Mercer Area Chamber of Commerce

Eric Storms (age 12-) caught and released a 47.50" Musky.  He caught it on a live sucker
he purchased from Turtle River with a quick
set rig on 10/28/11.  Eric is from Cottage
Grove WI. 

January 6, 2011-Mercer!
Wisconsin’s favorite outdoor playground!

One trip will get  you “hooked” on Mercer with over 214 lakes in a 30 mile radius – including
the 14,000 acre Turtle Flambeau Flowage- you are sure to have a different adventure each time.

Walleye are biting on golden shiners & panfish are biting best on crappie minnows and wax worms,
according to Turtle River Trading Bait & Tackle shop in Mercer WI.

Dec. 23, 2012
There is 8-10" of ice on average on the lakes in the Mercer area according to Turtle River Trading Bait/Tackle Store. The walleye catch has been pretty decent but panfish are hot right now! With over 200 lakes in the area - Mercer is the place to be for ice fishing!

John Andrew from Angler's Choice Guide Service reports: We are continuing to get the last of the ice houses out .Some lakes, we have 5-8 inches of ice, depending where you are drilling your holes, others have (the biggest lakes) much less, again, depending where you are drilling your holes.
We used Shiners for the pike with tip ups.
For the Pan Fish we used wax worms and ice jigs, along with 2 lb. test.

Fishing Report from Bobby Orr

If you have a couple days to get away and are able to make last minute plans, this would be a great time to come and visit us in the Mercer area. Many of the lodges have openings and would love to see you.  See you out on the water. For more information contact our local guides listed on the right.

The fishing has not been too bad here the last couple of weeks. It certainly could be better and you have to work a little bit for your daily catch but they are catchable. The weather has been incredible and the fall colors are awesome! 
We have been getting perch, walleye and crappie all over the place. Deep water (15 to 25 ft) along with those medium depths as well (8 to 15 ft) Jigging has produced a few fish but slip bobbers with fathead minnows far outfished the jigs in my boat. If you find some structure, you will find the fish. Nothing new and no secrets to that. By structure I mean as little as a hump or a break and as much as a crib or stumpfield.  Use the wind to your advantage, make it work for you and not against you. You may only find a fish here and there or a couple fish here and there. Just keep on moving and trying new spots. Take a beer or two along and just have a great time. 
The musky action has been off and on and sadly I have not been doing enough of it because of trying to catch the table fish. However.... We got a 45 the other night and got out yesterday for a few hours and saw 6. A couple were big beautiful fish! I have heard rumors of a good sucker bite going on but we have been casting large bucktails and big rubber baits. Look for them to be in and around stumpfields, off of breaks and humps and also suspended over deeper water.

Check out our Guides pages for more info and full fishing reports!

Angler's Choice Guide Service
John Andrew

Bobby Orr's Guide Service
Bobby Orr

Flambeau Flowage Sports
Jerry "Jerkbait" Hartigan

Turtle Flambeau Flowage
Water Levels