July 7, 2025
Hayward Lakes Area Outdoor Report
Steve Suman
Other than 90 degrees Friday, July 4, the remainder of the weekend was relatively comfortable with temperatures in the 70s/80s. This week’s forecast shows rain and thunderstorms to start the week, a few days of sunshine, and then rain to the end the week and through the weekend. As always, make plans ‑ but watch the sky! Enjoy!
“The Quiet Lakes’ area should have good weather and highs in the upper 70s to low 80s this week,” says Greg at Happy Hooker. “This should help fishing after hot days followed by rain had some species difficult to catch!
“Musky fishing is tough, with baitfish and muskies scattered. Work baits around weeds or under baitfish in open water in deep basins. Bucktails, gliders, dive and rise, topwaters, and crankbaits trolled through/around baitfish in open water are good options.
“Walleye fishing is good around deeper rocks and weeds with leeches on jigs or under floats. Focus on rock to weed or soft bottom transitions in 10-18 feet.
“Northern pike are around weed beds and in weedy bays, and anglers are reporting action on small crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and bucktails.
“Largemouth bass fishing is solid on topwaters such as frogs, prop baits, poppers, and buzzbaits worked over and through thick cover such as lily pads and reeds.
“Smallmouth bass fishing is good on both deep and topwater presentations. Whopper Ploppers are a staple, and jigs with live bait or plastics work great for deep fish. Look for rocky shorelines and work them top to bottom.
“Crappies are scattered. Some anglers report success with crappie minnows under floats and tubes on small jigs in cabbage weeds in 5-12 feet.
“Bluegills are around shallow weeds, shoreline structure, and under docks. Leaf worms and crawlers on small jigs or hooks are producing some nice panfish.”
Jarrett at Hayward Bait says fishing is solid, with steady weather on the horizon.
“Muskies are in 6-15 feet, anglers report seeing mostly follows on smaller bucktails and swimbaits, and rivers are still producing some nice fish from shore.
“Walleyes are on mid-depth weedlines. Anglers are using leeches on slip bobbers, walleye suckers and fatheads on jigs, and trollers are searching for reaction bites.
“Northern pike anglers report good action with live bait, spinnerbaits, spoons, and swimbaits on mid-depth to deep weedlines. Blaze orange and black is a favorite.
“Largemouth and smallmouth bass are schooling on flats, with wacky rigs and topwaters working well on weed flats, shoreline structure, and around baitfish schools.
“Crappies are near weedlines and other cover in 6-15 feet, chasing Beetle Spins, Road Runners, and small crankbaits. Once you locate a school, switch to slower moving slip bobber presentations.
“Bluegills recovering from recent spawning are in with crappies over weed flats.”
Mike at Jenk’s says the Chippewa Flowage pool is full, with the water temperature 80 degrees.
“Musky anglers report many follows, but few connections, with most fish in deeper, cooler water. During the day, trolling Mattlocks, Jakes, and Grandmas can quickly cover more water. At night, try bucktails and surface baits a bit shallower off deep edges and bogs. The higher the surface temperatures, the more deadly it is to hook and land a musky. Delayed fatalities are real. When water temperatures are 80+ degrees, chase other fish until it cools.
“Walleyes pushed to cover and structure in 18-25 feet. Do not lock on one spot, as most produce only a few fish. Cooler water in the evening might bring shallower action. Use leeches and crawlers for live bait. Trolling Flicker Shads and other deep divers effectively cover deeper areas.
“Northern pike are in weeds and active on Tinsel Tails, chatterbaits, and spoons. Previously, most action was by panfish anglers fishing cribs or bogs at night.
“Largemouth bass are in weeds and lily pads, with anglers catching a few on frogs. Smallmouth bass fishing is good with crawlers, leeches, and Ned rigs on stumps, rocks, and deep cribs.
“Crappie fishing is best on bogs at night, with crappie minnows the best live bait. Imitation mayflies, Mini-Mites, and one-inch Gulp! Minnows are good substitutes. Work all depths under bogs until you find fish. During daylight, target deeper cribs and brush piles.”
This week, DNR fisheries biologist Max Wolter discusses Hayward Fish Team’s 2025 spring roundup.
“Spring is our busiest time for fisheries surveys, hopping from lake to lake to check the status of walleye, northern pike, muskellunge, panfish, and bass species ‑ and fully decontaminating our boats and nets between waterbodies!
“The 2025 spring survey season started in early April with ice-out on Windfall Lake. We found a more abundant walleye population than expected, and some very high-quality pike, especially for such a small lake.
“The next stop was Sissabagama Lake, where we netted walleye, again finding higher numbers than we expected. The water temperature was still cold and we captured few other species.
“On Smith Lake, we conducted a quick survey to estimate the number of walleye, which was about as expected. Look for more details in the future. We then visited the Chippewa Flowage for a successful netting effort targeting walleye, pike, musky, and crappie. The size of walleye and crappie appeared improved from other recent surveys.
“On our next stop, Spider Lake, we teamed with our DNR Fish Research Team from Spooner to net musky and pike. We found a lower pike catch rate, a good thing, which might be the result of aggressive angler harvest over the past year.
“We returned to Sissabagama to net muskellunge and crappie. Sissabagama always has high-quality crappie, and musky impressed us as well, with nice numbers of fish in the 45- to 50-inch range.
“As the waters continued to warm, we targeted crappie and muskellunge on Round Lake, while capturing a fair number of walleye and northern pike.
“Before water temperatures were too warm, we netted crappie on Moose Lake, capturing a fair number of muskellunge, and a northern pike catch higher than any past Moose Lake survey.
“Our last netting effort was Beverly Lake in south-central Sawyer County where we found fairly abundant panfish, some nice pike, and one big tiger musky.
“To finish the season, we ran electrofishing surveys for bass and bluegill on lakes Knuteson, Windfall, Round, Spider, and Sissabagama, and Chippewa Flowage.
“This was a big spring for netting and electrofishing and we were very pleased to survey so many places. It was only possible due to our excellent team of Scott Braden and Dan Nelson, partners such as the Spooner Research Team, and the many volunteers who helped along the way.”
The Heart of the North Spooner Rodeo is July 10-12 at the Washburn County Fairground in Spooner. Check here for the complete event schedule, or call (715) 635-9696.
Northwoods Bass Anglers will host its Big Chip Open July 12, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., headquartering at The Landing Resort on Hwy CC. The entry fee is $120/team.
For more information, visit Northwoods Bass Anglers or call (405) 227-1789.
ATV/UTV TRAIL REPORT
All ATV/UTV operators born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, who are at least 12 years old for ATV and at least 16 years old for UTV, must complete an ATV/UTV safety certification course to operate legally on public ATV/UTV trails and areas in Wisconsin. The DNR requires trail passes for non-residents and Wisconsin residents must display a registration sticker. Riders must run headlights at all times when operating. Visit the DNR ATV website for rules and regulations.
Check for trail openings, closures, and more at HLVCB ATV/UTV trail conditions report. Contacts for forest ATV/UTV trails are as follows: Sawyer County Forest (715-634-4846), Chequamegon National Forest (715-634-4821), and Flambeau State Forest (715-332-5271).
Sawyer County snowmobile and ATV trail maps are available from Hayward Lakes Visitor & Convention Bureau.
FISHING REPORT
Hot temperatures and mixed fronts moved fish around in recent week, but fishing conditions could improve this week and perhaps fish will respond accordingly. Save yourself time and frustration by checking with bait shop personnel for fish locations, the current bite windows, favored baits, and the preferred presentations.
Musky:
Muskies are scattered, with anglers seeing many follows, but hooking few fish. Concentrate on weeds and weed edges in 5-18 feet, on bogs, and around suspending forage in open water in deep basins. Top baits include bucktails, gliders, jerkbaits, swimbaits, topwaters, and trolled large Jakes, Grandmas, and Mattlocks.
Walleye:
Walleye fishing is fair to good and improving. Fish are on rocks, weeds, weedlines, soft bottom transition areas, and other structure in 8-25 feet. Work shallow areas in late evening into after dark. Baits of choice include walleye suckers and fatheads on jigs, leeches and crawlers under slip bobbers, and trolled Flicker Shads and other deep divers.
Northern Pike:
Northern pike action is fair to good, but slowed with warmer water. Look for them on weed beds, in weedy bays, mid-depth to deep weedlines, and near panfish concentrations. Sucker minnows, bucktails, spinners, spinnerbaits, spoons, swimbaits, Tinsel Tails, crankbaits, and chatterbaits all work well.
Largemouth Bass:
Largemouth bass fishing is very good on most waters. Weeds, weed flats, reeds, lily pads, shoreline structure, thick cover, and near baitfish schools will hold largemouth. Crawlers, leeches, wacky rigs, Ned rigs, and topwaters such as poppers, prop baits, buzzbaits, and frogs are all catching fish.
Smallmouth Bass:
Smallmouth bass fishing is fair to good, though slower due to the warmer water. Focus on rocks, rock shorelines, stumps, and deep cribs. Best baits include sucker minnows, crawlers, leeches, various plastics on jigs, Ned rigs, and Whopper Ploppers and other topwaters.
Crappie:
Crappie fishing is good to very good, but fish are scattered. Find them on weedlines, cabbage weeds, and other cover in 5-15 feet, deeper cribs and brush piles, and on bogs at night. Use crappie minnows, Mini-Mites, imitation mayflies, plastics, and one-inch Gulp! Minnows on small jigs under floats, and Beetle Spins, Road Runners, and small crankbaits.
Bluegill:
Bluegill fishing is good for fish in with crappies on weed flats, on shallow weeds, shoreline structure, and under docks. Waxies, leaf worms, crawler chunks, small minnows, plastics, and Gulp! baits on small jigs, teardrops, and plain hooks fished with/without bobbers all work well.
July 10: Full Buck Moon.
July 10-12: Heart of the North Spooner Rodeo at Washburn County Fairground, event schedule (715-635-9696).
July 12: Northwoods Bass Anglers Big Chip Open, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., entry fee $120/team (405-227-1789).
July 16-19: Lumberjack World Championships ‑ schedule (715-634-2484).
July 17-20: 52nd Annual LCO Honor the Earth Pow Wow (715-634-8934).
July 18-20: Birchwood Lions 62nd Annual Bluegill Festival.
July 26: Barnes Area Historical Association ‑ Summer Festival, noon-4 p.m. (425-318-0851).
July 28-30: Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower, 1-3 a.m., south, 15-25 per hour, long, slow paths.
Aug. 1: Entry deadline for fall fishing getaway for two with Chad Grigsby (715-634-4801).
Aug. 1: Application deadline for sharp-tailed grouse permit drawing.
Aug. 1-2: Jack Pine Savage Days in Spooner (715-635-2168).
Aug. 3: Hayward Chapter-Muskies, Inc. ‑ Annual Kids Fishing Day, Weber’s, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (715-634-4543).
Aug. 9: Full Sturgeon Moon.
Aug. 11-13: Perseids Meteor Shower 1-3 a.m., northeast, 45-90 per hour, very swift, rich display.
Aug. 14-17: Sawyer County Fair at Sawyer County Fairgrounds on Highway B (715-699-2022).
For more information on area events and activities, visit the Hayward Lakes Visitor and Convention Bureau and Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce websites, view the Calendar of Events, or call (715) 634-8662 or (715) 634-4801.
