Fishing Reports

2008 Reports

Opening Weekend Report 5/3-5/4

2007 Reports

10/20 Report

With the increased current in the river, smallmouth fishing is excellent. On Saturday 10/20, we an incredible day on the water boating at least 30 smallmouth between 18-20 inches. Smallmouth was stacked up and aggressive. I have been using a few new techniques that have proven deadly this past week and will be discussing these new techniques over the winter months at my seminars, clinics and in Northwoods Adventures Magazine. Northwoods Adventures Magazine will now be published six times per year and I will be adding additional writers and content. This hot bite should continue through the next few weeks.

10/16 Report

Fished on 10/16 with George and Barb and we caught lots of big smallmouth. The smallmouth were relating to weeds and on the feed. As the water temp continues to drop the action will only get better.

10/6 Report

Fishing remains great on the Menominee River. The rain has increased the river flow and smallmouth are starting to bunch up. Red tail chubs are producing big smallmouth but so is the Yo-zuri Pin’s Minnow. Twitching this crankbait tight to weeds has proven deadly. The finish and balanced action of the Pin’s Minnow is driving big smallmouth wild.

9/28 Report

Fishing on the Menominee River remains great. The bite varies from day to day, due to the weather and wind direction. However, regardless of the conditions we are putting 19 inch plus fish in the boat every day. Most of the big smallmouth, and the occasional big pike, are taking chubs. Plastics and Yo-Zuri crankbaits are also catching nice fish

9/20 Report

5 pound smallmouth everyday!!!
Smallmouth fishing remains excellent on the river. We continue to find big fish in non-typical areas. Besides minnows, the Yo-Zuri Pin's Minnow has been hot. With limited current smallmouth are hitting

the Pin's Minnow with a jerk and stop retrieve.

9/19 Report
Fished on 9/19 & 9/20 with Todd and Kay Morgan. We caught some big smallmouth.
While we are catching Big Smallmouth this fall the pattern is very different, due to low water.

9/14 Report
Smallmouth fishing on the Menominee River remains excellent. Water temps are dropping due to a series of cold fronts. Most smallmouth are holding in deeper water but a few have been caught holding tight to shallow cover. Fished on 9/13 & 9/14 with Lyle Webb from Indianapolis and his brother Mike from Philadelphia. Even with high winds and a nasty cold front, we caught big smallmouth on plastics and chubs. The fall bite will only get better.

8/17 Report
Mid to late summer is not the most popular period for many bass anglers. However, whether you choose to fish for smallmouth or largemouth, it can be a time of plenty both for big fish and action. As usual, the key is concentrating on the proper water and using the proper presentations. While my clients catch many nice bass in August, if we were to fish a different lake only a few miles down the road, the fishing would be very tough.

8/2 Report
So far the smallmouth action on the Menominee River has been as hot as the weather. The best part is that smallmouth continue to hit a variety of presentations. Plastics, topwater or crankbaits, pick your bait of choice! Although my expertise on fly fishing is limited, I have been putting my fly fishing clients on active fish, due to the excellent topwater bite.

The agenda has been to start out with topwater baits like the Yo-Zuri 3-D Popper. If the topwater action slows down, we switch to soft plastic jerkbaits and tubes. On occasion if the bite stops, we switch to crankbaits like the Yo-Zuri Hardcore series and look for scattered smallmouth. Except for the occasional trip with kids, I have had no need to use any live bait. The action should intensify in August, which is typically the best topwater month.

7/15 Report

We now have a definite pattern. One angler should toss a topwater bait and the other a tube or jerkbait. You can end up with a double on 2 different baits. Smallmouth are starting to bunch up so when you catch a fish, slow down and work the area!

7/13 Report

Smallmouth fishing on the Menominee River remains very good, but the bite is not easy to pattern. The last few days fishing weeds in the morning yielded nice smallmouth on the Yo-Zuri 3D Popper. The 3-D Popper will emit strike-provoking clicks and rattles at the slightest movement. Gold/Black and Tennessee Shad have been the hot colors. If you move a topwater bait to fast, you will coax a strike but not hook the fish. Always use a Senko or Fluke as a follow up bait.

6/25 Report

Smallmouth fishing on the Menominee River has been good, but a bit sporadic. During the past few weeks we have experienced many weather changes including a few tornados. We are catching smallmouth each day but are using a variety of presentations and a different pattern each day.

On June 21^st I had an awesome topwater and crankbait bite, but the next day nightcrawlers caught the most fish. Today Senkos rigged weedless and Wacky style did the trick.

The last few days on the river we are starting to run into larger fish. Although the topwater bite is fair, give it a try each day. However, for best results rely on crankbaits and plastics.

With smallmouth now in the summer pattern fishing should be consistent!!!

On High Falls Flowage the walleye fishing has been excellent with lots of fish in the 17-21 inch range. Walleyes are hitting large jumbo leeches fished on deep structure.

6/2 Report

I have been fishing both the Menominee River and High Falls Flowage this past week and the quality of the smallmouth remains excellent. We are boating 20-inch plus smallmouth on a daily basis.

On the Menominee River the post-spawn smallmouth are aggressive and are hitting Yo-Zuri crankbaits and soft plastic jerkbaits. Four-inch jerkbaits rigged wacky style have been catching the most numbers and the largest smallmouth. However, I still rely on crankbaits to locate smallmouth. Typical of post-spawn smallmouth they are scattered, so don’t expect to find a load of fish in one area. Fish weeds, rocks & wood.

On High Falls the pattern is patience. While we are catching a few smallmouth on plastics, stick with large leeches. Fish the same rocky shorelines where smallmouth spawning occurred, but work the 5-10 foot depths. Hook a large leech on a number 4 hook, with a small split shot clinched 12-16 inches up from the hook. The big smallmouth have been hitting like perch. One tip is to watch your line for any sudden movement. Smallmouth will suck in the leech and head for deep water.

5/30 Report

The fishing remains excellent! Most of the smallmouth have completed spawning but, they have not fallen into the dreaded post-spawn period. Instead, they are on the feed big time. Over the weekend we had fantastic fishing on High Falls Flowage, catching several smallmouth in the 18-20 inch class. Over on the Menominee River, the fishing is even better, with both size and numbers. The next few weeks shout be great fishing. Look for the Menominee River in particular to be producing some big smallmouth.

Post-spawn smallmouth can be scattered so use a crankbait to locate them, but make sure you cover the water effectively. If smallmouth are tight to the shorelines use a Yo-Zuri floating and sinking crystal minnow. If the bite is light, switch to a Yo-Zuri Pin's Minnow. The Pin's minnow has a smaller diameter than the crystal Minnow and has a highly reflective body that will trigger neutral smallmouth. Once you locate a few smallmouth work the area with tubes, jerkbaits or leeches. If smallmouth are holding off the shorelines try a Yo-Zuri Jerk-O, which is a suspending jerkbait.

5/14 Report
Even with the brisk wind, we managed to catch some nice smallmouth today. We caught the smallmouth on soft plastic jerkbaits and Yo-Zuri Floating Crystal Minnows. Hot colors on the Crystal Minnow were orange/yellow and black silver. Work the Crystal Minnows with a twitch-stop-go mannor. The crystal Minnow will dart and dive, then float to the surface.

5/11 Report
With the water temperature in the 60’s, the smallmouth action has been phenomenal on the Menominee River. Fished with my friend Roby Blust on Thursday, may 10th. Working the shorelines with senkos wacky rigged, and Yo-zuri Crystal Minnows yielded several big smallmouth. The average fish we caught went 18-20 inches. Great average size in anyone’s book!!!

The action should remain excellent through next week. I have openings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Walleye action on High Falls Flowage has been good with leeches being the top baits. On Friday we found walleyes in 12-15 feet depths relating to rock points. We also caught a few dandy smallmouth on Friday on High Falls.

Opening Day Report
Over the weekend the water temperature dropped due to the front, and slowed down the fishing. The temp went from 60 degrees to 55 degrees. Smallmouth were holding tight on High Falls Flowage Saturday and we had to put the bait right in front of them. A white, three inch senko (jerkbait) did the trick. Most of the smallmouth we caught were males. However, with the warming weather the water temperature is again starting to rise and the big fish bite should be excellent the rest of this week. I have caught many big smallmouth on High Falls during this early season.

Over on the Menominee River the water temperature also stared to climb yesterday and those 5-6 pounders should be right where they are suppose to be. Fishing the rest of the week and through the weekend should be excellent. Now is the time for the six pounder, or maybe even a seven pounder.

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Wisconsin Fishing Guide Mike Mladenik

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Fishing Reports

2008 Reports

Opening Weekend Report 5/3-5/4

2007 Reports