Where The Fish Are

Where The Fish Are

Being new to the Chain, it will be some time before I can speak with some authority. But, reading through some of the literature I discovered on the net, below is a starting outline of what the different lakes might offer. I'll come back to this article often and develop it further as I gain personal experience,

1. By mid-summer algae is rife
2. Eurasian Water Milfoil is widespread, densely packing shorelines
3. Popular
   1. Bass – most popular
   2. Walleyes – heavily stocked
   3. Northern Pike
   4. Catfish – fast catch rate @ 5 lbs.(up to 17lbs.)
4. Bass Fishing very popular – many tournaments
5. Bass catch rates are high, depending on lake & vegetation cover
6. Muskies are fantastic & steadily growing
7. Northern Pike are native to the chain – high winter fishing
8. Good sized muskies – 40" to 50" caught regularly
9. Early spring – Southerly Lakes: more shallow and murky than northern lakes
   1. Walleyes
      1. Shallow Backwaters
      2. Current areas off creek inlets
      3. Channels between lakes
   1. Largemouth Bass
   1. Fox Lake
   2. Nippersink
   3. Pistakee
10. Channel areas produce well during windy or rainy periods
11. Air movements produce current flow from one lake to another
12. As season advances, northerly lakes are warmer
    1. Switch to deeper structure
    2. Drift fishing with a leach
    3. Troll with crankbaits around deep structure
13. Channel Lake
    1. Weed oriented and deep
    2. Offers flats, deep shoreline breaks and turns
    3. Fished for Northern Pike & Bass
    4. Fish southern bay drop-offs
14. Lake Catherine
    1. Fished for Northern Pike & Bass
    2. Fish southern bay drop-offs
15. Lake Marie
    1. The most fishing pressure
    2. Sandy bottom an good clarity
    3. Reliably offers muskies
    4. Troll shoreline weed edges during mid-season
    5. In fall, cast around weed fingers on the sandbar – Crankbaits
    6. Look for bass in the channels & weed beds
    7. Channel Dwellers –
       1. Crappies
       2. White Bass
    8. Northern Pike like the northern shorelines
    9. Walleyes are lurking at steep drop-offs
16. Bluff Lake
    1. Mucky bays
    2. Flats & boat docks
    3. Fish easily tempted with well-placed Bucktail
    4. Known for Northern Pike and Panfish (Perch)
17. Petite Lake
    1. Sleeper Muskie lake
    2. The broad bay on the Southeast End is a weedy flat
    3. The bar off the bay's mouth
    4. Muskie in the sporadic rip-rap on the Northwest Shore
    5. Most shorelines have good weed edge around the 7 foot level
18. Fox & Nippersink
    1. Holds the  largest number of 50-inch-class muskies
    2. Best fishing spots
       1. Pads
       2. Rocks
       3. Eddies
       4. Laydowns
    3. Most fishing on the 3 large bays
       1. Mineola
          1. Drop-off & Rock Bar – best place for walleyes
       2. Stanton
       3. Columbia
    4. Crabapple Island
       1. Crappies & Catfish
19. Grass Lake
    1. 5-foot deep waterway
    2. Dense with vegetation and Northern Pike
    3. Work the north-south shorelines for Bass
    4. Catfish in the Northwest Bay
    5. Muskies in the channel between grass Lake & Marie (spring time)
20. Pistakee Lake
    1. Muskie action in the spring on wide open flats until weeds emerge
    2. Focus on currents around the bridge piling
       1. Perch – Bucktails: black, white, orange, yellow & green
       2. Crappies – Bucktails: black, white, orange, yellow & green
       3. Walleyes – Bucktails: black, white, orange, yellow & green
    3. These bucktails emulate the forage base
       1. Yellow bass
       2. White bass
       3. Yellow perch & panfish
    4. Head into Redhead Lake
21. Best fishing is in the early or late season & summer weekdays
22. Go at first light and be off my mid-morning