Fox Lake

[Justinm]

Welcome to the official Fox lake Thread.

[Justinm]

Went out on Fox today for a couple of hours. Caught a small pike (13 inches) and it but me in the thumb!! Caught a few largemouths and one big fat sucker. Last cast my buddy missed a real nice muskie. Going back out tomorrow to try and catch some bigger fish. I will post a report with pics tomorrow night.

Justin

[Justinm]

Had a great time today fishing the river on fox. Walked pretty far in waders fishing the deep holes. saw a lot of nice muskies but couldnt get them to bite!! My fishing partner forgot to show up so I met a random guy named dennis and I helped him get a 25 inch musky on a twister tail. My wife came out and out fished all of us. She caught a lot of Big crappies, largest was 13 inches and a fat sucker. I also got a 15 1/2 inch eye and few buffalo carp.

I will post pics later

[Justinm]

here are the pics of the musky caught by Dennis, a couple crappie and a big sucker.

[Justinm]

Had an hour to fish for crappies today in Fox Lake. Caught a few and also got this bass in the river.

[AllEyes]

Been getting a lot of perch and walleyes on Fox this spring/summer (and winter for that matter). Perch seem to be all over, and they're mixed in with plenty of crappies if you're interested in them. We've tried to fish as close to the bottom as possible to keep away from the crappies the best we can, and limits are pretty easy. The walleye's have also been great to us. Drifting with jigs and leeches or pulling spinners and leeches has been the ticket for us. The leeches seem to hold up better than crawlers with all the panfish also picking at them. New to the board...nice to see informative posts without all the lousy traffic on lake-link. Good fishing.

[Justinm]

I spent 3 hours today dragging suckers and large chubs around Fox lake looking for big fish with teeth. Spent most of my time near and around howard drive. Didnt see any Muskys but i did see a few pike surface. About and hour into the thrip I hooked into a fat pike maybe 38 inches but it fell off right at the boat - it was fun anyways and I am gonna try again on firday.

Justin

[Justinm]

I tried looking for some larger fish in deeper water out on Fox this last weekend. Spent about 3 hours dragging chubs and casting a deep diving rapala. didnt have a lot of success but I did manage one 18-19 inch eye on the rapala.

On my way back to the boat landing I decided to check out one of the islands and I found tons of fish very shallow! Crappies and perch everywhere! I also saw a few pike feeding on them! I launched off of black hawk trail and the island right in front of the launch is where I saw all the fish.

Justin

[BigMusky]

good to know for first ice...thanks.

[BigMusky]

drove to fox lake for some late ice crappie this weekend, wife called me back home after an hour with the stomach flu. Nothing like driving an hour north, walking out 1.5 miles in 12 inches of snow and slush, setting up and then doing the whole thing back without barely wetting a line. I hope to get back there and use some of them crappie minnows.

[Justinm]

Fished the shallow bays today to try and stay out of the wind. Had a great time and I think its only going to get better! Between 2 of us we caught over 30 bass all around 18 inches and 4-5 pike. Nothing real big but it was fast action. Fish came on The Worm, Black spinner baits and buzz baits.

justin

[Justinm]

Haataja,

I think I am ready to guide bass trips on this lake now LOL! Over 100 bass in the last couple of days. Many of them around 17-18 inches and lots of 16 inchers. Missed a huge pike right at the boat, saw some muskies, caught lots and lots of little pike. The fishing on this lake is unreal right now and everytime I go out I am the only one fishing besides the guys going after crappies and gills.

2 years ago before meeting Eric I would not catch this many fish in the whole year. Thanks for showing me how to do it Eric!!

Justin

[Justinm]

Bass fishing is still excellent out on Fox. Pike fishing has also been good and while I am still waiting on one I am hearing lots of reports of Musky being caught. Going Musky fishing on friday I will report back.

Justin

[Justinm]

Great day out on the water! Explored some new spots around Chief Kuno trail and Howard Drive. Ended up with 7 legal bass and 1 small pike. Most fish came on buzz baits and spinner baits. Missed a lot more than I caught today! Still no muskys but I am also still hearing reports of guys getting them in the shallow bays. Guy with me caught a 28 inch pike and it looked like it was in a fight with a musky or it got hit by a prop (several times)

Justin

[Justinm]

We braved the storms this weekend and found a lot of fish on Fox lake! Over 30 Bass and Pike. Most bass 16-18 inches. We caught a 28, 30 and 35 inch Pike and tons of little 22 inch Pike. Also caught a 21 inch walleye and 19 inch walleye.

spinner baits along the weeds and buzz baits did the trick. Color didnt seem to matter.

[Justinm]

Went out last Friday on Fox from 4:00-9:00 pm. spent most of my time in "The Jug" That is the bay just off of Indian point.

Caught 60-70 bass and 1 perch between 2 of us. Most fish came on Buzz baits near the shoreline. Openings in the weeds and Lily Pads produced Bass 100% of the time. Tried worms, beetle spins, poppers, scum frogs and spinner baits - buzz baits out fished everything.

Most bass where only about 12-14 inches but we did get a few 16 -18s

Justin

[Justinm]

The jug remains productive out on Fox Lake. Look for clear water and you cant go wrong! Berkley shakey Head worms and buzz baits worked great! Caught 43 bass today in 5 hours. Most where small but it was a blast.

[Justinm]

Big Fish are on the move in Fox Lake! In my last 2 trips I have had chances at 3 muskies and missed all of them! But it was cool to see! Today I was throwing a bucktail and I went right across the back of a fish that I thought was a carp and then it turned its head and smashed the bucktail but I lost it! Was an upper 40s!

Today I ended up with 4 small pike and about 6 bass all around 16-17 inches. Spinner baits and bucktails are doing the trick. Most fish caught in the jug casting into the shoreline.

[Justinm]

fished Fox for about 3 hours yesterday with my yoga instructor Amanda. She hasnt fished much and caught the biggest fish of her life :) Here she is holding it and saying "Take the pic before it bites me!" We caught some pike and bass casting buck tails and spinner baits along deep weed edges and in shallow bays.

[Eric Haataja]

Heard of some decent gills coming from a buddy of mine who fished out there this weekend, along with a couple of big crappies. Ice is pretty solid as well. He told me they fished off the Jug. Going to try and get up there soon.

[romepond]

fished noon till eight took home limit of crappies 10-12 inchs one nice walleye 19 inchs 16 feet of water all fish were caught on my home made plastic.

[BigMusky]

crappies were hitting gulp all morning but slowed down afternoon. Usually perch go nuts off maple point around 3pm...but they never showed up.

[whack & stack]

yesterday was another nice day on fox. after some searching the walleyes were found again, by down sizeing with panfish style baits. fish were in the 5 foot range with thick green weeds. crappie action contiues to be good out in the deeper water just spend some time searching for the schools and you will be rewarded with a nice bucket of fish. I have yet to locate any perch with consitincy. we have caught a few pushing 14 inches on tipups this year. ive noticed again this winter the shallows are full of tiny gills still cant find the big bulls that are in here. good luck everyone.

[Eric Haataja]

Great report thanks! How much ice is out there? Are the crappies running bigger this year?

Thanks!

Eric

[whack & stack]

ice in the shallows around the marsh / jug are around 8-10 inches. on the main lake in water from 10 - 17 feet it verys 10- 6 inches. also there is a heave running from maple point west past town park. their has been trucks on the ice but i would still recomend atv's. I havent seen any big crappies yet beside the one I caught on a tip-up this year. for me they are running 6-9 inches on average. some people are saying that they have been getting some slabs, dont know where but big fish are in here.

[FishinJim]

Here are some small pics from my phone camera, sometimes thats all you have to capture the moment. The two gills were late in the season and it was slow that day, maybe only one or two small bass.
The muskie trip was funny, I came to meet my friend Justin to fish the Jug, he was supposed to pick me up at the launch, that however did not happen. Justin was way out in the middle of the lake with a dead motor and not enough juice in the trolling motor to battle the wind, so finally after about 2 hours of paddling and a tow from a pontoon we fished below the Fox Lake dam where I got hassled by the police for parking on the grass, destroyed by mosquitoes, then took my first muskie ever! It was top water on a buzz bait.

[Justinm]

Hey Jim welcome to the forums! Lets hope all the ice fisherman save us some Big pike for spring fishing. I am hearing of lots of guys fishing in the jug right now and getting some nice pike. Also I am sure they are getting their flags tripped all day by all those 10 inch bass :)

Going to columbia again tomorrow

Justin

[whack & stack]

well the eyes continue to be on fire. get away from the people. tried out a small spot, was 4 feet deep, found the edge of the green weeds and set up with small shinners about 4 inches off the bottum. from 6 -11 steady action with spurts in between. alot of nice fish we have been throwing back in the mid 20's. we kept 5 last night. also shined some big pannies down the hole with the spot light. ice was spoty as for big open holes, otherwise ice was still 8 inches or better.

[whack & stack]

well the walleye bite is spoty at best right now one night you would think you won the lottery the next you pary for a flag. last night I thought would be the night they would go nuts. I was wrong. I fished in the jug in 3 feet of water in the thickest green weeds around. before sun down I caught 4 24-30 inch pike. had 1 flag after dark around 6pm i think. it turned out to be a eye in the mid 20's, after a quick pic back she went. still useing tiny hooks and a mix of small and big shinners. looked for most of the day in the jug for the perch but everything was on the small side. 6-9 inches, as well as the gills, 5inchers.

[BigMusky]

I got pwned by Fox Lake yesterday with the high skies and north winds. fished deep and shallow, marked tons of fish but no biters. only two small gills to show for day. I actually wish I had spikes with me for the first time in two years.

Gulp, Plastic and small minnows all failed me.

[BigMusky]

went to fox in search of Crappies yesterday and caught everything but. Walleye, bass, pike and snagged a few carp on ultralights as well....but no crappies. Silly day, but still had fun. 15lb carp on 1lb test - :eek:

[Justinm]

did you try down the river? I know guys got a lot last year down that way :)

[Justinm]

fished for 2 hours with Leo my 4 year old and we put the smack down on fish!! We just shore fished the river above the dam and caught about a dozen crappies, a few gills and about 20 bass. We where trying for crappies but small bass kept hitting the crappie jigs. as a bonus we caught a 16, 17 and 18 inch bass on crappie rigs! Leo had a blast!

All fish where very tight to the shore and if you sneaked up on them ninja style you could see hundreds of crappies! All fish released and yes I know bass ar out of season :)

Justin
www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Justinm]

I have been waiting 6 months to get out on Fox and put the smack down on big bass. Opening weekend was awesome! In 2 1/2 days we caught about 80 bass all 16-20 inches, 1 musky and several pike. All fish released.

The females moved into the river on Monday when water temps hit 60 degrees. I think the fishing will be good there for a while. The jug along chief kuno trial shore line also produced lots of big pike. we missed an upper 30s maybe 40 at the boat! Ahhhh!

Lots of big bass caught on 3/8 ounce bass jigs with a chomper trailer.

The musky was caught flippin a blue and black bass jig into docks.

www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Eric Haataja]

Awesome pics of you and your son!

[Justinm]

well I have bass thumb! My thumb is black ad blue from lipping bass all day LOL! Friday evening we caught over 80 bass on Fox Lake. Most fish where 3-4 lbs and caught on chompers, spinners and even a few on buzz baits.

Before launching the boat I shore fished for 10 minutes and caught this pike on a chomper.

Mark Eilbas of the Beaver Dam Bass Club was nice enough to take us out on his ranger and he caught big bass of the day.

10 year old ryan caught his first large mouth and 5 big pike.

www.fishingfoxlake.com

[matUK]

I'll be fishing fox lake for the first time.

What's the fishing like off rainbow terrace just above Howard Dr N, any good fishing from the shore.

[Justinm]

for some reason I cant think of exactly where rainbow terrace is - but my Grandma lives on howard drive and I have shore fished that a lot. It is hit or miss over there. Last year we got a few eyes over memorial weekend and one bass tight to the shore. The bridge on 33 near the cenex (i think cenex) gas station right in town is your best bet for shore fishing right now or even the dam could be good.

I was out on Monday and we caught 15 bass around islands. One was 5 lbs and the rest 3-4.

I must have done something wrong because there wasnt any pics in my last picture so I will try again.

www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Justinm]

I spent 5 hours today looking for bass on Fox Lake - The fish are not holding in the same places they where last week. I caught a few little fish in the river on Zoom lizards rigged texas style but couldnt find big fish. I ended up doing well on the chief kuno side of the jug and around most islands. I didnt do much in any of the bays.

Ended up with about 15 bass this one came on a buzz bait.

www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Justinm]

It was a challenging day on Fox today. I had someone book a trip with me and I just couldnt get them on fish. We only ended up with 5 fish and a few missed fish as well. We made it out way before the storms so I really dont have any excuse. This fat 18.5 fish came on a buzz frog early in the morning and was the highlight of the day. We also caught bass on spinner baits and I missed a few on YUM Crawbugs. It is rare that this lake kicks my butt so bad and I am looking to get back out for a re-match! James I owe you another trip - we will get back out again in the next couple of weeks!

www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Justinm]

The top water action on Fox Lake was awesome today. There was never a dull moment as we had fish blowin up our baits all morning long. In 5 hours we only managed 9 bass in the boat but we also missed a lot. All fish ranged from 16-19 inches. Had some huge fish hit and miss that I will go out and catch this weekend :)

Throwing a chug bug into the shore produced some really aggressive bites today.

The pic is of my friend Jim who caught the only spinner bait fish of the day.

Justin
www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Justinm]

I did 1 guide trip and 2 fun fishing trips out on fox this weekend and we put the total smack down on bass. With the exception of 1 18 inch bass on a jig the rest all came on top water. Friday and saturday we used zara spooks and Rapala skitter Pops. By sunday the weeds grew so much more we had to switch it up to spro frogs. The reeds on the lake are undercut and in the middle of the day a lot of fish are tucked way under the reeds. Morning and evening we found fish feeding off the weed edges.

My client and I ended up with around 30 or so bass most where around 16 inches. I took my wife out tonight for just a couple of hours before the fireworks. I caught more fish so I told her she didnt have to pay the guide fee. :)

[Justinm]

I did a trip out on Fox Lake this morning and we ended up with about a dozen bass and 1 pike. We had several big blow ups on zara spooks in the morning along reeds but couldnt get the hook up. When it got warmer we headed out towards weed edges and found fish deep in weeds and in calm clear water. There are very few places on fox where you can find clear water and that seems to be the key for getting bass to bite right now. We only had 5 hours to fish and I think we did really good for that short amount of time.

www.fishingfoxlake.com

[Justinm]

I had an exceptionally good day on fox this weekend. My buddy Shawn and I started out on little green and only caught a few fish there so we headed to fox. We only had 3 hours to fish and ended up with 17 bass. I also missed a nice pike right at the boat. Boat police where out and they tried getting to us (we where not doing anything wrong) and they got stuck in the slop and had to turn around hehehe! But actually its good to see them out :)

This pic was the highlight of the day when Shawn and I had a double header on buzz baits his was over 20 and mine was a little over 19 this may have been the biggest bass double header of my life. Going out in the morning and I hope this cold front didnt turn them off too bad.

Brent if you see this I missed that same big fish again on a spook!! It jumped right over my bait!!

Justin

[Eric Haataja]

Any safe ice up on Fox yet Justin???????

[.Pan Handler]

Shallow water is safe; Town Park area.

[BigMusky]

hit fox lake today and got one crappie fishing sunset and after dark...there is five inches all the way out to Maple Point - some places more. Marked alot of fish, but very few takers. 15 FOW had fish from bottom to 10 feet down.

[blitzfish]

It's times like that that make me love my aqua view!!! I use that puppy for a lot. I can put it looking downwards to show me my lure and everything around it and thats normally all I ever set it to. I loved watching big browns hit milwaukee last year. I have even taken it out to Mendota and caught glimpses of massive schools of perch. to bad I only have 50 ft of cord. neways, it works great for that "marking fish, but aren't biting" situation cuz I can tell if they are A. what type of fish they are and B. how they react to my lure, to let me know if I need to change my presentation. Well, my 2 cents of course. Can't wait to get the battery charged for that and head out myself. Blitz

[Hamby]

Came here from lake-link, Justinm told me about it. I can't wait until the spring. I hope the water clarity is better this year.

[Northernhunter]

Went out a couple weeks ago on fox for eyes, my buddy ended up catchen this beauty! 16 and a half inch crappie on a medium shiner.

[Hamby]

Ice clearing quick, should be all gone soon. Smaller fish starting to move shallow, bigger fish should be following, get the boats and gear ready! Can't wait to get my first bass of 2009. I hope its a big one.

[Justinm]

I have some minor work to do on my trolling motor and then I will be ready to go. If the weather holds up I should be out by next week. I am guessing the fish are starting to stack up in the river. Last year I caught bass and pike (on accident) and crappies and gills while pan fishing the river right up to the opener.

Hamby let me know when you are up this spring and we should go catch some fish together.

Justin

[Hamby]

I may be at the lake one weekend in April. If not, I won't be getting up there until early June (dang school). And then i'll be done for the year by early-mid August. Man does that suck!

[Hamby]

Hey Justin, done any fishing? How's the lake looking?

[Justinm]

Fished the opener today with my GF Jeannine and my Son Leo. A little windy but over all a super awesome day! For 5 years old Leo is getting awesome at casting and even caught fish while flipping a bass jig today!

Leo caught a bunch pf small bass and Jeannine caught fish ranging from 16-20 inches. We didnt get as many as we did last year but there was a little more pressure in some of my favorite spots and other spots where hard to fish becuase of the wind. The larger fish came on blue and black bass jigs. Fish where very very tight to the shore! I also caught a long but skinny pike and 2 real nice pike caught. I couldnt find clear water anywhere :( Very muddy!

www.fightingthefish.com

[Justinm]

fished for 3 hours with my 5 year old today and ended up with 12 bass. He caught his first bass on a bait caster :) I spent most of my time digging out birds nests LOL! The bass we caught where very small today. If you guys are looking for crappies go down the river and fish all the way to the dam - everyone is limiting out down there right now. I witnessed it today but didnt have any crappie rods with me so I might go back tomorrow.

Justin

www.fightingthefish.com

[Justinm]

fishing was awesome today! We only had a little over 3 hours to fish and ended up with 9 pike, 17 bass and 1 eye. I would have never imagined that my GF would be so good at fishing - she is very girly but out on the lake she rips it up. We caught a few fish today on bass jigs but most fish came on white spinner baits.

There are way too many people fishing the river right now! I have seen the same guys there everyday this week and they dont leave the river at all. Its too much pressure for a small area.

We caught fish off of indian point, maple point and the bay next to maple point. The water in the jug is murky but the bays are clear and we were able to sight fish a few pike.

www.fightingthefish.com

[Justinm]

fishing continues to be good on Fox Lake. Fished for 3 hours today and boated lots of pike and bass. The water is clear and we were able to sight fish for pike. I also had 2 muskys on bass jigs in real shallow water I landed one of them but the larger one got off. Cant wait to get back out!

Justin

www.fightingthefish.com

[Eric Haataja]

Nice Job skipper!!!!!!!!!! too bad the big mamma came off!:cool:

[Hamby]

So far so good, looks like its gonna be a great year!

[Justinm]

Could be the best year ever Hamby! You and I should get out sometime.

The Chiief Kuno side of the jug is hot right now! Lots of crappies and big gills are being caught off the docks and the pike are right in there feeding on them. Even though it was cold and windy today we still fished for a few hours and caught about 10 bass and 10 pike. Bigger fish where on jigs but also caught some on spinners.

[Hamby]

Yeah, too bad i live further away, and can't get out and fish multiple times a week anyway. I live near chicago, fishing sucks around here. I was able to get out to a place by me today and catch my first largemouth of 2009, it was..........wait for it............. 7 inches!!! My second largemouth of 2009 was 17 inches though, so that made up for the other.

[Justinm]

I put up a video on my site at www.fightingthefish.com that shows me site fishing pike and musky yesterday on fox lake. I tried to post it to this site but couldnt get it to work. Please check the vid out - I will add more this week.

Justin

[Justinm]

I saw this musky in a bay last week and I went back today to catch it!

Also caught some big pike and bass. The majority of this came on bass jigs today.

Justin

[Honky Donkytits]

Trolled Fox yesterday 6-10 on Northerns.Had a nice rip on a propwash rod,Fish rolled on the surface and was gone.2.5-3mph gps!

[Eric Haataja]

This is a sleeper lake for muskies!!!!!!! Nice job Justin!!! Thanks for the report Donk!

[Justinm]

Another musky today!! We actually went 1-1 on muskys today! The wind and rain was brutal but I am glad we fished through it today. The guy in the pic wanted me to take him fishing for his 21st birthday and this was his first musky. I also included pics from the weekend. I dont walleye fish much but we did really well on them over memorial day.

www.fightingthefish.com

[Hamby]

Nice fish. Are the walleye out deeper, or were they in close with the bass and pike too?

[Justinm]

the eyes where in shallow water but they where not along the shorelines like the bass. Let me know if you get any :)

[Hamby]

The fish may start moving into their summer spots by the time i get there. My grandparents own a place up there, so i have to wait until they're able to get up there, and that'll be mid june. :(

[Justinm]

I did 1 trip today on fox lake and also fished with my girlfriend friday and 2 hours on saturday. Through out the weekend we must have caught at least 100 bass and pike. I had a person filming on friday night and we landed a 40 inch musky on film and several pike. I also caught a walleye on a buzz bait believe it or not LOL!

I talked to a lot of guys at the launch that got skunked! You need 3 elements to catch fish on this lake right now. bait fish, weeds and clear water. Find all three of those and you will find the fish :)

here are a couple of pics
www.fightingthefish.com

[Justinm]

Even though I have a really good relationship with my Dad and I see him everyday we have not been fishing together for almost 20 years! He used to take me out when I was a kid only because I begged him all the time LOL! At that time we didnt know what we where doing - we even went ice fishing one time and brought a shovel instead of an auger - that didnt work very well LOL! We rarely caught fish but it was always fun for me and I will never forget all the times he sat out on the lake with me. Today we got out for fathers day and had a great time. Up until today my Dad has only caught 2-3 small fish in his life.

We ended up with about 15-20 today. Some nice eyes, lots of bass and lots of small pike. I also had 2 guide trips over the weekend and we caught a lot of big eyes, about a dozen legal bass and lost of small pike.

[Justinm]

I have a new video I am not sure how to embed it but please check it out at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLHhOHLW_Uk

This is the first time I ever caught a walleye on a buzz bait and my first musky on video!

Justin

www.fightingthefish.com

[Justinm]

I have been fishing fox lake every other day for a couple of weeks now and the bite is really tough. 3 weeks ago we found big bass under docks on both sides of chief kuno trail. As of yesterday those bass are gone but you can still find large schools of gills along that shoreline.

The rocks by Chief Kuno and Dead Island have been producing pike, eyes and bass. We caught a few this week on deep diving cranks but I just cant get the numbers that I was getting 3-4 weeks ago.

Here are a few pics from last week.

[Justinm]

Sorry this isnt a report but I am planning on getting out to the lake a few times over Christmas break. I wasnt sure where I should post this but since I fish Fox lake the most I thought it would be ok on this thread.

For Christmas I got a fiancee! She is the best fishing partner I have ever had, shes hot, great with kids and is pretty good with putting up with all my crap LOL!

I am super happy and wanted to share it with you guys!

Justin

[Get Hooked]

Congradulations to you and pink dragon. hope you two have a great future together.

[deadeternity]

JustinM, congrats man! I have been engaged for a year and I know how you feel when you say she is the greatest fishing partner you could ever have because I feel the same way also. I always have ignorant people stating how men should go fishing and leave their wives and girlfriends at home but, that is a pile of crap if you ask me. Your gender does'nt debate whether or not you should go fishing or go shopping,lol. I have a blast watching my fiance walk up next to a bunch of people who are not catching a thing and, she starts slaying fish using the knowledge I taught her. Congrats and have a great life with your soon to be wife....

Oh yeah, Merry Christmas everyone...

[Eric Haataja]

Justin looks like you got a keeper there!! ;-)) Congrats you tricked me on the fishing report!!!! Let me know when your going to get married I'd like to be there!

[Justinm]

You will be invited haataja and we will have a gift registry at bass pro shops hehe!

[Wet_Hooker]

Out all day sunday and ended up with 2 justttt over 18" bass that will be delicious and 5 northern's all undersized.. 2 of the 4 of us plugged away jigging and ended up with 7 gills, 4 crappies and 1 perch for the pan. All in all one of our better trips in the last 3 yrs to Fox.

[BigMusky]

hit Fox Lake for second time in last ten days.

a week ago I got several nice crappie with two in 12 inch class in 15 FOW. Returned to same spot and had more action, but less size. Again all crappies in that 10 inch range with a couple shorter.

I have been playing around with reel weeds and not moving that much to see if I can get school to sit on my location. I think that is happening, but the fish that are sitting in weeds are not biters as I am playing vexilar games all day with them. Then a new fish comes in hot and just smokes the jig. I can not figure out how to make those squatters eat!!

Today something big came in (walleye/pike/bass) and shut those crappies off. Whatever it was was memorized by swimming rap and a spoon, but would not hit.

[Frito]

Headed out to the Fox this next weekend and hoping to hook into some decent panfish. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with ideas on where to go. People talk about the Jug but I am not sure where they are referring to. Any help would be appreciated! By the way, nice site Eric!!! Hoping to do a guide trip sometime soon with you

[Eric Haataja]

Made it out to fox week for a panfish trip and holy cow did we mark the crappies!! The lake has a fantastic year class of 10-12 inchers which are great eaters. The bite was tougher than I hoped for, we caught close to 20 crappies all nice keepers but constantly marked fish. Black shrimpo and ratso's worked best. We fished about 4-5 hours. Tried just about everything but they had a serious case of lock jaw. had to move around enough until you founf the right hole where fish would bite. Marked tons of fish up on the north end where all the crowds where. It was a nice break to panfish!

Eric

[blitzfish]

I happened to hit up yesterday, started on the south end for the gills, managed two right away within 2 minutes, then nothing for the next half an hour. Decided to head to the north end for crappies. Same thing happened, managed two crappies right away and missed a third, but then they would just come thru in schools every once in a while, but when they came thru they would bite! missed 2 more and caught a couple more, but not many. Constantly marked fish on the bottom but couldn't see them on the camera. Probably small perch or something because when the crappies came thru they were suspended. Pretty slow for most people out there though.

[jason miller]

:) Well ice is off the hole lake panfish well start soon in the shallow bays and creeks!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::cool:

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks a bunch Jason!

[jason miller]

Gills and crappies were going good today, all the gills I kept were males. 2 of the crappies were hooked deep and full of spawn too bad!! Pretty much any thing I used caught fish. Plastic was hot at first, then it changed over to redworms thinkin it was the front movin in. Just would like to say guys please let them spawn!!!! Taking males this time of year wont hurt much until there tight on there beds, at that time the males are protecting the beds. All the gills went from a tick under 8 to 8 3/4. was only out for 5 hours.

[jason miller]

:)Was out yeasterday must of caught over 200 gills and only a few crappies.I fished from 10:00 to 2:30, gulp redworms on a small jig under a float did the most damage. Took 15 home 8 3/4 to 9 1/2, most fish were 7 1/2 to 8 3/4 with a few smaller ones. All in all vary nice average on size, the lake has been producing bigger gills the last few years compared to years in the past!!! A few guys are getting crappies on minnows in 8-10 f.o.w. the bulls I'm fishing are shallow. :D:D

[yatch]

Spent the day looking for gills and crappies on this lake on Thur. Cold front with 36 degrees air temp is my only excuse of not finding fish. Water temp 54 on the south end went to almost 60 around 2 pm. Worked the west end weeds near the launch and found one 7" gill went to the flats on the north east side and found a little warmer water with the bass jumping, boated 1 24" pike. Used red worms and crappie minnows in water from 2ft. out till 12ft. Talked to several local guys at the bait store and at the launch, not a boat at the launch I was at and never saw a boat at the west end launch all morning while fishing in front of it. I know how to catch gills but not on this lake and apparently no one else is either. .

[Fish Lips]

Seems Jason Miller can catch em.............:rolleyes:

[Justinm]

I have also been taking my 6 year old out and we have been spanking the gills. We are also getting a lot baby bass mixed in with them. I didnt get as many as jason but 50 fish a trip has been reasonable. Wax worms and red worms seemed to work equally as good for us. Cant wait for the opener!

Justin

[jason miller]

I caught 7 bass largest was around 5#'s they were all over, thats an unreal battle on 4 pound test on an ultra!!!! Like u cant wait for the opener to bad I'll miss it this year, usually go for trout up north but this year I'll be out of town till may 11. Haven't miss one for 10 years old on!!!!

[Justinm]

I went out scouting for fish today for just a short time and saw some big males starting to make beds. Cant wait until saturday!!

Justin

[Justinm]

I spent the opener on Fox Lake filming a DVD for my fishing lure company (Red Dragon Lures) the wind was brutal but we still managed to get 15 good bass and 2 pike. I also missed a musky right at the boat. We caught fish on bleeding white spinner baits and red crawfish colored jigs (foxy craw).

I had a trip out there yesterday and we got 17 bass and 1 big pike in just 3 hours. Most fish are around 14-16 inches but we got a couple giant 5 pounders. All of the bass are gorging themselves on golden shiners and you can see the bass everywhere feeding on the in the shallows. I hear there is an awesome bite on Emily now so I will try that tomorrow.

Justin

www.fightingthefish.com
www.reddragonlures.com

[jason miller]

Was just wondering what the water temps were at if anyone has an idea??

[jason miller]

:( Fished yesterday for 4 1/2 hours with nothing going, water was dirty and temps around 58. Most of been 250 boats on the lake and never saw a fish caught, I really never had any good fishing on the lake with the water that dirty so left for winnebago :confused:

[Justinm]

Awesome fishing today! Every year the buzz bait bite gets good in June and even though it is a little early the bite is hot right now. Today I used Red Dragon clacker and twin blade buzz baits. We caught 15 good bass in about 5 hours of fishing and we missed 3 muskies. First musky was on a jig and the other 2 where on buzz baits. The one on the jig I just didnt get a good hook set and the ones on the buzz baits just missed the bait so i cant get too down on myself for that. The last ski to miss the buzz bait was a giant!!

Fishing buzz baits on fox lake look for emerging weeds and bait fish. Today it was calm and we could see the bass chasing shiners. The weeds you want are the real healthy looking ones not the ones that are all slimy. If your lures are getting slimed you are in the wrong spot.

Justin
www.reddragonlures.com

[Justinm]

I am hosting a Catch, Photo and Release tournament on Fox Lake saturday May 29th. The cost is only 20 bucks per boat and everyone that enters will receive free lures. The winners will receive trophies, lures and shirts. Its going to be a fun tournament and we still have room for 10 more boats. Please PM me if you are interested.

Justin

[jason miller]

Was out for 3 hours this eve caught 2 bass a 17 5/8 and a smaller one also got 2 pike the biggest going 31 with alot of missed fish both pike and bass all coming on a Red Dragon double buzz ;)

[Justinm]

Jason how come your picture has the word "hacker" on it? Haha! Just kidding! Thanks for using our buzz baits I am happy you caught a couple on them. I am going to be out from 10:30-3:00 so if you are out there please look for me.

Justin

[jason miller]

Had another good day out boated 7 bass, 2 pike fished by Justin for awhile think he had 19 with a nice 18"r I had one just under 18" had quite a few get off and a musky in the mid 40's miss the buzz right next to the boat!!! Fishing this week's fishing has been getting better by the day.

[jason miller]

Hit it again today for a couple hours bass and pike I boated were all nice with one big girl going 20 1/2" took most fish on a Red Dragon spinnerbait double willow!!! also had a few on the double buzz, most fish came from the wind blown shores.

[jason miller]

Put 3 bass and 9 pike in the boat tonight with 2 bass and 1 pike lost boat side, not bad for under 4 hours of fishing!!!!!!:D

[Justinm]

I went out targeting musky tonight with Red Dragon Big Game Jigs and had follows but couldnt get them to bite. I ended switching it up to one of my premium Red Dragon spinner baits and ended up getting a 46 incher. It was so awesome catching the first musky of the year for me!! I also got it all on film so I will get the video up soon. After catching the musky Jeannine and I decided to head to the channel for some bass fishing. We ended up with 4 nice bass on jigs and spinner baits. Not bad for 3 hours of fishing!

Justin

www.reddragonlures.com
www.fightingthefish.com

[jason miller]

Got on the water about 3 fished till 7:30, ended up with 13 bass and 21 pike. Biggest pike went 32" had two at 31" and a 29 3/4 the rest were 25 on up, bass were from 14-17 1/4. All fish were caught on a Red Dragon buzz, but two pike on a spinnerbait.:cool:

[jason miller]

Took a guy gillin this afternoon bit was tough at first, but ended up with 47 nice ones, few in the +8 range with most being close. Found the gills pretty scattered, moving slow along the weed-lines worked for the most consistent action.

[jason miller]

Was on the water from 2 to 4:30, boated 2 pike in the mid 40's :D and 3 in the mid 30's and 10 or so 25-28 range couldn't believe it storms blew threw and the feed bag was on, with the windy conditions thought I'd try for some muskys I've been having alot of follows and miss hits while bassin the last week or so, but couldn't raise a fish:(, also had 2 bass in the 16 range :cool:, Red Dragon double willow did all the damage, started with my fav and never took it off!!!!!!!!!!!

[jason miller]

Fishing slowed a little today, probably the weekend thing. managed one pike in the low 30's and 7 others from 25 to 28, 3 bass two 14's and a 15, pretty tough fished for almost 5 hours, lack of wind and high noon sun didn't help!!