From the Island bay Lodge you will have access to 10 lakes to either tour, water ski, wake board or go fishing on. The touring and the fishing is what I love and the Manitowish chain is one of the best for both.
I have fished the Manitowish Chain for 20 years. Some Muskies, mostly Walleyes, a few panfish and large mouth bass, and my main quest is Mr. Walleye. My favorite fish by far. The chain is a fishing paradise but in July due to all of the boat traffic, early in the morning is best for daylight fishing. I usually hit the water about 5:30 am, and do fairly well on Island Lake and Spider Lake. If you fish Walleyes, you can get them is daylight, by fishing slip bobbers, floated into weed edges. The spots are plentiful on both lakes, as there are many patches of weeds along the shore lines of all the lakes, that will produce nice walleyes in the middle of the day.
For panfish, I use to take the kids fishing in Fawn, and Stone. We caught enough for a fish fry, before the kids got bored. I also suggest using Town Line Sports for all your fishing needs as the owners know just about everything there is to know about fishing the chain.
What to use for bait?
Well, that depends on what you’re fishing for. I like fishing for Walleyes so crawlers are may favorite and then minnows are starting to step up and catch Walleyes this summer. Depending on the water temperature sticking with minnows and crawlers are the best choice.
In the later months of the summer and early fall the fish have gone deeper for the most parts. The deepest holes on the lake will hold the most fish now.
In the fall and later months surface temperatures must get to 39 before that top layer of water becomes heavier and drops to the bottom. You can catch whitefish during this time
Lake trout are coming aboard too from very deep water. Some days limits of walleye are filled in minutes where on other days you may not get a bite in those same spots. Perch are very active for the most part and northern pike are turning on too.
Fishing with Jigs:
Jigs are the most common lure used for walleye. It allows the angler to reach the depths where walleyes inhabit. Most walleye anglers tip their jigs with live bait for added attraction and scent. How to work a jig depends on the time of year. When the water is cold and the walleyes are sluggish, use a very slow presentation, short gentle taps on the retrieve works the best. For warmer water walleyes, they become more aggressive, try an intense jigging retrieve. In both cases to work the jig properly, cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, then retrieve with a series of twitches and pauses based on the time of year. After each twitch maintain a taut line while the jig sinks back to the bottom. Walleyes usually hit while the jig is sinking. If your line is not taut you won’t feel a strike, sometimes you will feel a distinctive tap, other times you will feel light pressure as if the jig is hung up. Whenever you feel anything different set the hook. When fishing with jigs a must have is a fast action sensitive rod so you can feel even the lightest taps, the fast action gives the power for an immediate hookset.
Fishing with Jigs:
Jigs are the most common lure used for walleye. It allows the angler to reach the depths where walleyes inhabit. Most walleye anglers tip their jigs with live bait for added attraction and scent. How to work a jig depends on the time of year. When the water is cold and the walleyes are sluggish, use a very slow presentation, short gentle taps on the retrieve works the best. For warmer water walleyes, they become more aggressive, try an intense jigging retrieve. In both cases to work the jig properly, cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, then retrieve with a series of twitches and pauses based on the time of year. After each twitch maintain a taut line while the jig sinks back to the bottom. Walleyes usually hit while the jig is sinking. If your line is not taut you won’t feel a strike, sometimes you will feel a distinctive tap, other times you will feel light pressure as if the jig is hung up. Whenever you feel anything different set the hook. When fishing with jigs a must have is a fast action sensitive rod so you can feel even the lightest taps, the fast action gives the power for an immediate hookset.
Spinners:
Fishing with spinner rigs for walleyes is one of the oldest techniques dating back to the strip on days (Prescott Spinner slide thru a minnow rig) to the newest minnow and crawler harness made today. Spinner rigs must be weighted to get to the bottom. You can add a rubber core or split shot a few feet ahead of the spinner rig for drifting but most anglers prefer using a bottom bouncer or a three way rig to keep the spinner in contact with the bottom. For sinker weights a ½ oz will get you down to about 10 feet add another ½ oz for each additional 5 feet.
Another very popular spinner for walleye is the weight forward spinner primarily used on Lake Erie. Walleye anglers tip the spinner with a piece of night crawler leaving an inch or so trailing behind the single hook. Fishing with weight forward spinners, you simply cast it out and count down to different depths to locate walleyes, then maintain the retrieve fast enough to keep the forward blade rotating.
