Nemahbin (Upper and Lower)

A gorgeous Wednesday to be on the water. The way the wind was blowing it was ideal for shoreline drifting.  So I got out the sock for the first time ever.  Got the hang of it pretty quickly.  First fish came in 10 minutes.  Northern.  Well it's a start.  C rig worked but so did bobbers with a simple split shot and circle hook.  Minnows and leeches were all I used. Both caught fish.  10 to 20 fow on the drop offs. Finding weeds near the drop is the key. A mixed bag of northerns, walleyes, smallies, and lg mouths.  Nothing huge but I did keep 2  18" eyes for dinner.  They were pretty skinny. Bigger smallies were deeper. I watched a couple of guys crappie fishing without much success.  BB

Got a last minute break from babysitting Wednesday.  Fished from 7:30 until 1:30.  Caught a mixed bag of walleyes, smallies, perch, and large mouths and gills.  They were all mixed in with the hundreds of carp and suckers.  At one point there was a giant school of carp swimming 6" below the surface.  It looked like the armada coming toward me.  Also saw a couple of large northerns, and a bullhead.  The water is so clear you can see down to 20 feet.   Water is high.  Watched a pontoon make it under the upper bridge with 2 inches to spare.   BB

On at 11 off at 5.  Fresh meat in the boat. Started un the north end of upper. No fish. Worked shorelines looking for warmest water.  38 to 42 degrees on main lake.  Wasted a lot of time but learned a lot.  Went to lower at the urging of "fresh meat" and found 45 degree water.  Fished in 2 fow. Bobbers with small jigs 10"under.   Chartreuse, pink were good but shiny gold was also good especially good at finding down branches. Tipped with waxes or soft plastic and orange gulp "worms" Found gills and crappies and pretty much non stop action.  Potato chips were most appreciated by "fresh meat"  LOL. Saw 2 10" tiger muskies in 14" of water.  Stripes were clearly visible.  A MOST ENJOYABLE DAY.  Some of you will be able to tell from this post who my guest was.  Definitely going to happen again.  BB

Late report.......Fished friday noon to 6.  Biggest thing caught was an anchor.  Most fish were 20 to 25 ft down in 25 to 35 fow.  Awfully difficult to stay on them cuz they are constantly moving.  Not ready to give it up yet.  The rivers are still open.  BB

Fished friday from 3 to 7:30.  Graph showed fish 15 to 20 feet down in 25 to 35 FOW.  Only fish caught was a small northern.  Last time out there were many eyes shallow when I was going in.  Nothing shallow this time.

Finally made it out Thursday 1:00 to 5:pm.  The wind was brutal.  I couldn't hold the boat down with 2 anchors.  And one of them is a 15# river anchor.  According to the graph the bigger fish were in 40+ FOW suspended 25 to 35 feet down.  I felt bad for the guy who was going out as I was coming in.  The wind picked up pretty good after I left.  

Well.....I couldn't stand it any longer and went for a few hours tonight.  Got on about 5. Off at 9.  Didn't even get all the rods set up and I landed an 18" smallie.  10 minutes later a 12"er.  Not what I was targeting.  I'm after the eyes.  Only got 1 at about 8".  So things started out pretty good.  Then it got dark and the line tangles started.  Thank the Lord for bright headlamps!..  Slip bobbers with minnows worked just fine.  I love bobber fishing especially with lights. I make my own bobbers that stand about 8" tall in the water.  All fish caught on the "cliffs" N.E. side of upper.  Had the lake to myself.  Saw many smaller eyes on the way in to the launch in 5' of water.  There is a healthy population of eyes in there. BB

08/21/2023: 0900 to 1130 hrs (Lower Nemahbin south west side)
Trolling with 1/4 oz head and yellow plastic frogs
Small mouth bass were extremely active today
10” to 15” nice-fighters; catch and released at least a dozen nice ones

CM - I've read reports of people catching catfish here, but I've personally never caught one. The DNR has also never captured one in any fisheries surveys they've done. 

I have caught some decent sized bullheads, but no channel cats. 

Does nemahbin have catfish?