Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 1.6.12Unseasonably mild weather is continuing, with much of the southern half of the state having no snow cover, and only far north central Wisconsin having enough snow for winter recreation. Most lakes across the state finally have some ice cover, but some of the larger lakes, like Mendota in Dane County and Lake Winnebago still have areas of open water.
Ice depths now range from 7 to 12 inches across much of northern Wisconsin, with less on flowages. Ice through central Wisconsin ranges 4 to 8 inches and southern lake range from open water to 4 to 6 inches. But with mild weather in the forecast, recreational safety specialists are urging extreme caution for anyone heading out on frozen waters. Some ice anglers have begun to take recreational vehicles and even some trucks on to frozen water, but wardens are recommending against it. One truck went through the ice this week. State law requires these vehicles to be removed right away, which is a very costly venture.
Early ice fishing reports have been mixed, with some good action for northern pike and panfish, but slower action for walleye. Ice has begun to form again on Lake Superior?s Chequamegon Bay and Lake Michigan?s Green Bay, but not enough for travel. Strong winds in the last week have broken up much ice that forms. Anglers were still doing some open water fishing at Lake Michigan harbors and on the tributaries, with some action for brown and rainbow trout. Anglers were also open water fishing the Mississippi River, with little success for walleye and just some smaller sauger reported.
Bayfield County - Unfortunately the snow and ice gods have not been very nice this year to Bayfield County. With this past "storm" the Bayfield Peninsula only received 3 - 4 inches of snow where there was barely any snow to begin with. So the trails for sled dogs, skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling are not in prime form. The ski hill at Mt. Ashwabay south of Bayfield has been making their own snow and the warden was told the conditions are quite good there. Chequamegon Bay just started to freeze over last week again, but the winds the past few days have made it very unsafe yet. Colder and calmer conditions are needed for quite awhile to make things better for ice fishing in this region.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - The relatively mild weather over the long Holiday period has kept ice depths in the 9- to 10-inch range on most lakes in the Upper Chippewa Basin. Recent snow falls have added about 6 - 8 inches of fairly heavy snow to the ice cover and this has caused an inch or two of slush to form in some areas on the lakes. A fair number of ATVs and snowmobiles have been seen traversing various lakes, but most anglers are waiting for a solid 12 inches of ice before venturing out with their motor vehicles. Despite the nice fishing weather, walleye action continues its generally slow trend into the new year. Reports from the popular local walleye waters such as Butternut Lake and Turtle-Flambeau Flowage indicated fair to poor success over the holiday period. A few decent catches were made on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage, with the best action coming in the late afternoon hours with tip-ups in 4 to 10 feet of water. Fishing for northern pike has been fair to good, with some real nice catches being made in the mid-day period on several of the local pike waters. The best success has come on large suckers or golden shiners, and fished about a foot or two off the bottom near any old weed beds. Anglers have been seeing quite a few ?pickler-size? fish in the 18- to 22-inch range, and pike up to 38 inches have also been reported from local waters. Panfish action has been sporadic with anglers having to move around quite a bit to find the active fish. A few fair catches of bluegill, crappie and perch have been reported over the past week, with waxworms being the preferred bait.
Oneida County - Ice conditions have improved in the Rhinelander area with local anglers traveling in vehicles on many lakes. Out-of-area anglers and those not familiar with a particular water body should check at local bait shops, and test the ice conditions for themselves before venturing out. Northern pike, perch and some bluegills were being caught near Rhinelander.
Lake Michigan fisheries team reportIce has started to form in some slow moving stretches of the Lake Michigan tributaries in Southeast Wisconsin. However, fishable water can still be found on most rivers, and area harbors are open as well.
Sheboygan County - Sheboygan shore anglers near the Deland boat launch have taken a few rainbows and browns on crank baits, but fishing has been generally slow.
Ozaukee County - In Port Washington, shore fishing in the harbor has been decent, with numbers of brown trout in the area. Shiners fished under a slip bobber have been productive, but some browns have also been taken on crank baits.
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee, brown trout action in the harbor has slowed somewhat, but when Milwaukee trollers are able to get out on the lake, decent numbers of 3- to 4--pound brown trout have been hitting spoons in 40 to 60 feet of water north of the harbor.
Racine County - In Racine, flows on the Root River are good for fishing. Effort has been relatively low, but fair numbers of trout have been caught throughout the river. Both brown trout and steelhead have been caught in Island, Lincoln, and Quarry Lake Parks. Fly fishing as well as drifting spawn sacs under a bobber both produced fish.
Lower Wisconsin State Riverway - Colder weather has set in on the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. Ice has begun to thicken up on most of the backwaters and sloughs so ice fishing activity will begin soon. Some warm days are still in the forecast, so ice conditions will remain uncertain. Throughout the winter several popular ice fishing locations will be plowed. The main river channel is beginning to see several large chunks of ice flowing in the current. All trails remain in good shape and are open for use. While we may not have snow on the ground temperatures are still falling significantly in the afternoons and at night. Please be sure to plan carefully and dress appropriately for any hiking trips you may have planned.
Grant County - The weather is not very good as it pertains to ice fishing. Due to recent warm weather, ice conditions remain poor, to non-existent. The ice may be good in some few locations but, in must all places the ice is not safe and mostly thin. O' Leary Lake, a popular ice-fishing area near Lock and Dam 11 near Dubuque had no ice cover, and it was an unusual site to see white caps on lower Pool 11 of the Mississippi River on Jan. 1. A few anglers have been taking advantage of the open water conditions and fishing below Lock and Dam 11, pool 12. A few small sauger have been caught and released but no walleye.
Columbia County - Colder temperatures have finally started to cause most ponds and lakes to completely ice over in the county, though predicted warm temperatures for the weekend and into next week could very well open these waterbodies back up or cause very dangerous ice conditions. Ice anglers are hitting most of the normal spots, but need to watch for areas of open water still.
Dane County - Overall outdoor recreational opportunities in Dane County have been limited as of late, due to poor snow and ice fishing conditions. Ice thickness varies greatly in the Dane county area. Extreme caution should be used. On Lakes Monona and Mendota in smaller parts of the lake anglers are venturing out onto the ice and enjoying decent success for panfish. Sizes have been average at best but decent numbers are being caught in Monona Bay or at Marshall Park. Anglers are reminded to use extreme caution on this early ice as ice conditions are dangerous and can change from day to day.
Jefferson County - The recent cold temperatures have made ice on the local lakes. Anglers are still urged to use common sense when venturing out on the ice. A few ice anglers have been out having limited success in the marsh on Rock Lake and in the backwaters of the Rock River in Watertown. Ice thickness is up to 5 inches in the calm bays. In Watertown several undersized northern pike and some 13- to 15-inch walleye have been caught on minnows and shiners. On the marsh of Rock Lake anglers have been trying to catch bluegill on spikes and waxworms.
Devil's Lake State Park - Winter arrived at Devil's Lake. There is some snow, but not enough to ski or snowshoe in. The lake remains open, with ice forming around the shorelines. Any ice that does form in the deeper open portion of the lake, melts as soon as the temperatures go up in the 40s. No ice fishing yet.
La Crosse Local anglers are enjoying fast action on tip-ups in the back waters of the Mississippi River. Ice depths range from open water to 6 inches, so be careful where you are walking and use a spud if you are venturing into new areas. Get the kids outside on these nice warm 30-plus degree days. Setting some tip-ups for bass and northern pike is a great way to keep the family busy during winter break. Don?t overlook the bluegill action in these spots. These fish may not always be 9 inchers, but the fast bite is sure to keep you busy baiting your hook.
Merrick State Park - Fishing has been slow due to poor ice conditions.
Black River Falls Ice fishing action is picking up on several flowages in eastern Jackson County. Ice anglers are starting to catch some nice-sized crappie on Indian Creek near City Point. Crappie are aggressively hitting pink colored Rat Finky's and micro Swedish pimples tipped with blood worms. Several of the cranberry reservoirs east of Millston are also seeing panfish action. Be sure to get permission from the operators before entering a private cranberry operation to fish. Ice conditions on these reservoirs can also change very quickly as the operators may draw down the water from under the ice. Ice fishing has been good to excellent on Lake Arbutus and the lower backwaters in Hatfield. Walleye in the 16- to 18-inch range were being caught on Lake Arbutus in about 25 feet of water. Try using a weighted shiner below a tip-up. Bluegill action on Emerald Lake below Hatfield has been outstanding. Although the fish aren't giants, this lake would be a great place to take the kids. Fish are biting on tear drop jigs tipped with wax worms off the bottom in about 10 feet of water. Some anglers are actively jigging up and down to produce bites.
Eau Claire County - Ice anglers are moving shelters onto the ice of Lake Altoona. Ice conditions are getting better with ice thickness around 7 to 10 inches. Fishing action has been the best early and late in the day.
Marathon County - The weekend brought some new snow, so although the snowmobile trails are not open here yet, people are starting to get their snowmobiles out on the ice. Reminder to get the snowmobiles registered. Area lakes and rivers have around 7 to 10 inches of ice with a few spots reaching about 12 inches on some quiet bays, with much less on the river channels. More and more people are starting to drive vehicles on the ice. Anglers on the Big Eau Pleine flowage report up to 10 inches of ice, but the perch and crappies were running small. A handful of nice northern pike were taken on tip ups. On Lake Dubay, anglers report 7 to 8 inches of ice with crappies and white bass running small to medium and decent walleyes being taken with slip bobbers. Panfish fishing has been spotty, with some anglers catching close to limits on Lake Wausau, although the keeper size range varies greatly from one angler to the next. Some nice northerns have been caught as well.
Portage County - Recent snows in the Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids areas were not sufficient to open up area snowmobile trails. Warmer weather is predicted later this week and that will not help snowmobilers out. Ice conditions have improved and some daring ice fishers are driving on area waters. This is still not recommended. Ice fishing has been spotty with some panfish being taken early in the morning and late in the afternoon and a few walleyes being taken on the Wisconsin River system in the late evening and after dark.
Minocqua area fishing report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htm
Lake Michigan Fishing Report and tips
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htm
Wausau Area fishing report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htm
Chippewa Flowage fishing report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htm
Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
