Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 2.24.12Much of the rest of the state remains free of snow, and warm weather continued in the last week, worsening ice conditions on many southern lakes. State recreational safety specialists say shoreline are opening up on many southern lakes, and even some larger lakes, like the Madison area lakes and Beaver Dam lake, have areas of open water. Wardens are recommending ice anglers remove shelters now and not wait for the March 4 deadline to remove shanties from southern lakes. Lakes in northern Wisconsin continue to have a fairly solid foot or more of ice, but river systems are opening up.
Ice fishing success on northern lakes has continued its season-long slow trend, with all species showing very erratic action. Walleye have provided some fair action at times during the past week, but success has been confined to short periods during the day. With the constantly changing weather, fishing for northern pike has also been variable. Panfish action continues to be on the slow side, with anglers really having move around and search for the active fish. Ice anglers on the frozen smaller bays of the Bay of Green Bay continue to report good success for whitefish.
The Wisconsin River is now open through central Wisconsin and walleye fishing has been fair to good below dams, with good numbers of angler reported fishing below the Wisconsin Dells and Prairie du Sac dams. Open water anglers are also having success with brown and rainbow trout on Lake Michigan harbors.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties)
Ice depths have increased slowly and most waters have 15-18 inches of ice. Up to 3 inches of new snow was turned into some deep drifts by strong winds on many area lakes. Ice anglers ? especially those using two-wheel drive vehicles -- should use caution when traveling areas of deep snow on lakes. Fishing success has continued its season-long slow trend, with all species showing very erratic action. Walleye have provided some fair action at times during the past week, but success has been confined to short periods during the day and at specific depths in a given body of water. Tip-up anglers have been seeing the most consistent action and many have downsized to fathead minnows or small suckers to entice bites from the finicky fish. The active bite seems to be concentrated in the hour before dark and the productive depths have ranged from 4-12 feet of water. Most of the walleye being caught have been in the 11-14-inch range, but a few up to 22 inches have also been landed. With the constantly changing weather, fishing for northern pike has also been variable. Catches have generally been low, though a few pike up to 28 inches have been reported. Panfish action continues to be on the slow side, with anglers really having to work to catch fish. That means a lot of moving around and searching for the active fish. The few nice perch and crappie that have been caught have been found suspended off the bottom in the deeper parts of the lake.
Due to the continued warm weather, sunshine, wind, and recent rain the ice conditions on Lake Winnebago have been degrading quickly. The ice at many of the landings is quickly being broken up and in some places like Waverly Beach is limiting the access for sturgeon spearers. On Monday there were still a few individuals venturing onto the ice with full size trucks, but many said it would probably be the last day they did so. Many spearers were reporting 8-12 inches of ice, with many locations also having less. There are numerous locations where the large cracks have opened up smaller spider cracks, leading to many areas with open water. Spearers have been reporting that some of the larger cracks have been opening to four feet during the day.
Peshtigo With the continuation of warm weather ice conditions on the Bay of Green Bay remain dangerous. Most anglers have been walking or driving 4 wheelers to their fishing destinations. Use caution when venturing out on the ice. Fishing activity has been slow this past week due in part to ice conditions and wind.
Marinette County The landscape at the Peshtigo Harbor has been dominated by pike anglers with some very nice fish being caught north of the Peshtigo River mouth. Activity at the Menominee River has been slow with most of the action for walleye taking place from the Anglers's walkway on the Hattie Street Bridge. Rapala's and Twister tails casted into the current will produce fish. There is some activity at 6th Street slip with anglers jigging for walleye and panfish.
Oconto County Oconto Breakwater anglers are still catching some whitefish in the mouth of the Oconto River jigging with small spoons tipped with minnow heads. Some perch are being caught but they are running small. Pike anglers have been having some luck fishing the north side of the causeway using large shiners or dead smelt in the round
Brown County Anglers at Voyageur Park are casting twister tails in the open water for walleye with limited success. Tip ups and shiner minnows have been producing a few pike in the Long Tail area. Sunset Beach anglers have been catching perch in 6 to 9 feet of water using jigging spoons and tip ups with Rosie Reds. Many of the perch are running small.
Door County Sturgeon Bay anglers have been fishing the Stone Quarry landing for whitefish. Anglers have been fishing for perch in Sawyer Harbor with some success. However, most of the perch that have been caught have been small. A few walleyes are being caught as well but most have been under sized; low light conditions have been best. Whitefish have been biting well the last week at Little Sturgeon with anglers catching limits. Gold Swedish pimples have been the key to catching numbers of fish. Most have been fishing 10-25 feet of water for best results. Anglers have also been fishing for whitefish at Rites Cove, with limit catches reported by anglers fishing early or late in the day. Sugar Creek anglers have been fishing for whitefish. Action has been spotty with anglers catching a few. Also, a few walleyes have been caught in the last week. Fishing pressure has been up the last few weeks at Bayshore Park which in turn slowed things down. The whitefish action has slowed some over the weekend. A few perch have been caught as well. Minnows in 20-25 feet of water have been producing the best.
Calumet County Lake Winnebago?s eastern shore ice conditions are fair. Ice thickness ranges from 8-10 inches, but there are much thinner areas. Caution should be used and vehicles should not be taken on the ice. Many lake access points are showing signs of breaking up due to the warm weather and vehicle traffic. Sturgeon spearers are seeing few fish and having limited success with ice conditions and poor visibility contributing factors. Those ice fishing are catching many panfish and walleyes.
Fond du Lac County The sturgeon harvest has been low with poor water clarity and half the usual number of ice shacks out on the lake.
Lakeshore State Park Brown trout are being caught under the bridge and behind the Marcus Amphitheater. Browns are also being caught through the ice in the lagoon, but the ice is deteriorating and extreme caution should be used. The park is snow free after a very warm winter. Birding highlights include goldeneyes, buffleheads, scaups and a male long-tailed duck. Both gray and red fox are active and commonly seen, especially at dusk. All Park trails are open and in good condition. The Summerfest trail loop is open on the north end, but closed south due to construction. The south entrance from the road to the island is currently under construction, but pedestrian access is open.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County Anglers in the harbor have taken a few northern, rainbows and browns on minnows, but fishing has been generally slow. There are pockets of open water in the marina, but anglers have been fishing from the docks. Some anglers have also been fishing off the north and south piers, with a few brown trout taken. The Sheboygan River has stretches of open water upstream near Esslingen Park, but ice along the shore hampers angling activity in that area.
Ozaukee County In Port Washington, open water fishing near the power plant has been hit-or-miss for brown trout. Days that fish are not biting in the harbor, some anglers have had success casting crank baits from the pier.
Milwaukee County Boaters continue to have consistent brown trout action in the harbor, and they are catching some rainbows as well. Trolling has produced fish, as has jigging or soaking spawn. Open water anglers fishing behind the Summerfest grounds have also been catching some brown trout and occasional rainbows, and spawn has produced most fish for them. There is little ice currently in the inner harbor, but conditions can change quickly.
Racine County Anglers in the Racine harbor have been catching browns along with some rainbows, and fish had been caught on spawn, shiners, and Gulp. Ice conditions in the harbor vary, so
Walworth County Ice anglers need to be careful on certain lakes in the Walworth County area. Local Warden Roberts has seen several pockets of ice opening up on Whitewater and Lauderdale Lake. The boggy vegetation that often lies under the ice can create weak areas on the ice. Several locations had 8 inches of ice while 5 feet away had open water. Lake Geneva offers a spectacular Lake Trout fishery that is all but untapped by many of the fisherman visiting the Lake Geneva area. Lake Geneva is the southern most inland lake in the United State that maintains a sustainable and viable Lake Trout population. The chance to land a 20 pound lake trout is a possibility whether fishing open water or through the ice. Catching a lake trout on a jig pole is something you will always remember. Lake trout fishing does require an inland trout stamp and fishing license.
Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Continued unseasonable warm weather has melted most snow cover in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, and trails are in poor condition for snowshoeing. Trails are also muddy and slick in some spots, but overall conditions are fair for hiking. Warm days have seen several visitors hiking and viewing wildlife. High temperatures have also created poor conditions for ice fishing. Activity has dropped off on backwaters and sloughs. Some anglers have been seen shore fishing on the main channel of the river, and this week also saw a couple of boats on the river near Spring Green - an unusual event for the middle of February.
Wyalusing State Park Ice anglers are still trying their luck at the park boat landing. They know that their days of ice fishing are numbered and are trying to get as many hours on the ice as they can. Mississippi River level at Prairie du Chien is 7.5, same as yesterday.
Dane County Ice conditions on the Madison Chain of lakes is very marginal and changing by the hour. Several open water areas have been observed. Anglers should think about removing their shacks early to avoid any problems with the shacks falling through the ice.
Sauk County Lake Redstone has seen some weakening ice conditions due to the warmer temperatures. The lake is currently cut in half with an ice heave. A second ice heave is spreading southwest into the lake from the rock face of Eagle Court. Ice thicknesses vary from 6 to 11 inches. Crappies have been biting in 14 to 16 feet of water. The bite has been light with electronics being effective for catching fish. Minnows, wax worms and plastics have all been effective. The fish are on the move so hole shopping is needed to locate fish. Dutch Hollow Lake has been slow for fishing.
Portage County Ice shanties must be removed from the ice by March 4 on inland waters south of Highway 64 although people should consider removing them earlier this year. Remember, all trash and remnants of the ice shanty need to be removed including portions of the shanty froze into the ice. Fishing remains slow although some nice catches of pan fish were observed one day this past week. Fishing requires patience as fish may bite one day and not the next. Most anglers who were contacted reported seeing fish on their electronics but couldn't get them to bite. Flow is picking up on the Wisconsin River and some spots have lost as much as 6 inches of ice over the last two weeks. The unseasonably warm weather has attracted open water anglers to the Wisconsin River in search of the elusive walleye.
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.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
