Fishing Report

Check out the BRAND NEW Chequamegon Bay FISHING Brochure. It has everything from fish species, places to fish, tying knots and much more. Stop by our office or order your brochure today! info@visitashland.com

Fishing Report June 11, 2019

Anglers All, Located at 2803 E. Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Highway 2) in Ashland, is a full-service tackle and fly shop offering a huge selection of baits and tackle for year round fishing. For the most complete and up-to-date fishing report, just give them a call at 715/682-5754, and they will gladly keep you informed! Anglers All reports: The water is starting to clear up but we are still a couple of weeks behind in water temps warming up but as soon as the temps warm up, the action will be picking up on the Bay and on the Inlands. Trollers continue flat lining stickbaits from Houghton Point to Long Island and out to the Apostle Islands and catching nice Cohos, Browns and Splake. When trolling, look for visible mud lines.  Some Anglers are starting to use Trolling Spoons using down riggers and having success catching Lake Trout. Small Mouth Fishing has begun in Sandcut. Anglers have been successful using plastics on light jigs, crank-baits, hair-jigs, and live bait. They worked slowly in 10 feet of water or less. There have been some beautiful Small Mouth being caught. Walleye fishing is heating up on the Ashland side of the Bay as are the Northern’s.

River Rock Inn & Bait Shop, Located at 1200 W. Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Highway 2), in Ashland where you can stop in and see their wide variety of live bait, fishing tackle, gear, accessories, fresh and smoked fish from Lake Superior, local meat sticks, and microbrews, and much more. Call them at 715/682-3232 for the most current fishing report. Scott Bretting from River Rock Inn & Bait Shop reports: Small Mouth are spawning now and are very active. We’ve had some nice catches being reported. The water clarity is starting to clear up now and the water temps are in the low 60’s. Look for clear water, it is out there and you will catch fish. Be cautious, there is a lot of debris in Lake Superior right now. Trolling on the Lake has been good for catching Browns, Lake Trout and CoHo’s.  There are some nice Walleyes being caught in the Kakagon Sloughs and Brush Point area and Chequamegon Bay. There are also reports of nice Walleyes in the Johnson Beach and Pig Iron area. This could continue for the next few weeks unless we get a May Fly hatch. The forecast says we should be getting some cool nights so this good Walleye fishing could continue. A hot bait right now is Bait Rigs Psycho Minnow, which has been an extremely popular bait. The Inlands have had some nice Crappie and Pan Fish and an occasional Northern once and a while in up-shallow of 4-ft or less. You never know so be ready for a Northern in that shallow water too. A good bait for the Creeks and Streams right now are night crawlers and spinners. Inland Lake Musky fishing is getting better as the temps warm. Stay tuned every Tuesday morning for a live fishing show with Scott Bretting on WJJH radio at 6am. Local Guides will be interviewed and you will hear all the “fishing news”.

Local Live Cams

• Northern State Bank Live Cam – Marina Area
• River Rock Inn & Bait Shop Live Cam – Hot pond area.  Make sure you click the link once in the page.

Smelt information 2019

The Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce, 1-800-284-9484, reports: Fishing is always a thrilling adventure in the Ashland area!
Chequamegon Bay is famous for its world-class smallmouth bass fishing. The 12-mile-long bay’s rock piles and breakwater structures make for perfect bass habitat.

• Wisconsin residents and non-residents 16 years of age and up will need a fishing license to fish any waters in the state. An annual license costs $20.  Go online at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/regulations/hookline.html for more details.
• Residents born before Jan. 1, 1927, don’t need a fishing license. They do need to carry proof of their age when fishing, however.
• State residents who are members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty are entitled to obtain a free license when they go on furlough or leave.

New this year

• Motor trolling is now legal on all inland waters with one hook, bait, or lure and – depending on location – with up to three hooks, baits, or lures, according to the DNR website.
• Most inland lakes and rivers within the Ceded Territory (which includes Ashland County) have a daily bag limit of 3 walleye.

ALSO – To see a real-time image of Chequamegon Bay, go to Northern State Bank‘s Bay Cam.
And be sure to check out River Rock Inn & Bait Shop‘s new, awesome Live Cam overlooking the area near the Xcel Energy “hot pond”!

More on fishing in the Chequamegon Bay region

Entertaining viewing:

Check out this great episode of “John Gillespie’s Waters & Woods” from Feb. 6 focusing on ice fishing near Ashland.  Josh Teigen of Josh Teigen’s Guide Service in Iron River took the amiable TV host out on Chequamegon Bay where Gillespie said he had one of his “most enjoyable ice fishing trips of the year.”

Don’t miss this episode of “Larry Smith Outdoors” as the Berlin, Wis., guide and outdoorsman teams up with Tommy Hicks of Ashland and Beyond the Catch Guide Service to tackle Chequamegon Bay. Trout are on the menu along with whitefish when Larry and Tommy head out on the ice in “one of the prettiest parts of the state.”

Highly recommended reading:

Check out this wonderful article by Andrew Ragas of NorthwoodsBass.com about the excellent smallmouth bass fishery right here in Chequamegon Bay!  Ragas spent a day out on the water with Ashland native Nate Baron of Up North Guide Service.

A very well-written story by Tom Hazelton about a day spent fly-fishing out on Chequamegon Bay with Luke Kavajecz of Anglers All.  Hazelton calls it “Unsalted.”

Another great article on bass fishing Chequamegon Bay saltwater-style, this one by Duluth News Tribune outdoors writer Sam Cook. Read all about “Barefootin’ the bay.”

Read about Roger LaPenter’s 2014 induction into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.

Learn more about the great fishing in Chequamegon Bay!

Chicagoans Meredith and Claire had some good fun on Chequamegon Bay last July catching smallmouth and enjoying some beach time out at Long Island. “Hard to ignore swimming when the water is 75 degrees,” said their guide, Luke Kavajecz of Ashland’s Anglers All. “It was a fun day for sure!” (Photo courtesy of Luke Kavajecz)