Petenwell Lake
Published: Updated:
Petenwell Lake Fishing Reports
Filter by
Sort by
Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
WalleyeSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
45°
Species
WalleyeSeason
Summer
Technique
Vertical Jigging 10-19'
Structure
River Channels
I like to focus my time on the steepest drop offs along the sides of the main river channel. Anywhere there is a bend tends to be a great places to start. Bright colored jigs with a leech tend to work best for me. I let the jig fall all the way to the floor then reel up so my bait is hovering anywhere from 6 to 10 inches off the bottom.
Mission Tackle Glitter Jig - EOL 3/8 oz / Pink
Out of Stock
Mission Tackle Glitter Jig - EOL 3/8 oz / Gold
Out of Stock
VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig 1/4 oz / Assorted - UV
Out of Stock
Species
Northern PikeSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Dam
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
45°
Slow rolling the smaller swimmer along current seams was key for nice pike. Weighting the swimmer with 1/4 oz of more was also important to keep the bait down in the water column. Less current the better or even retrieve the bait with the current rather than against it. Take a kid fishing!
Species
Northern PikeSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Live Bait Rigs
Structure
Humps
Forage
Perch
Water Temperature
48°
Orange whistler jigs with minnows
Species
WalleyeSeason
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Live Bait Rigs
Structure
River Channels
Water Temperature
36°
Caught a few walleye on jigs with live minnows. Walleye still pretty passive. Fishing the Wisconsin River above Petenwell. Launche the boat from Nekoosa.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Ledges
The water was around 55 degrees and the walleye's were staged just off the deep parts of ledges that are next to shallow flats where they spawn. Dragging a small 3" soft tail swimbait on a 1/4oz head did the trick. I made long casts and waited for the bait to hit the bottom. Then I would reel slowly to keep the bait low with added pauses to make sure I was keeping contact with the bottom.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
River Channels
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
55°
Found a really good post-spawn evening walleye bite casting small swimbaits in about 5ft of water near rocky drop-offs and river current edges. Water temps warmed significantly to mid-50's following the recent summer-like temps. Fish were aggressive for a short period of time just before dark. Best action was near areas with noticeable rough fish surfacing activity. Long casts, slow and steady retrieves were key. A couple feisty smallies mixed in as well.
Species
WalleyeSeason
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
65°
Rapidly warming water temps had the walleyes in more of a summer pattern, biting primarily at dusk or later. The versatile swimbait caught various sizes of walleyes plus sturgeon and white bass. Great time of the season to take a kid fishing and watch their surprise not knowing what is attached to the end of their line. Shallow rock structure near drop-off edges was key as fish of all species cruised through the area. A little more aggressive retrieve with some pull-pauses worked in seemed to trigger strikes.
Berkley Trilene XL - EOL 8lb / Low-Vis Green
Out of Stock
Daiwa Fuego LT Spinning Reel - EOL 2500 / 6.2:1
Out of Stock
Species
White BassSeason
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
River Channels
Forage
Minnows
Water Temperature
62°
Hit the white bass run and had a blast catching a wide variety of the scrappy fighters. Fish were congregating in about 6 feet of water or less, around flats preparing to spawn. Fish were hitting just about any bait you wanted to throw but the 3" size swimbait was the most consistent. Often a second fish would chase in the hooked fish. Great opportunity to get the family involved in some fish catching!
