“Catching Muskies, Walleyes and Panfish at Wisconsin’s Eagle River Chain of Lakes with Jim ‘Hi Pines’ Rechlitz and Mepps and Mister Twister”

Part 5: Smallmouth Bass, Crappies, Bluegills and Perch

Editor’s Note: Jim ‘Hi Pines’ Rechlitz is the owner of Hi Pines Guide Service in Eagle River, Wisconsin, and an officer in the Headwater Chapter 12 of Muskies, Inc. He guides primarily for muskie and walleye as well as panfish and smallmouth bass on the Eagle River chain of lakes in northern Wisconsin.

Question: Jim, I know you guide for panfish also. What kind of panfish are you catching, and on what are you catching them?

Rechlitz: In the month of May, crappie fishing is excellent up here. We usually find the crappie in 6 to 8 feet of water, and they’ll often be suspended. At that time of year, we’re using slip bobbers and a jighead with a Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub and tipped with a minnow. Sometimes we only fish a 1/8-ounce jighead with a Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub and cast it out on ultra light equipment and swim the jig and the Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub over grass beds. We’ll catch crappie in the 9- to 13-inch size using this tactic.

We also catch some crappie up here that will be 14 inches and weigh 1-1/2 pounds. For the last couple of years, we have had really-good crappie fishing in the area, and it seems to be getting better and better every year. Our limit on crappie is 25, or you can have a mixed bag that includes crappie, bluegill and perch. However, your bag limit is still 25. So when we’re panfishing, a person can catch 25 panfish per day per person.

Question: What color Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub seems to produce the most crappie, bluegill and perch?

Rechlitz: Our favorite color is white and lime green. When fishing for suspended fish, I’ll put the line tie on my bobber, so the jig falls 2- to 4-feet below the cork. Since crappie usually feed up, we want the jig to be just above the crappie’s head, so the fish can see it and eat it.

Question: How big are the perch you’re catching when you go panfishing?

Rechlitz: As I’ve said earlier, we’re catching some really nice perch. Our perch are running between 8 and 10 inches, which makes them plenty big enough to fillet. And, they’re really-good eating.

Question: What about your bluegill population?

Rechlitz: We don’t have a very large bluegill population here on the Eagle River chain, but we do catch them every now and then.

Question: In a 4-hour panfishing trip, what do you expect to catch?

Rechlitz: We’ll usually catch about 15 walleyes, 20 perch and 12 crappie. We have really-fertile water on the Eagle River chain, and we’re fishing 10-different lakes that we can get to by boat. So, we can usually produce a really good day of panfishing here. May and June seem to be our best months for catching panfish. In August, the fish go a little deeper, and we have to fish deeper.

Now at the end of May and during June, we also have really good smallmouth bass fishing. We’re catching those smallmouths. We like the No. 3 thru the No. 5 Mepps Aglia when we’re fishing for smallmouth. Our favorite colors seem to be orange and black. We’ve learned the Aglia will catch about any fish that swims our waters. That Aglia No. 3 with the orange blade and black tail produces bass, walleye, northern pike and even muskies. I know believing that a spinner that small will attract and hook a muskie is almost impossible, but it does. The No. 5 Aglia is really good for muskies at the end of May and through the month of June.

To fish with Jim ‘Hi Pines’ Rechlitz, call (715) 479-6113, email hipines@hipines.com or hipines@newnorth.net, or visit www.hipines.com.