Fishing Report: Don't let the crowds keep you off the water

NORTHERN WISCONSIN – We’ve flipped the calendar into September, and the weather this week is giving us one more solid stretch of summer before fall really digs in.

Any rain we get this week is welcome – we need it.

We’ll see daytime temperatures with highs in the upper-70s to mid-80s, and nights dipping in to the mid-50s. Good sleeping weather after a hot day on the water! Expect the landings to be busy with the long weekend crowd, so an early start or a weekday evening trip will get you a lot more elbow room.

Water temps have bounced back into the low-to-mid-70s on many lakes with this warm-up, after flirting with the upper 60s last week. This warm stretch may push fish back into a more classic summer pattern for a few days before the weekend cooldown resets things a bit. Don't be surprised if the bite shifts around some this week. The weeds remain thick and green – work them patiently with weedless rigs, slip bobbers and careful casts.

Walleye are still setting up on deep weed edges in the 10- to 15-foot range, with fish moving out to sharper breaks and 18 to 25 feet on the clearer lakes, especially once that midweek warm spell pushes them in that direction. Half crawlers and leeches on jigs or slip bobbers continue to produce, but with baitfish and crayfish active now, don't be afraid to work a jig-and-minnow or a small crankbait along the same breaks. Dawn and dusk remain your best windows, and that brief cooler, cloudier stretch midweek could turn on a better daytime bite than we've seen in a while.

Bass fishing stays the most reliable game in town. Largemouth are holding tight to heavy weeds, wood and shaded docks, with topwater still worth a look in that first hour of light before the sun gets high. Smallmouth are working rock humps, points and scattered timber in eight to 15 feet, and they're feeding heavily on crayfish right now - natural browns, oranges and greens on tubes, Ned rigs and drop-shots dragged slow along bottom are a good bet.

Panfish action has been good. Crappie are schooling along weed edges in eight to 12 feet, with small jigs tipped with plastics or fatheads doing good damage. Bluegill remain shallow around docks, wood and weedy bays, and we’re seeing good action in the evenings on small jigs with a worm or waxie. The perch bite continues to be a real bright spot this year, with big fish buried in the cabbage right alongside the walleye – a jig and with a fathead or a bigger crawler chunk will get you those bigger fish.

Musky fishing is trending the right direction as we head toward fall, though with water temps moving back up this week, treat any fish you catch with extra care. Bucktails alongside and over the weed edges remain a perfect choice, with the best action still coming in low-light and overcast windows. As things cool back down toward the weekend, look for this bite to improve.

Labor Day weekend will bring the last big push of summer traffic to the landings and lakes, so plan around it if you can. Don't let the crowds keep you off the water, though! There's plenty of lake to go around, and there’s only so much of this summer weather left. Enjoy it while you can! Fall, and all of the great fishing that comes with it, will be here soon enough.

Good luck and good fishin'!