Here's what George Langley of the Eagle River Fishing Guide Association, is reporting about fishing in the Eagle River area:

FISHING WITH THE GUIDES

10/22/12

by George Langley

As we slip ever further towards winter, our fall fishing is proceeding in vastly different directions. The walleye fishing has been spectacular, but the musky fall season is slow in developing for some reason. Water temps are now down soundly in the 40.s pretty much everywhere, and a mid level warming spell won’t change anything. This is much different from last fall, when we had one warm spell after another, seemingly throughout the whole fall period.

Leaves are completely gone, and the only color out there is from the tamarack trees. Water levels are seriously low again, making many landings difficult or impossible to use. All we can do at this point is to hope for a lot of snow this winter.

We’ve got a good month of musky and walleye fishing left for those late fall nuts, and then it’s time to turn our thoughts to ice fishing (after deer hunting, of course). A few of us wish there were two Octobers and two Novembers; there is just too much to do with only one of each.

Walleye fishing has been very good all fall. Presently, some of the larger walleye have left the holes on the Chain and are moving back to the weed edges to feed. While many fish can still be had in those holes, you might want to look to those weed edges for some larger fish. Minnows are still by far the best bait for this part of the season. On the larger lakes they are still deeper. In fact, some anglers have caught fish as deep as 45’ in some holes. Larger minnows are working on these lakes – redtail chubs have been best.  These two patterns will hold now through the rest of the pre-ice fall period.

Musky action has been a bit of a puzzle, to be honest. While the water temps and conditions have been close to perfect, the sucker fall action period has just not started in full force. The general consensus is that it is going to start any day now and will be great for the rest of the open water season. We are still dealing with some turnover on some lakes, which will affect the fishing.

For artificial baits, the best baits have been jerk baits and twitch baits, both of which can be paused during the retrieve.

The real deal with musky is that they have still been on a night feed, and this is causing the poor daytime action. As it gets colder, that feed will turn to a daylight period and the action will be much better.

Panfish action has been OK, with perch by far the best fish to catch in the fall. They have been hitting fathead minnows on all lakes. Not too many anglers fish them – mostly they are caught as a bonus by walleye anglers. Actually, fall is a great perch time if you can stand the wind and the cold.

Good luck and good fishn’

For more information about fishing the Eagle River area call us or visit our website.:
*George Langley, Eagle River Fishing Guide Association,        715-479-8804;

www.eagleriverfishingguides.com

OCTOBER 2012

NORTHWOODS REPORT

Fall is here and many of the trees have beautiful color. By cranberry fest we should be at peak color and our visitors will enjoy the Northwoods beauty. Fall is also the time of the year when the hunting seasons are in full swing. Ruff grouse hunting has been very productive with hunters seeing many birds. With the leaves on the trees yet the grouse have a big escape advantage. The archers are seeing deer and they are on the move perhaps indicating an early rut this year. The bear hunting is productive this year with the bear bait locations being hit regularly.

Since the cold temperatures hit the last week in September the water temperatures have dropped. Water temperatures dropping and length of daylight in the fall triggers the pre-winter feeding to put on a layer of fat to carry the fish through mid and late winter. Walleye, northern, musky and panfish are all very active and fishermen are experiencing outstanding success.

With the leaves dropping and the wildlife being on the move this is an wonderful time to go hiking and enjoy the scenery and the wildlife. Remember when hiking or biking wear blasé orange wheather you are on the roadways or in the woodlands. The hunters are also in the woods and the blasé orange identifies you from wildlife.

This is the best time of the year to be in the Northwoods so enjoy with respect our outdoors.

Keep a tight line,

*Yukon Jack Outfitters,

1857 Scattering Rice Lake Rd.,

Eagle River, WI  54521,

715-479-3219; website: www.yukonjackegv.com

We can honestly say that there is no place on earth with as much variety of fishing opportunities in freshwater fishing. With literally hundreds of lakes of all sizes, and miles and miles of trout streams, plus the fishing in the Wisconsin River, you could fish every day of the open water season and never hit the same water twice. We have great fishing for trout, musky walleye, smallmouth & largemouth bass, northerns and all types of panfish. You can catch most of these species within the city limits of Eagle River.

Musky fishing is spectacular, with people travelling from all over the world to fish these great gamefish. The action starts on the Memorial Day weekend - and there is good fishing for them right from the start. Our variety of musky waters run from the Wisconsin and Eagle Rivers to lakes running from 50 to 4,000 acres. We also have a great variety of dark and clear water lakes for all weather conditions.When you are thinking musky you may want to fish them in the summer while on a family vacation. At this time of the year surface baits provide heart-stopping action - and you can fish early and late in the day while still boating or otherwise enjoying life with the family. One great thing to remember about musky is that they hit at any time - not just at a particular time of day, Fall musky fishing is the best of the trophy time, with numerous huge musky caught (and usually released) every year. This is the time that our many excellent area guides are very busy with musky clients.

Walleye fishing is also good, especially in the spring and fall. Our game fish season starts on the first weekend in May and the walleye are active from the start. Most opening weekends find some of the best fishing of the year, with the fish still in the shallows from spawning. May is a great time to fish walleye with light tackle along the shorelines. June finds the fish moving deeper, with good action experienced in deeper weeds and on mid-lake structure.
As the summer vacation period happens our guides will still find these great tasting fish daily, and many a vacation has been enhanced with an evening meal of fresh-caught walleye. They are located deeper in the summer, usually around mid-lake bars and reefs.
Fall walleye fishing is great, with days of 10 - 30 walleye not uncommon. This is the time of the year for fishing with jigs and larger minnows for big fish. You can also experience fine artificial bait luck at this time of year with crankbaits.

Northern pike abound in this area also, with a variety of lakes for these fish. We do have some trophy water for these fish, although most of our lakes contain mid-sized fish in good numbers. This is a great gamefish to introduce to you children to fishing for while on vacation, because of their aggressive nature and abundance.

This area has not been previously known as a hotbed for largemouth bass, but it is a real "sleeper" area for these fish. You will experience a huge variety of conditions and types of fishing for them, from 20 acre ponds to 2,000 acre lakes. More and more our guides have learned to take clients to out-of-the-way small bog lakes for these fish. Fish to 6 pounds are not uncommon, but most fish run in the 2-3 pound range.

Smallmouth bass are a different story - we have some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world right here. Catches of 50 fish a day are not uncommon, and many trophies are taken yearly. The smallies hit right from opening day on - and it again is a wonderful way to introduce your friend or children to gamefish fishing with a certainty of success. Another way of enjoying fishing for smallmouth is to flyfish for them. This is becoming a much more popular sport yearly. Many area guides have become adepot at this type of fishing.

Out trout fishing is also varied, with both streams and lakes available. The experience of wilderness fishing for trout along our hundreds of miles of streams is a great way to spend a summer day or evening. Most area streams are small, but loaded with fish. A number of our rivers or streams can be canoed.There is a good number of lakes and ponds for trout fishing also, and these fish are noted for hitting all season long.

One of the great benefits of coming to this area is the variety - there is ALWAYS some type of fish active and hitting. Bring a variety of rods, or just hire one of the many local guides and they will provide equipment for you.

Good luck and good fishing!