Statewide Wisconsin Fishing report 3.19.10
The deteriorating ice conditions have pretty much brought the ice fishing season to an end. Very few anglers have been venturing out as access has become difficult with quite a bit of open-water showing up along shorelines. Ice cover has dropped down to about 10 to 14 inches and ice has become soft and honeycombed. Overall, ice conditions are generally unsafe and dangerous. Those anglers still venturing out report bluegills have been getting a bit more active but that crappie action has been sporadic.
The ice is also rapidly deteriorating on Green Bay, with and open water being seen from some landings. The ice fishing season is coming to a quick close on the west shore of Green Bay. On the Door County side, anglers were continueing to venture out and reported success for whitefish, walleye and some northern pike. Open water river anglers are fishing for walleye, with activity picking up on the Menomonie, Fox, Wolf, Rock, Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, with anglers concentrating below dams.
Lake Michigan tributaries are open and were running high but dropping. The Sheboygan harbor is open and the boat launch is usable. Open water anglers have been catching a few browns near the Port Washington power plant discharge. A few steelhead have been taken in upstream stretches of Sauk Creek. In Milwaukee anglers fishing the Milwaukee River have been catching a few browns and rainbows. Flows were good on the Menomonee River and Oak Creek, and some steelhead have been taken from both. In Racine the Root River is open, but water levels have been quite high and fair numbers of steelhead have been in the river. The Root River Steelhead Facility should be in operation later this week.
(Oneida, Vilas, Lincoln, Langlade, Forest and Florence counties) -
Ice is deteriorating rapidly across northeast Wisconsin. There are still plenty of anglers venturing out by foot, but after this week's warmer-than-normal temperatures things will begin to get sketchy. Conditions are at least a couple weeks ahead of normal for this area Fishing in general has been fair. With the game fish season closed now, there are some panfish anglers out enjoying the nice weather. Bluegills have been getting a bit more active in shallow bays near weed lines. Crappie action has been sporadic but should improve with the last days of safe ice cover. Live bait has been working best. Try a tip-down baited with a minnow for best results. The Spring Hearings will be held on April 12 at 7 p.m., in each county of the State. This is your chance to get out and vote on new fish and wildlife rule change proposals. Check the DNR website for more information.
Peshtigo
Above normal temperatures, sunny days, and rain has made most of the landing areas impassable to vehicle traffic. The ice fishing season is coming to a quick close on the west shore of Green Bay.
Marinette County -
The Menominee River from Stephenson Island to the Hattie Street Dam is seeing moderate to heavy pressure. Early mornings and evenings are seeing some walleye being caught using twister tails and Raps. Brown trout were being caught in significant numbers close to the dam casting Cleo's, silver/green, silver/orange, and silver/blue in 3/4 oz is working well. The occasional rainbow has also been showing up. All these fish were being caught in open water.
Oconto County -
Ice conditions are suspect with most ice being black in color, couple this with broken ice or mud conditions at the landings resulted in a total lack of fishing pressure.
Brown County -
Boats dominate the waterscape at Voyageur Park. Shore anglers are casting for walleye with twister tails and stick baits. Boaters are vertical jigging with lead staying within a foot of the bottom, hooks are tipped with gulp or minnows. A few people are still fishing Sunset Beach, some are venturing out on four-wheelers and some are going out on foot. Pike fished with shiners or smelt in shallow water are producing a few nice fish.
Door County ?
Sturgeon Bay anglers have been targeting northern pike over the last week with most fish being caught in front of the state park. The ice however is rapidly deteriorating and open water can be seen from the landing. Also some anglers have been fishing off Birminghams. Anglers at Little Sturgeon Bay have been catching whitefish in the vicinity of Henderson Point, with most anglers having luck using Swedish pimples tipped with waxworms or a minnow for bait. A few pike were being caught in the weeds in 5-10 feet of water. Anglers have also been catching a few walleye off Larson?s Reef. The ice around the reef is very black and honeycombed. Red River anglers have been catching good numbers of whitefish in 10 feet of water straight out from the landing. Due to ice conditions anglers have been walking out to their favorite spots. Anglers have been finding some action from whitefish at Volks Reef. Most anglers have been using a small jig tipped with a waxworm to get the whitefish to strike. Also some walleye are being caught. The best tactic for the walleye has been on tip-ups or jigging spoons.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County -
In Sheboygan, the Sheboygan and Pigeon rivers are open, and flows are high but dropping. Conditions should be better by the end of the week. The Sheboygan harbor is open and the boat launch is usable.
Ozaukee County -
In Port Washington open water anglers have been catching a few browns near the power plant discharge. Both spawn sacs and skein have produced fish. A few steelhead have been taken in upstream stretches of Sauk Creek.
Milwaukee County -
In Milwaukee anglers fishing the Milwaukee River along the wall under the Hoan bridge have been catching a few browns and rainbows. Spawn and small shiners have produced the most fish. Flows are good on the Menomonee River and Oak Creek, and some steelhead have been taken from both.
Racine County -
In Racine the Root River is open, but water levels have been quite high. Flows have been dropping the past couple of days, and with no rain the rest of this week, conditions should be good for the weekend. Fair numbers of steelhead have been in the river, and both spawn sacs and natural pattern flies have been productive. The Root River Steelhead Facility should be in operation later this week, with the first fish processing day next week.
Jefferson County -
Anglers are actively fishing the Rock River in Watertown below the dams and at the wastewater treatment plant. A few walleye were being caught but most are smaller males. Dipnetters are actively fishing the Crawfish River at Hubbleton and catching mostly carp. A few smaller buffalo were being raised in the nets but the water temperature is still cold. The backwater areas on the Rock and Crawfish rivers still have ice on them however it is getting close to disappearing. Water levels are up on the rivers with some low lying areas being flooded. A few anglers have ventured out on the rivers in boats now that the ice is gone off the main channels.
Willow River State Park -
The weather has been mostly dry with no major rainfalls in the Willow River watershed. The dam gate was closed the afternoon of Wednesday, March 17. Given the present conditions, trout anglers should see a good water level and clarity early next week, possibly sooner. Runoff has been early this year.
Crawford County -
The Mississippi River is really on the rise. Last week the river was around the 8 foot mark. As of March 15, the Mississippi River was at 10.25 feet and rising. The forecast, baring any heavy rain, is for a continuing rise of several feet nearing the 14 foot mark. Ice conditions in most areas took a beating this week. Although many of the back water area still have decent ice access is nearly impossible. Most of the popular ice fishing spots have anywhere between 10 to 24 inches of ice. The main channel and the east channel of the Mississippi River opened up last week. With the exception of backwater and ?shelf? ice, the river is open. Most of the boat landings on the Mississippi River?s main channel are ice free.
Prairie du Chien Area and Lower bottoms:
The increase in water level has made access to many areas difficult or dangerous. Garnet Lake and Pickerel Slough were slow. White bass (stripers) action picked up a bit this week in Dillman?s pit. White bass were being caught on jigging stick baits or sweedish pimples near the bottom of 40 feet of water. Ice conditions are pretty good there with over 20 inches of ice. Rotten Slough, St. Feriole Slough and Hunter?s Slough, located near the sewer treatment plant, are unsafe for travel as open water exists in many locations. St. Feriole Slough opened up this week. Prairie du Chien
Ambro Slough Complex:
Access is a real problem on the Ambro Slough because of the high water. Shorelines have deteriorated and in some areas several feet of open water exist along the shore line. Most anglers that have air boats or hoover craft can access back water areas. Gremore Lake did produce bass and crappie along with a few perch. For the most part Gremore has about 20 or so inches of ice. Tilmont Lake produced some crappie this week, but bluegill action has been slow. Mud Slough was very slow again this week. Good ice conditions exist on Tilmont Lake and Mud Slough, however anglers are now faced with open water on the Ambro and Black Sloughs. The Lower Doubles, Fish Lake and Little Missouri has been spotty with some smaller bluegill and a few decent crappie being taken. Access to these areas by foot is impossible. Big Missouri and the Upper Doubles have produced bass, crappie and perch. But again, access to these areas is difficult. The Fennimore Cut has produced some perch, crappie and bluegill. The bluegills have been running small and overall action was spotty. Spring Lake has been very slow even though good ice conditions exist. Spring Lake has produced a few bluegill and crappie just under the ice.
Sturgeon Slough Area:
Current is now flowing through Sturgeon Slough, which creates difficult and dangerous conditions. With the increase in water levels anglers are no longer able to ventured down to Sturgeon (aka McGregor or Horseshoe) Lake. There had been some crappie, perch, northern and bass action on Sturgeon Lake?s south end.
Cold Spring:
Fishing here remains very slow. Reports of a few small bluegill and an occasional crappie and a fair amount of small bass have been reported. Ice conditions on the southern lobe are starting to deteriorate. Cold Spring is considered inland water.
Mississippi River:
The boat landing at Gordon?s Bay is now open to boat traffic. All the ice is gone from the landing and for the most part the river is clear of ice by the dam. Anglers are reminded to pay for their launch fee prior to heading out onto the water. Walleye and sauger anglers had been venturing out by boat with some success. Sauger action has been slow. Walleye action has been even slower. Many feel that success will get better now that the river is on the rise.
Buckhorn State Park ?
As of March 14, ice on the lake was slowly melting. There was open water on the south side of the bridge on Sunday. The boat launches were still frozen over and launch A in the park will have ice push damage repaired soon.
