Wisconsin Statewide fishing report 2.11.10Ice conditions continue to be very good on most lakes, but the variable weather conditions in the past week made for some very erratic inland fishing success. Panfish have provided the most consistent action but catches have still been relatively low. Walleye action continues to be inconsistent and northern pike has also been variable. Anglers on Green Bay continue to report good catches of perch and some whitefish. The Mississippi River rose again this week and was up to 8.1 feet at Prairie du Chien. Ice conditions in most areas continued to be good, but again, ice fishing slowed down with the inconsistent barometric pressure this week.
The 2010 Lake Winnebago system sturgeon spearing season opens this Saturday. More than 10,000 people purchased licenses for this unique season before the deadline last October. The limit is one sturgeon with a minimum size of 36 inches. The Winnebago system sturgeon population is the largest in the world, estimated at more than 58,000 fish. Harvest is tightly controlled because sturgeon are especially vulnerable to overharvest due to their slow growth. Females don?t spawn for the first time until they are 21 to 33 years old. DNR fisheries biologists say the potential for some record sized-fish to be harvested this year, as crews have found fish over 200 pounds when doing population assessments. The season closes whenever spearers reach any of several harvest caps. Many spearers have been out on the lakes scouting and report that cloudy water is spreading along the west shore of Lake Winnebago, with the rest of the lake appearing clear. Ice conditions are generally good, but the recent snow and wind have caused some drifting which may have covered up cracks and other dangerous spots. Tips on ice safety, particularly when traveling on the ice in or on motorized vehicles, can be found on the DNR Web site
http://www.dnr.wi.gov/news/DNRNews_Article_Lookup.asp?id=1331
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - Ice conditions in the north continue to be very good, with most lakes holding at 15 to 20 inches of ice. Snowfall in the past few days has added about 2 to 3 inches of light fluffy snow to most northern lakes, giving them a fresh untouched look. The new snow has had minimal impact on travel and anglers have been able to get to most of their favorite spots on local waters. Many 2WD vehicles are still being seen traversing the lakes and there haven't been any reports of slush problems. The variable weather conditions in the past week made for some very erratic fishing success. Panfish have provided the most consistent action but catches have still been relatively low. Anglers have had to really work at finding the fish and that means a lot of moving around to locate the active fish. Perch and crappie have comprised most of the catches, with perch being found just off the bottom on the mid-depth mud flats and crappie being suspended several feet off the bottom in the deeper parts of the lake. Walleye action has been very inconsistent, with anglers reporting generally poor catches during this past week. The best success came from tip-up anglers using suckers in 8 to 12 feet of water and the hour before dark produced most of the action. Most of the walleye have been in the 11 to 13-inch size but a few up into the low 20-inch size have also been reported. With the constantly changing weather, fishing for northern pike has also been variable. Catches have generally been low, though a few pike up to 32 inches have been made. Monitoring of winter oxygen levels has indicated that most lakes are holding up pretty well. Ice depths and snow cover are about average and just a few lakes have seen a major decline in oxygen levels. But these waters have been the usual winterkill-prone lakes and many of them already have aeration systems in place. Most of these air-bubbling systems have been in operation for several weeks and recreationalists should be careful on the lakes with these open-water areas.
Oconto County - A few anglers were observed south of the Geano Beach Landing fishing inside the shove for pike using large shiners. Oconto Breakwater Park saw many perch and whitefish anglers plying their trade just outside of the Oconto River mouth. Minnow heads with buckshot lures have been working as well as ice fishing jigs tipped with spikes or wax worms. Pike anglers are working the shallows from Oconto Breakwater to the Peshtigo Harbor. Baits of choice are shiners and dead smelt fished on bottom in 4 to 12 feet of water.
Marinette County - Hattie Street Dam has still been producing some nice eating walleye in the 16 to 20 inch range through the ice below the dam. Some nice trout were being caught from the anglers? walk way off the Hattie Street Bridge on stick baits, with anglers casting the baits and letting them move in the current. 6th Street Slip was also producing some nice walleye along with a few whitefish, jigging with minnows and wax worms is working well.
Door County - The perch have been active over the last week at Dykesville, with many catches of good-sized fish in water depths ranging from 15 to 30 feet. The best tactic was dead sticking an emerald shiner or rosy red about 6 inches of the bottom. The ice conditions in the area have been good in February thus far, with most anglers driving out. Also, whitefish have been being found as well most anglers have been using jigging spoons to target them. At Little Sturgeon Bay, ice conditions by Henderson?s Point have not been the greatest at this point with a truck going through on Saturday. Most anglers have reported 8 to 15 inches of ice. Those venturing out have been using snowmobiles or four wheelers to get to their fishing location. The whitefish action has slowed a bit. Anglers that have been using underwater cameras to fish have reported seeing lots of fish but few are biting. Anglers have found some perch on the inside of the bay but most have been of an undesirable size. Sturgeon Bay anglers have been driving on the ship channel for a few weeks now. Ice conditions continue to improve with the colder temperatures. Anglers have been targeting perch and pike around the state park with some success. Most anglers are finding it hard to place shanties due to the jagged ice that formed in front of the park. Anglers have also been fishing pike out in front of the Yacht club.
Oshkosh Lake Winnebago sturgeon spearing season conditions:
Many spearers are out on the lakes scouting and reports are coming in that the cloudy water is spreading farther south along the west shore of Lake Winnebago. The rest of Lake Winnebago appears to be clear yet. No new information on water clarity in the Upriver Lakes other than a report last week that said Poygan was starting to cloud up in some areas (patchy) south and west of the mouth of the Wolf River. Ice conditions are generally good, but the recent snow and wind have caused some drifting which may have covered up cracks and other dangerous spots. As always, be careful and check the ice where you are traveling, especially if you are traveling off the marked roads. A spearer scouting on Lake Winnebago caught some fantastic footage on his camera. Search the YouTube Web site for ?sturgeon on the move.? Sturgeon registration stations are ready to go. Remember successful spearers need to have fish in to a station no later than 1:30 p.m. Spearing hours are 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. At the stations crews will be collecting data on the fish and the spearer, and may ask some spearers for tissue samples for other various studies.
Crawford County - This week the Mississippi River very slowly rose. The river stage gained a couple inches and is up to 8.1 feet (up from 7.8 feet this time last week). Ice conditions in most areas is pretty good. Most of the popular ice fishing spots have anywhere between 10 to 24 inches of ice. Even so, ice fishers are urged to use caution when traveling out onto the frozen waters. The main channel of the Mississippi River remains frozen over, but travel on it is not recommended. Another dangerous spot is on the Ambro Slough just upstream from the USFWS boat landing. There, Mill Coulee Creek enters the Ambro Slough and open water/very thin ice exists. Ice fishers must now make sure they wear ice cleats on their boots as very slippery conditions exist on the frozen waters now that new snow fell. Ice fishing action slowed down late in the week. Inconsistent barometric pressure this week caused difficult fishing conditions most days.
Prairie du Chien Area and Lower bottoms: Garnet Lake has decent ice but access to it is tricky. Pickerel Slough was producing some bluegills. Fishing activity in these areas was light. Dilman?s pit white bass (striper) action was very spotty this week. Rotten Slough, St. Feriole Slough and Hunter?s Slough which are located near the sewer treatment plant have ice that, in areas, is not safe. Caution in these areas is advised. Anglers have been fishing between the Blackhawk and Washington Street bridges. On some days the bluegill action was pretty good, but the average size was small. St. Feriole Slough has open water areas so use caution there.
Prairie du Chien Ambro Slough Complex: The lower end of Gremore Lake really slowed down. Even so a few crappie, bluegill and perch were taken have been taken. For the most part Gremore has about 18 inches of ice. Tilmont Lake was producing perch and bluegills and a few crappie, but that area really slowed. There is about 20 inches of ice on Tilmont Lake. Anglers are urged to use caution crossing over the Black Slough to get to Tilmont Lake. Mud Slough, the Lower Doubles and Fish Lake have been pretty slow. A few bass were caught on tip ups over the weekend but panfish action was very slow. Ice conditions there are good with around 20 inches of ice. Little Missouri has slowed down, but even so, some good catches of perch, crappie and bluegill were reported. Good ice exists on Little Missouri. Big Missouri on the other hand has been very slow. The Upper Doubles has been the best area to fish so far. Lots of nice crappie have been caught. Also, tip up anglers are finding some really nice bass. Bluegill action has been very spotty. Upwards of 20 inches of ice exist on the Upper Doubles. The Fennimore Cut has produced some perch, crappie and bluegill. The bluegills have been small and overall action was spotty. Spring Lake has been very slow even though good ice conditions exist. Access to the Doubles, Big and Little Missouri, the Fenimore Cut, and Spring Lake can be tricky. Poor ice conditions exist where Mill Coulee Creek enters the Ambro Slough. Anglers traveling on the Ambro Slough must monitor ice conditions as current is slowing in it and ice conditions can change rapidly.
Sturgeon Slough Area: Sturgeon Slough remains very quiet. Some anglers have ventured down to Sturgeon (aka McGregor or Horseshoe) Lake but success there has been slow. Sturgeon Slough and Sturgeon Lake have good ice, however travel to Sturgeon Lake can be tricky. Stay on established paths.
Cold Spring: Fishing here remains very slow. Reports of a few small bluegill and an occasional crappie have been reported, but overall very slow. Ice conditions on the southern lobe are still good except when you get near the boat landing/stream where open water and very thin ice exists.
Mississippi River: Walleye and sauger anglers have been venturing out onto the ice below the Lynxville dam. Ice conditions there vary greatly and day to day. Travel in this area is not advisable. Even so, some anglers have been vertical jigging or dead lining through the ice. This week some anglers came off the ice with a few sauger and an occasional walleye. Ice conditions have been reported as ranging from an inch or two to 6 or more inches. DNR fisheries crews went out onto the backwaters of the Mississippi River this week to check water quality, specifically oxygen levels. Because of the extended duration of snow cover on the ice, some areas are getting dangerously low of oxygen. The north end of Gremore Lake, Sturgeon Lake, and the bottom few feet of Spring Lake have very low oxygen levels. This means that fish will either move out of those areas or, worse case, die from the low oxygen. Those who hunt coyotes are finding the breeding season is beginning and there are ample opportunities out there. Some hunters find that wearing snowshoes really helps getting around.
Minocqua Wi. area fishing report 2.9.10http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=3361.0
