Plum lake

[Eagle 1]

Hi everybody, I will be bringing up my family the last week in Aug. Musky fishing and maybe a little walleyes and pan fish. Never been on Plum lake before, I now its clear water but not much more then that. Thinking of alittle night fishing for both eyes and muskies. any help would be appreciated.Lures and colors. I did stay on Peach fuzz pond the last weekend in may and the water temps were running in the mid 50s at that time. we cought some crappies, perch, and acouple of small eyes and lots of little northerns. We fished along the wisconsin river and cought a couple of smallies, that was cool!! We only raised 1 musky on PFP close to 40". Thanks for all the help and keep up the good work!!Brad

[Muskie Matt]

Hey Brad,

Smallies... don't forget to search for the smallmouth bass in Plum. Smallies are an often overlooked species in the area and there's some nice "footballs" in Plum. Probably have to look a bit deeper this time of year, 15-25ft or more. Tube jigs work well...

I would definately night fish the muskie this time of year, Plum is a good lake and I spend a lot of time on it in the fall. It makes my top 10 list of fall lakes in the area.

Give a call when you're in the area...

[Pete Stoltman]

I second Matt's recommendation on chasing the smallies. They can be a lot of fun. Regarding Plum Lake in general I have two words for you Struc Ture. The lack of weeds due to the Rusty Crayfish in the main basin of the lake has the fish relating to rock humps, bars, and any other kind of submerged structure. Some areas like Starlight Bay have good submerged timber worth checking out. The shallow east end of the lake does have some weeds so if you're a weed related type fisherman that's an area worth looking into. Pike, largemouth, and some muskies will be found along with panfish down in that end. In the main basin of the lake, look for the steep dropping edges for smallies. You will see a ledge that is probably 3 to 5 feet deep dropping into 15 foot plus water. That edge is a key to look for. Also check for some deep water bars. There are some out there in 40 foot plus water where the bar tops off at 15 to 20 feet. These are very easy to bypass but can be an absolute fish magnet in clear water lakes.
As for lure choices, on muskies I use a lot of deep running crankbaits like Depth Raiders or Triple D's. Plum is also one of the lakes where chucking a big old Bulldawg or similar soft plastic and letting it sink down is a good method. Use deep running bucktails like Mepps Giant Killers or slow rolling spinnerbaits along those edges I talked about too.You would think that natural colors like perch and walleye patterns would be the best but surprisingly I've also had fish out there hit on firetiger or other "hot" colors.
For the smallies I've done well with Shad Raps or similar crankbaits in perch color or the various silver combinations. Remember that those fish are also eating the "Rustys" so tube jigs or other things that imitate a crayfish are pretty good bets.
Plum can be a bit of a hearbreaker especially to those who are stuck in a "weed fishing" mode. Just remember that you will need to adjust your presentation to the lack of weeds and water clarity in order to consistently locate and catch fish.

[Eagle 1]

Thanks Matt and Pete, As allways you guys are on it. Thanks for the help, and tips, I was also wondering how the boat launches are like, the one on the east side and on the far south side??? I'll be listening to the show tonite along with the space shuttle launch, if it goes up.Thanks again, BRAD

[Pete Stoltman]

The landing in town is next to what used to be Pat's Bait Bucket. It's a good landing but after the launch area is a VERY shallow sand bar. Depending on the amount of rain lately you may or may not be able to get some boats over that bar. Check it out before launching there. The other landing at Statehouse point is a good launch with deep water immediately behind it and plenty of parking. I usually go there unless the water is really up at the town side launch.

[Eagle 1]

Hi Pete, Thanks again. Looking at the map, there are 2 launches by the narrows one on the north and south side. I was alittle turned around about which launches before. I will drve around the lake to see all three when we get up there. You guys get any rain lately? I now Boot is getting pretty low now days. Thanks again,Brad

[Pete Stoltman]

The launch at the west end of the lake is where County N crosses over. I never use it and it seems it's used primarily by folks in small craft like canoes and rowboats. The one on the north side of the lake is Statehouse Point which is the best place to launch. The south launch is the one located in the town of Sayner and close to Froelich's resort. It is the one that is quite shallow. No significant rain lately. Nice for vacationers but we sure could use some moisture.