 13 muskies but some of those days we came up empty.
Back on the 17th we boated a 38 and 37-inch fish in 3 hours trolling the deeper water baitfish schools. The 18th and 19th the fish just seemed to hang low in the deeper water, we noticed they were very low and away from the bait. The 20th they started to follow and hang around the schools of Bluegills and Crappies again. The 24th was a great night with a 40 1/4, 36 1/2 and one more to boot around 34-inch. The 25th was even better for my clients Brian, Phil and Ramon. Brian started off by landing his first muskie around 7:30pm, Phil followed up with a stout 36 3/4-incher at 8:45pm and Ramon caught his 41-inch muskie at 9:30pm. All three of these guys caught their first muskies ever with each other, what a cool way to spend a afternoon of fishing with friends.
The 26th was good to Mikie and CJ, they got out with me around 7:30pm and Mikie stuck a 40 1/4-incher by 8pm. The boys were tired from a long ride up from West Virgina and Ohio. Mikie and CJ were heading to LOTW for their annual fishing trip, I hope I got them the jump start they needed. The 27th produced a 38 1/2 after dark, the 29th produced a nice fat 38-incher after dark also. Monday the 30th was Perry's time to catch some more Pewaukee muskies, he and his friend both caught muskies. Perry is one fish magnet in my boat, he has never got skunked yet with me. The 31st was a very slow day, I had Brian and his son John out for 5 hours and no action for Little John. Why is it when you need to catch a fish for someone like John the bite stops. I guess that why we call it fishing, not catching.
Well to sum up the month of August, I would have to say it was a great month. More fish were caught on average with less time on the water due to work and family. One thing I did figure out is how to milk out a pattern when its producing. Trolling is not a easy method to do on Pewaukee Lake, changing winds, baitfish migrations, boat pressure by fishermen and recreational boaters is at its peak. The muskies are very weather active. If you get a good cloudy windy day you will score fish if you do everything correctly. On the flip side if the weather is stable, sunny, no wind you can do everything right but still come up empty. Best bet is to get on the water when the conditions are in your favor. Favorable times are just before a change in the weather, some rain after a string of sunny days would be one example.
This is the time of the year when you can cast or troll. In the next fishing report you will hear of some fish caught casting and trolling. The trolling bite will start to change from deep water fish to break line trolling and even short line trolling. Look for more action on the weed lines as the cooler nights start the drop in water temps. This is also the time when you can step up the size of you baits when the conditions are rite for a good bite. Look for the bucktails, top waters, pull baits and even rubber baits to start producing. I know of some good action that has started on some weedlines close to deep water. Look for the larger weedbeds in the western basin to heat up as the cooler nights start to drop the water temps. Bucktails would be the best search baits since you can cover water quickly and the fish still are chasing fast moving baits. Water temps are still in the low 70's but will drop into the high 60 before long.
Walleye and Bass action has slowed from what I have been told. I can't say because I have been almost exclusively chasing muskies this past month. I do know that the panfish have still been working the deeper water off Rocky Point, between the Condo's and Walks Island and along the North shore off either underwater point. Wind direction seems to stack the panfish up in certain areas when it blows consistently for a day or two. Watch the weather and wind direction, this will help you find a starting point and give you a game plan.
With the guide calendar getting very full and excitement of the fall getting closer I would like to ask anyone who is thinking about booking a trip with me to call as soon as you can to book your outing before its too late. I have had a good number of e-mails looking for dates to get out fishing and most of them are already booked. Please remember that fall is the hottest time of the year for action and huge fish. Get your dates locked up before someone else takes them. Fall is in the air and your outing is not far off, check with me on the open dates and maybe we can get out for some outstanding Pewaukee lake muskie action this fall. Remember learning the how to's and spots is 1/2 of the battle, the other half is up to you when you set the hook............
August 14, 2004
Is it Fall already? It sure seems like it this past week. Cooler air temps caused the water temps to drop from 75 to 67 degrees in 3 days. That can't help but fish are still being caught with consistency.
This past week I got out Saturday night the 7th with my boy to see if we could catch one after dark. We set up around 10pm to avoid the crowd, Mikey scored 3 footer in 15ft of water at 11:20pm, just before moonrise. Sunday I had a couple of guys out that wanted to dial in their trolling techniques, Pat scored a nice 36-incher in the first hour of the outing working wind blown structure close to deep water. Tuesday I was out with Perry again. "Top Dog" is what I call him now. (He is the client that released the 53-incher with me in July). We managed to catch a low 30's muskie and lost another one in some of the coldest air temps yet. Thursday I got skunked with a couple friends (more Northeast winds) and Friday night things came back together with a 40-incher for Jonny Yaresh and a 41-incher for myself. Both fish were caught between 10pm and 11pm.
The crappie, bluegill, perch, walleye action off Rocky Point has been ok; most of the action has been just before or after dark with lanterns tight line fishing or with lit slip bobbers. The condos and Walks Island also has good schools of panfish and walleyes stacked up close to the breaks. Watch the wind and trust your locator for finding these schools of action fish. The wind swept areas seem to have the more active fish, once you locate them work the top of the school to the bottom to find the active fish. Sometimes the higher the fish are the more active they are, the exception is if your after walleyes you need to stay closer to the bottom. Bluegills and Crappies can be caught 10ft down in 30ft of water at times. Trust your locator to tell you where the fish are most fish are in deeper water and move up as the sunsets, follow the fish and you will increase you numbers. The north shore of the "big lake" has some nice schools of fish working the 18 to 30ft ranges. Most of them are bluegills and crappies but walleyes, bass and muskies are not far away. Anytime you have a good number of panfish you can bet the toothy critters are close. Actually one of the two 40-inch class muskie I boated last week came from that stretch.
One quick note about handling muskie you catch in 70+ degree water temperatures. Please handle them with speed and care. A fish taken trolling will be exposed to higher water temps when brought up to the surface. Please keep the fish in the net while you remove the hooks, get your camera and prepare to get a measurement. I like to use a old wetted rain coat to lay the fish on for a quick check of length if it's a bigger fish, NEVER lay a fish down on carpet, this will remove its slime and subject it to harm after the release. On fish that you catch and don't need a picture just remove the hooks in the water without using a net, this is the best method for safely releasing a fish. Recently a 36-incher that was literally tossed back without properly holding the fish until it was ready to swim back to the deeper cooler water, it never regained its balance and died. A few minutes of holding the fish by the tail will allow the fish to get its balance and breath back before you release it. Once the fish starts to try to swim and pull away she will be ok to release. Please take extra care of these warm weather muskies, we all want to see bigger and more fish, you can do your part and we will do ours. With this recent cool down, the fish should recover quicker.
Look for the fishing to continue to be good as the water temps climb back to the 73 to 76 degree ranges. Steady weather and warmer nights will just make it better. This is a great time to get out on the water and enjoy the ride as I work the rods and lake structure for you. Afternoon outing consist of trolling first then maybe casting at prime time. You should take advantages of this multiple pattern fishing. Learn new techniques and patterns while we troll and try them toward the end of the outing or next time you get out. What a great way to learn and catch fish. I am looking forward to helping you catch some Pewaukee muskies. Maybe there is someone special you would like to send out with me so they can learn some of the tactics I use. I would be glad to help you become a better muskie fisherman. Gift certificates are a great gift. I will personalize any gift outing with a customized flyer sent to your computer for you to print out. Just give me a call and we can talk about what I can do for you. Lets go fishing while the action is hot!!!