Wisconsin Statewide WDNR Fishing Report 2.1.08
Ice fishing continues to be at its mid-winter low. Walleye success has been generally slow and spotty across the north. As such, many anglers were targeting northern pike and panfish, with panfish providing the most consistent action. Along Door County anglers were fishing for pike and perch out of the Peshtigo Harbor with moderate success. There have also been some reported catches of perch out of the Oconto Harbor area. There has been an increase in pressure out of Little Sturgeon Bay this past week. There was open water fishing at the Milwaukee harbor with shore anglers catching a few brown trout and anglers have been catching some browns and northerns through the ice at the Racine harbor.
The Mississippi River has been steady most of the week. Early this week the river was at 7.7 feet, about a foot lower than two weeks ago. Fishing has been spotty, due in part to the changing weather patterns.
Park Falls DNR Service Center area
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - Ice thickness has been increasing across the area and most lakes now have between 15 and 17 inches of ice. About 2 to 4 inches of new snow cover has been added but the high winds of the last few days has really shifted the snow cover around. With the thicker ice cover and low amount of snow, slush has not been a problem on any of the lakes. Ice fishing continues to be at its mid-winter lows and this week's cold blast of air has kept most anglers at home. Walleye success has continued its generally slow and spotty trend across the area and quite a few anglers have been coming home skunked. A good day of fishing has consisted of one or two flags and a catch of one walleye. The few reports of success have come in late afternoon hours, with suckers fished in the 8 to 14 foot depths. While this tough fishing is often typical for the late-January period, this winter's walleye action seems to be slower than a normal year. As such, many anglers starting to target other species such as northern pike and panfish -- which have provided a little better success. Panfish have provided the most consistent action, with some decent catches of bluegill, perch and crappie being reported from area lakes. Northern pike success has been fair, with some decent action during the mid-day hours on golden shiners near any old weed beds. One side note -- many of the shallow, weedy pike lakes are starting to see lower oxygen levels down near the bottom. The northerns will still be active but anglers may need to move their bait closer to the surface where oxygen levels are often higher. In addition, aeration systems have been operating on many lakes and recreationalists should steer clear of the barricaded areas around these open-water spots.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee, open water can be found in the inner harbor. Shore anglers fishing at the MMSD office building have been catching a few browns on shiners and spoons. Some anglers have been ice fishing in McKinley Marina and a few browns have been reported. Ice fishing in the lagoon at Lakeshore State Park has been slow.
Racine County - In the Racine harbor anglers have been catching some browns and northerns through the ice.
Inland fisheries team report
Washington, eastern Fond du Lac, and inland Sheboygan counties - As expected, some anglers are reporting poor success, others are doing very well on area lakes. Big Cedar has produced some nice perch and Crystal Lake in Sheboygan County has produced some nice panfish as well. The abundant small northerns at Crystal Lake have been robbing jigs. It seems that horizontal jigs have been more productive overall. Kettle Moraine Lake in Fond du Lac County has produced good numbers of small pike. The 26-inch size limit is still in effect there until the opener in May. Pike Lake has not been very productive despite anglers seeing fish on cameras.
Crawford County
The Mississippi River has been steady most of the week. Early this week the river was at 7.7 feet, about a foot lower than two weeks ago. The Wisconsin River rose about 6 inches this week and continues a slow rise. The Kickapoo River is steady. Ice conditions vary greatly throughout the area. Travel upon the ice is dangerous in many areas this time of year especially on the Mississippi River. Ice thickness ranges from less than an inch to over a foot of ice. Most of the Main Channel of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers is frozen over. Most of the back water areas are frozen over and are in pretty good shape. However, back water sloughs that have current flowing through them can be dangerous. Additional snow fall has created problems traveling on the ice. Those unfamiliar with ice fishing in the Crawford County area should not venture out alone or travel in areas where others have not been. Deep snow on the ice is hampering travel somewhat. Bluegill, perch, and crappie action this past week was spotty, due in part to the changing weather patterns. Cold Spring was very spotty with a few days producing some decent bluegill and a few crappie. Shoreline fishing was poor as the cold weather caused ice to close in and the fish were not as active. Those fishing through the ice have had some success using a variety of jig colors. Many used bait to include wax worms and spikes. Anglers are still crossing over the Ambro Slough to fish Mud Slough and Tilmont Lake. Fishing really shut down last weekend for the most part. The changing weather patterns may be to blame. There were a few days with some pretty good catches of perch, crappie and bluegill there. Anglers are using a variety of baits and on some days need to change colors frequently to find what is working best. Some anglers have ventured up to Fish Lake and the Lower Doubles where bluegill fishing was spotty. Action further up at Little and Big Missouri and the Upper Doubles has been spotty also. Ice conditions on the Ambro Slough upstream from the USFWS landing is a bit dangerous because of the feeder stream that enters the slough. Caution is advised in that area. Ice fishing on Sturgeon Slough was slow last week. Once the water settles down fish activity might pick up. Some anglers ventured out to McGregor Lake. Fishing there was generally slow. The lower bottoms outside Prairie du Chien have not seen much fishing activity due to access problems. Airboats or hoover craft is the best and safest way to access this area. Some anglers have been fishing through the ice below the Lynxville dam for walleye and sauger. The weather became colder creating some ice near the long wall of the dam. Fishing has been spotty. The boat landing at Gordon’s Bay is frozen in. Bald eagles can been seen along the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers near open water areas. Many reports of eagles being sighted further inland searching for food. Deer and turkeys have grouped up in search of food also. Squirrel, rabbit, and coyote hunters are having pretty good success with the snow cover.
