Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes

Had a request from my brother to show him how to catch fish on the Waupaca Chain on Sunday. My first time out, he had been out there one time last year and saw lots of fish that wouldn’t bite. Took out the wives and dog to put on a seminar on this crystal / blue water body of water. End of day – 0 keeper bass. So much for the seminar… Did see a few decent LMB on the weeds I could find, which wasn’t easy.

Anyone have any secrets, or is this body of water just for the 1,000 ski boats going around in circles.

Also got harrassed by some “STOP AQUATIC VEGETATION” landowners. They told me I couldn’t put my boat in because I had a carpet string hanging off one of my bunks. Maybe they should train people before they send them down to the landings to harrass people that know more than they do. Provided an education on evasive species vs carpet fibers and headed out on the water. I think they are protecting that blue water and all the chemicals they must dump in to keep the weeds dead.

I agree I fished there twice a few years back and there weren’t too many weeds to speak of. And like you said the 1000 jet skis and ski boats buzzing around made it impossible to fish. your best bet is go up there in the fall when all the fair weather fans stay off the lake. Good luck, Dan

Hi Nic,

I’m originally from Central WI and have fished the chain for Largies on occasion. I have experience with Dake and Miner, but would expect the following pattern to hold true for most lakes. I have had the best success fishing the docks and pontoon boats (skipping or pitching plastics). They look like they would not hold fish due to it only being a sand bottom underneath, but after the summer pattern gets going, pontoon and docks are magnets on the chain. Give ‘er a try and let us know how it goes.

PS: Nice rig;)

Jason

Did hit the piers for a bit, picked up some dinks and rock bass. People were also not too friendly around the piers. Don’t think I will waste my time going back there. Did enjoy lunch though, can’t remember the name of the place, but they serve you at the dock. If I had a pontoon boat, this would be a great place to hang out, but… I think I’ll pass.

If you have the patience for it, throw a weightless 4″ senko in and around 20 FOW at the base of the breaklines. If you’re around fish, your bait will never make it to the bottom. skipping wacky worms under docks also produces out there, but there are a lot of them that look good but I’ve never caught any fish off of. If you want some specific areas that always seem to hold fish, shoot me a PM