Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 2.17.12Poor ice conditions and low water clarity continue to hamper spearers participating in the Lake Winnebago sturgeon spearing season. Wardens report there were about half as many sturgeon spearing shacks on the ice as a normal year. Spearers on the upriver lakes had better conditions, and that season closed Sunday after spearers reached the harvest cap, with 242 sturgeon registered. As of Wednesday, only a total of 122 sturgeon had been speared on Lake Winnebago, with just 17 fish on Wednesday. Spearers were reportedly moving shacks around a fair amount in search of happier hunting grounds on better ice.
Inland fishing was picking up somewhat, with anglers fishing open water below dams on the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers for walleye. Ice conditions continued to be poor on some southern lakes, with three vehicles going through the ice on Beaver Dam Lake in the last 10 days. With the mild temperatures, good numbers of ice anglers have been out on northern lakes, which still have a foot to 17 inches of ice. Reports were mixed, with some anglers having to move around a lot to find decent panfish, but some other areas reporting action picking up for walleyes and northern pike on tip-ups.
Sawyer County Big Chetac Lake in the Birchwood area is starting to produce some decent panfish action. Fish are of variable size and most individuals are releasing a few smaller ones before getting one to keep. Preferred depth on the lake for perch and crappie seems to be in the 12-20 feet with 18 feet being the more common depth for action. Best luck seems to be on the weed breaks or points into the deeper water and around the islands. Mix bags of fish are possible at these locations with perch and crappie making up the bulk and some bluegill mixed in. More bluegills are coming from slightly shallower water with weeds. The bite is inconsistent for all fish, with sporadic activities throughout the day. Some individuals fishing through the night were seeing some heavy sporadic activity as well. For subjects wanting to cover lots of water looking for larger active fish, plastics with a minnow head, plastics with several wax worms or smaller flutter type jigs with a minnow head or wax worm, which allow for quick and easy moving, seem to be best. Those waiting the fish out in the typical locations that produce will just sit with live minnows or wax worms waiting for fish to swim buy or turn on. Northern pike also were biting well on the lake with walleye and bass being pretty slow with only a few being caught here and there. Shiners and suckers are the preferred bait with anglers upsizing for northern and downsizing for walleye and bass. Travel on Big Chetac is good with foot and all vehicles but caution is always advised especially when searching in new areas. Anglers are reminded that Big Chetac has a 25 daily bag limit on panfish but only 10 can be bluegill. There is also 15-inch size limit on walleye and a daily bag limit of two.
Polk County Ice fishing has been slow. People are reporting smaller fish compared to previous years of ice fishing. Snowmobile trails are closed with very little snow on area lakes.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) Ice conditions in the north have been generally good with most lakes holding at 14 to 17 inches of ice. The milder weather of the past week did melt down a bit of the snow cover and most lakes now have a 3- to 4-inch layer of heavy grainy snow. Travel has been fair to most areas on the lakes, but 4WD has been necessary when travelling off of some of the packed trails. While the weather has been fair and good numbers of anglers have been out, fishing success has continued its generally slow trend of the last month. Panfish have provided the most consistent action, but anglers have had to move around quite a bit to find the active fish - both from lake to lake and from spot to spot on a given lake. Some decent perch catches have been made on the mid-depth mud flats and around any old weed beds, with waxworms and small minnows producing some fair action. Both crappie and bluegill have been found in deeper water areas and suspended 3 to 5 feet off the bottom, and small finesse baits have been needed to entice these finicky feeders. The erratic walleye bite has not changed, with most anglers reporting it pretty tough to catch any keeper-sized fish. A few anglers have reported some fair success on 11- to 14-inch walleye, with a few up to 22 inches also reported. The best action has come in the late afternoon hours, with both suckers and shiners producing a few fish in water from 4 to 10 feet deep. Northern pike success has been fair, with most anglers reporting just enough action to keep them interested. On many of the pike lakes, anglers have had to move their baits up several feet off the bottom. This is to get above the low oxygen levels that are starting to show up on these generally shallow and weedy lakes.
Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area Ice fishing remains slow. A few panfish can be caught as well as the occasional walleye. Ice conditions remain good with about 16 inches of ice although it is variable.
Peshtigo Fishing activity has been slow this past week due in part to ice conditions and wind.
Marinette County Things are getting bad on Lake Noquebay. A vehicle went through the ice last Sunday. Anglers are out in force north of the Peshtigo Harbor catching some rather nice northern pike using tip-ups with shiners or smelt, with most people setting up on the inside of the first ice shove. The Sixth Street slip on the Menominee River is seeing activity for walleye and whitefish, with most people jigging live bait.
Oconto County Geano Beach anglers have been catching whitefish using small jigging raps tipped with minnows south of the public access. Some perch were also being caught in 7 to 10 feet of water jigging with minnow or wax worm. Oconto Breakwater anglers report some northern pike being caught north of the Breakwater on dead smelt in the round or shiners. A few whitefish were being caught while jigging.
Brown County Perch fishing has been slow at Sunset Beach and Duck Creek with fish running on the small size. Ice conditions at Voyageur Park have made walleye fishing a rather dangerous undertaking
Door County Perch fishing in Sawyer Harbor has been hit or miss the last few days with the change in weather conditions. Most anglers were finding the best luck in 6-10 feet of water. Early mornings have been the best time of day. Whitefish were being caught along the Stone Quarry boat landing. Northern pike were being iced at the yacht club; medium golden shiners on tip-ups have been working the best. Walleye fishing has been good along Larsen's Reef. Late afternoons have been the most productive with most anglers using a jig and minnow to get bites. Perch action has been a bit slow the last week at Little Sturgeon Bay. Whitefish have been biting with anglers fishing from Lime Kiln Road to Snake Island. The typical jigging spoon tipped with a waxworm has been the best producer. Ice conditions still are not all that good so use caution when traveling. Whitefish action has slowed some off Bayshore Park. Most anglers, however, were still reporting catching fish, especially during the early morning hours.
Calumet County Sturgeon spearing is off to a slow start along the east shore of Lake Winnebago. Overall poor ice conditions leading into opening weekend along with lower than average water clarity led many die-hard sturgeon spearers to stay home this season. The shanty count on the lake was down roughly 50 percent when compared to opening weekend last year. Stockbridge Harbor registration station had only three fish registered on opening day. Several cracks on the lake continue to move both open and closed depending on the wind conditions. Almost all sturgeon spearers were utilizing either ATVs or snowmobiles during opening weekend. Most spearers were setting up within a mile of the shoreline with a few venturing out farther onto the ice. Spearers are reminded to check their ATV and snowmobile registration status before heading out. It is anticipated the season will run the full 16 days on Lake Winnebago.
Fond du Lac County Sturgeon spearing season is under way on Lake Winnebago. The harvest has been low with poor water clarity and half the usual number of ice shacks out on the lake. As of today the ice conditions have been deteriorating on the southern end of the lake some areas still have 8 inches but cracks and shoves have changed the look of the area just in the past few days. Many people are moving their shacks to new locations or off the lake due to the unknown impact the upcoming weather will have on the ice conditions into the next week. As always use caution if you are heading out as the conditions can change on Lake Winnebago within hours depending on the temperatures and wind.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County In Sheboygan anglers in the harbor have taken a few northern pike, and rainbow and brown trout 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 south pier, 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 In Milwaukee, 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 The Racine harbor had fishable ice, but conditions have deteriorated with the current warm temperatures. Anglers have been fishing from the docks and have been catching brown trout along with some rainbows, and fish had been caught on spawn and Gulp.
Kenosha County Open water can be found in the Kenosha harbor. Casting small spoons or using tube jigs or spawn sacs should produce some brown and rainbow trout.
Kenosha and Racine counties Anglers are taking advantage of ice conditions ranging from 4 to 7 inches, trying to make the most out of their dismal ice fishing season thus far. Anglers were reporting good luck on tip-ups for northern pike while panfish have been a little harder to come by. While a lot of ATVs and snowmobiles have been seen on lakes, be sure to check conditions before venturing out. With the varying weather conditions this ?winter,? the 4-7 inches of ice that is out there may not be a ?good? or even safe.?
Jefferson County Anglers continue to ice fish area lakes with mixed success.
Sauk County Fishing across Lake Redstone has slowed down and the fish that were consistently being caught on the north side of the lake seemed to have moved out. Look for crappies suspended around 14 - 17 feet of water. Either plastics, minnows or a jig with plastics have been working. Ice anglers and outdoor enthusiasts need to take extra precautions since the ice thickness varies between 5 to 10 inches around the lake with an open pressure crack running east and west is splitting the lake in half. The pressure crack is located in the middle of the lake. Section 11 continues to be a safe launching point for access to the lake. Dutch Hollow remains slow with few people fishing the lake. Again, use caution since ice conditions vary in thickness as well. Walleyes have been biting on the Wisconsin River. Due to the mild weather, the access launch at Rivers Edge is available for boaters to get onto the river.
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
