Beautiful weather in North-Central Wisconsin has been the perfect complement to the excellent fishing in the Wausau area as of late. Novice and experienced anglers alike have been enjoying some fine angling opportunities for both bluegill and crappie. Look for the bluegills along both deep weed edges as well as inhabiting the wood. Fishing vertical with small jigs or suspending them under slip-bobbers has been the most productive methods. Tipping the hook with a small piece of worm or nightcrawler will increase your catch. Crappies are also in the wood and are readily consuming small jigs tipped with minnows.
The resident population of smallmouth bass continues to provide action for those wishing to experience their feisty temperament. Pitching and flipping timber has been a solid method of producing fish, especially during the heat of mid-day. The most productive presentations for this method of fishing have been 3"-4" Texas-rigged tubes such as those manufactured by Mr. Twister pitched in and around the wood. In addition, there continues to be a fine topwater bite in the shallower waters around the greater Wausau area. Popper-style baits like the PT Popper and walk-the-dog type lures are both working well. Anglers looking for a different yet exciting style of fishing should consider fly-fishing for this regions bronzebacks.
Good walleye action continues for those anglers fishing stretches of cover-laden deeper water. A variety of presentation offerings are working and anglers should remain flexible, letting the fish dictate which method is the most productive for that day. Live bait has been the ticket whether slip-bobbering, rigging, or jigging. Nightcrawlers, leeches, and large fatheads have all been working lately with the walleyes often changing their preference from day to day. Trolling has been a good method of covering water and locating roaming walleyes as the summer has worn on. Depths as shallow as 6 feet out to twenty-five feet have all held fish; continue to experiment both with your Reef Runner crankbait size and color as well with various areas to key in on the best action.
Musky fishing continues to be excellent on the Wisconsin River and its flowages. Action has been consistent and again fish into the fifty-inch range have been released from area waters within the past week. The torrid surface bait bite is still going strong during the low light periods of early morning and evening. While a variety of lure types will work, prop-style baits like the Topraider and Super Topraider have seemed to produce the most action. Bucktails like the Mepps and Llungen lures line-up, including larger double-bladed varieties are also producing fish. During the brightest portions of the day the bite has been strong both with suspended fish and those relating to thick heavy cover. Straight model Depthraiders and Bigfoot Depthraiders have been the ticket on the suspended muskies while jerkbaits, large weedless jigs, and Slopmasters are all working well for muskies in the "thick stuff".
