Jenks Bait & Tackle
Jenk’s Bait & Tackle has been serving the Hayward Area for over 75 years! We are your One Stop Shop in the Chippewa Flowage Area! Located conveniently between the Chippewa Flowage, Round Lake, Callahan Lake, Moose Lake, and the Quiet Lakes, our knowledge of the surrounding waters and woods has been invaluable to our guests and community for many years.
We are a full service One Stop Shop as we offer a variety of products and services from Live Bait, a full line of name brand fishing tackle, ice, cold beer & soda, propane cylinders, firewood, rod & reel repair, line winding services, special order firearms, and firearm transfers!
Jenk’s Bait and Tackle is more than a local tackle shop. It is an experience, and more importantly–a tradition. We are very passionate about the Hayward Lakes Area, and we love bringing you the best quality and up-to-date products while still maintaining that nostalgic and rustic mom & pop bait shop feel like back in the old days. We thank you for choosing Jenk’s Bait and Tackle as your One Stop Shop for all your fishing needs in the Chippewa Flowage Area!
Complete Line of Fishing Tackle and Live Bait
13 Miles East of Hayward on County Hwy “B”
Our rod and reel prices are competitive with, and often priced lower than the discounters and catalogues. Give us a call at 715-462-3055 for more information, or stop by and see for yourself.
Located conveniently between the Chippewa Flowage, Round Lake and Callahan Lake, our knowledge of the surrounding waters have been a help to visitors for many years.
Whether you seek hunting and fishing information, want to hire a guide to fish the Chippewa Flowage or surrounding Hayward Lakes, or if you simply want to chat about the Hayward area, we’re here 7 days a week to help make your stay a pleasant one.
Open Water, and Ice Fishing Guide Services through Hayward Guide Service which is headquartered at Jenk’s
Fishing Report / News
2026-05-13
Walleye
Walleye fishing has been hit and miss. Since Opener, a lot of Walleye fishermen have been reporting success in 18-22 feet around deeper humps. The size of the Walleye have been primarily around that 13 to 14 inch range. If you want to target bigger Walleye, the West Side of the Flowage is a better option, while the East Side is a better option for numbers.
Musky
Musky fishing has been overall quiet, but more so because very few people are fishing for them. More than likely the Musky Spawn is beginning to wrap up. If you do spot some Muskies in the shallows, best to leave them alone so they can finish their spawn. There have been Muskies caught these past few weeks since Opener…most of them by accident on Jerkbaits by Walleye fishermen.
Northern
Pike fishing has been pretty solid on the West Side particularly on Wild Caught Suckers and Chubs. The back bays of the West Side is where its at. With Crappies moving in shallower, the pike should not be far behind. Check out the edges of Crappie rich spots and put out some Suckers and Chubs on bobbers around the boat.
Crappie
The Crappie are starting to stage up for spawn. The Choke Cherry Bushes are just starting to bloom now and word is that the Crappies are in about 2 feet of water in some pretty thick timber and weeds. Minnows are always a great choice, but as the spawn gets closer the Voodoo Custom Tackle Glass Bead Jigs, Kalin Crappie Scrubs, or Bimbo Skunk Jigs become your best options.
Bass
Smallmouth have been quiet overall, but the Largemouth fishing has been solid early in the year. Multiple 5 pound fish have been reported in the last week. Action has come on everything from jerkbaits and chatterbaits, to live bait.
Weather
The weather this weekend is going to be VERY nice. Highs from Thursday to Saturday will range from the low 70s to low 80s while lows will range from the high 40s to mid 50s. Sunday on through the rest of next week things are expected to cool down a bit with highs in the mid 40s to low 60s and lows in the high 30s to high 40s. Expect some rain on Sunday and Monday.
Water Temp at time of this report
55 Degrees
General
A quick side note here–for those of you that may not have heard I had a heart attack on Saturday night and I have been getting a lot of questions about my health and the shop's status. First off, I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and concern for me these past few days. I cannot begin to tell you all how much you have touched my soul with all of your caring messages, visits, and phone calls. As to the shop, I am still here and Jenk's Bait is running as normal from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm every day. Arrangements have been made to keep minnow trapping going this year while I recover so wild caught bait is going to continue to be in full supply here at Jenk's Bait!