Hayward Lakes VCB
09-21-2023, 10:05 AM
Musky:
Musky fishing is fair to good around shallower weed beds, weed edges, rock, points, breaklines, and bars adjacent to drop-offs into deeper water. Larger bucktails, gliders, paddletail swimbaits, and topwaters will all pull fish. While you are casting those baits, be sure to float a musky sucker on the side to entice indecisive fish.
Walleye:
Walleye fishing slowed and it is a difficult bite with fish scattered from mid-depths to deep and reluctant to bite. Look for green weeds and rock bars near drop-offs to deeper water. The most productive offerings include walleye suckers, fatheads, and crawlers on jigs, slip bobbers, or bottom bouncers, jerkbaits, jointed Flicker Shads, World Cranks, and Shad Raps, and trolled crankbaits.
Northern Pike:
Northern pike fishing is good for anglers who target them on shallow to mid-depth weed beds, flats, other structure, and areas holding panfish concentrations, with many incidental catches by anglers fishing for other species. Sucker and fathead minnows under slip bobbers, spinners, spinnerbaits, spoons, swimbaits, and bucktails are all working for pike.
Largemouth Bass:
Largemouth bass fishing remains good, even with the change in weather. Find fish from shallow to mid-depth weeds, weedlines, wood, cribs, and other structure. The most productive baits include live bait such as minnows and crawlers under slip bobbers, Texas rigged worms and other plastics, spinners, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, crankbaits, and topwaters.
Smallmouth Bass:
Smallmouth bass fishing slowed recently, but anglers are still catching fish. Look for them on weedlines, rocks, and cribs in various depths, and suspending over deeper water. Best baits include Sucker minnows, fatheads, crawlers, drop-shot and Ned rigs, tubes, plastics, and crankbaits.
Crappie:
Crappie fishing is good and improving, with most fish near the bottom around weedlines, wood, brush, bogs, basins and cribs in mid-depths to about 20 feet. The most productive baits include crappie minnows, fatheads, plastics, mayfly imitations, Mini-Mites, and Gulp! baits on small jigs and/or fished under slip bobbers.
Bluegill/Perch:
Bluegill and perch fishing is good around shallow green weeds, weedlines, and cribs, with some bluegills swimming with crappies. Larger bluegills are a bit deeper. Baits of choice include waxies, leaf worms, crawler chunks, and plastics on small jigs, plain hooks, and/or fished under slip bobbers.
Musky fishing is fair to good around shallower weed beds, weed edges, rock, points, breaklines, and bars adjacent to drop-offs into deeper water. Larger bucktails, gliders, paddletail swimbaits, and topwaters will all pull fish. While you are casting those baits, be sure to float a musky sucker on the side to entice indecisive fish.
Walleye:
Walleye fishing slowed and it is a difficult bite with fish scattered from mid-depths to deep and reluctant to bite. Look for green weeds and rock bars near drop-offs to deeper water. The most productive offerings include walleye suckers, fatheads, and crawlers on jigs, slip bobbers, or bottom bouncers, jerkbaits, jointed Flicker Shads, World Cranks, and Shad Raps, and trolled crankbaits.
Northern Pike:
Northern pike fishing is good for anglers who target them on shallow to mid-depth weed beds, flats, other structure, and areas holding panfish concentrations, with many incidental catches by anglers fishing for other species. Sucker and fathead minnows under slip bobbers, spinners, spinnerbaits, spoons, swimbaits, and bucktails are all working for pike.
Largemouth Bass:
Largemouth bass fishing remains good, even with the change in weather. Find fish from shallow to mid-depth weeds, weedlines, wood, cribs, and other structure. The most productive baits include live bait such as minnows and crawlers under slip bobbers, Texas rigged worms and other plastics, spinners, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, crankbaits, and topwaters.
Smallmouth Bass:
Smallmouth bass fishing slowed recently, but anglers are still catching fish. Look for them on weedlines, rocks, and cribs in various depths, and suspending over deeper water. Best baits include Sucker minnows, fatheads, crawlers, drop-shot and Ned rigs, tubes, plastics, and crankbaits.
Crappie:
Crappie fishing is good and improving, with most fish near the bottom around weedlines, wood, brush, bogs, basins and cribs in mid-depths to about 20 feet. The most productive baits include crappie minnows, fatheads, plastics, mayfly imitations, Mini-Mites, and Gulp! baits on small jigs and/or fished under slip bobbers.
Bluegill/Perch:
Bluegill and perch fishing is good around shallow green weeds, weedlines, and cribs, with some bluegills swimming with crappies. Larger bluegills are a bit deeper. Baits of choice include waxies, leaf worms, crawler chunks, and plastics on small jigs, plain hooks, and/or fished under slip bobbers.