Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 2.10.12Prior to colder temperatures that arrived mid-week, lake ice conditions had continued to worsen, with a number of areas reporting increased areas of open water in southern and central Wisconsin, with additional reports of trucks and other vehicles breaking through the ice.
With a record number of spearers expected, fisheries officials are hoping the colder weather will improve ice conditions on the Lake Winnebago system for this Saturday?s opening of the lake sturgeon spearing season. State fish managers say that while the system has a good population of trophy sized fish and higher harvest caps, ice conditions remain the big question mark. Spearers should check with local clubs and sport shops around Lake Winnebago and the Upper River Lakes for the latest information on ice conditions. A record 12,680 people bought licenses to participate in the seasons. More information about the season, videos, slide shows and articles about lake sturgeon and the season can be found on sturgeon news feature page of the DNR website.
There is very little good ice on Green Bay, though some ice anglers continue to venture out where there is some ice along shore, with fair reports for whitefish and some smaller perch. Open water anglers continued to have some success for brown and rainbow trout at Lake Michigan harbors. Ice fishing continued to be on the slow side on most inland lakes, but with some reports of action picking up, especially for walleye on northern flowages and on some southern rivers.
Washburn County Walleye and panfish action is starting warm up. Most groups of anglers have been catching enough for a meal or two. Some large walleyes, over 25 inches, have been caught in the last week
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) Even with the milder weather of late, ice thickness remains in the 14- to 16-inch range on most lakes in the Park Falls area. Snow depth on the lakes has dropped a bit, but there are scattered areas that still have 5 to 6 inches of heavy grainy snow. This can make for difficult travel in spots and 4WD is required to get through many of these areas, as some of them have also developed slush underneath. Walleye have continued its generally slow trend of the last few weeks and most anglers are reporting some very slow action. There are a few anglers that have been having some success and they have been fishing in the 7- to 12-foot depth and using small sucker minnows on their tip-ups. Deeper weed edges, mid-depth break lines and deep edges of rock bars have produced the best action and the hour or so before dark has been most productive time. Panfish have also been pretty tough to catch in the last week and anglers have really had to be mobile to get any kind of consistent action. Some fair catches of perch have been made over the mud flats and near weed beds, with small fatheads producing the best action. Crappie have been quite tough to find, and the few that have been caught are being found suspended up off the bottom in the deeper water areas. Northern pike fishing has been okay, with some decent catches of 20- to 26-inch fish being made on large golden shiners in 4 to 6 feet of water.
Price County Ice fishing success for panfish has increased, particularly for crappies on some of the smaller lakes.
Taylor County Fewer ice anglers are participating in annual ice fishing activities as the winter draws on. Some success has been observed on area lakes. Panfish, bass, and northern pike were still being caught.
Oneida County A truck broke through the ice on the Rhinelander Flowage this week. The truck was partially submerged in 7 feet of water. This incident occurred within 100-feet of a marked snowmobile trail. The truck is presumed to be a total loss and there were no injuries associated with the incident. With the recent warm weather, ice conditions can change fast so don't assume that just because it is early February the ice conditions are safe.
Oconto County Geano Beach anglers have been targeting the reef south of the public landing for whitefish using rattle spoons and jigging raps. Ice conditions range from 4 to 10 inches. Some perch were being reported by anglers working closer to shore south of the access. Oconto Breakwater was producing some whitefish along with perch, jigging live bait is the key.
Shawano County Ice conditions continue to deteriorate especially at landings and along the north shore of lakes. Smaller lakes have better ice. The Wolf River and Channel are starting to open up so travel can be dangerous. A few vehicles have broken through in the past week or so. Fishing has slowed down considerably.
Brown County Anglers have been successful in the limited areas they can get to along the western shore of the Bay of Green Bay with the constantly changing and deteriorating ice conditions. Snowmobiling has been limited to frozen water bodies where there is enough ice. Voyageur Park anglers have been targeting perch, walleye, and whitefish. There is very little ice left and as of Sunday as many people were open water fishing as there were ice fishing. Ice anglers are using jigging raps tipped with minnows for walleye and rattle spoons tipped with minnow heads or wax worms for perch and whitefish. Shore anglers were casting jig heads and twister bodies. Sunset Beach anglers were targeting perch in 10 feet of water with the most productive technique being tip ups with minnows. The nicer fish were being caught early morning and late afternoon. Perch were being caught in the Duck Creek jigging with waxworms and minnows with many small fish being caught. Whitefish have been the hot bite at Bayshore Park, with anglers reporting limits earlier in the week with it slowing down by the weekend.
Door County Anglers have been fishing off the Stone Quarry landing at Sturgeon Bay, targeting whitefish with good success. Ice conditions have been on the poor side with only 5-6 inches of good ice. Perch fishing has been slow inside of Sawyer Harbor, with smaller fish making up most of the catches. Larson's Reef has been producing some walleyes for some local anglers. Ice conditions along the reef are poor with only walking being advised. Anglers are catching numbers of small perch inside Little Sturgeon Bay. Most anglers were targeting perch in 5-15 feet of water. Whitefish have been biting well with numbers being caught off Wood Lane in about 20 feet of water. Jigging spoons and jigging raps tipped with a minnow head or wax worm have been working the best. Lime Kiln Road has been producing good numbers of whitefish, but ice conditions have been deteriorating steadily so caution is advised. Whitefish have been keeping the anglers happy at Volk's Reef, with a few perch being caught as well.
Kewaunee County Ice conditions have still been pretty good off Red River Park with most anglers walking or driving ATVs on to the ice. Most anglers were catching good numbers of whitefish on jigging spoons. A few perch and the occasional walleye were being caught as well.
Oshkosh The 2012 Lake Winnebago lake sturgeon spearing seasons open Saturday with a record number of spearers expected, a robust population of trophy sized fish, and higher harvest caps, state fish managers say. The ice conditions are the big question mark. State recreation safety officials urge spearers to check with local clubs and sport shops around Lake Winnebago and the Upper River Lakes for the latest information on ice conditions and to keep safety as the top priority. A record 12,680 people bought licenses to participate in the seasons and they will have more opportunity to harvest fish: DNR raised harvest caps as the system's sturgeon population continued to grow. The system now boasts an estimated 16,560 adult females and 30,260 adult males in the breeding stock, and many of those are really big fish, fish managers say. Last year, spearers harvested 94 fish weighing more than 100 pounds, about 7.5 percent of the 1,426 fish harvested. That's up from less than 1 percent in most years, and fish managers expect another record-breaking year in 2012. Regulation changes developed through a joint effort by DNR and the Winnebago Citizens sturgeon Advisory Committee since 1993 have led to the increase in sturgeon numbers and trophy sized fish. More information about the season, videos, slide shows and articles about lake sturgeon and the season can be found on DNR's sturgeon news feature:
http://dnr.wi.gov/news/features/#fea3Lake 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 is ice in the marina that is not safe for foot travel, but anglers have been fishing from the docks. Some anglers have also been fishing off the south pier, with a few brown trout taken.
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 no 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 browns 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.
Grant County The weather has gotten cooler for the second week of February. Ice fishing is good, and several bass were being caught on the Mississippi River near Bagley.
Wyalusing State Park Ice fishing pressure has drastically dropped off since the last weekend in January when there were about 30 vehicles at the park boat landing. This could mean that fishing success has also dropped off, but there are still ice anglers trying their luck every day. Mississippi River level remains unchanged for the last few days at 8.1 feet. No matter if the fish are biting or not, it is still nice to get out on the ice with fellow anglers
Dodge County Walleyes and crappies are biting well on the Rock River in Hustisford. Recent warm weather and high use has deteriorated the ice near shore on Fox Lake. Trucks recently broke through at two of the landings, creating large open holes at those landings. Please use extreme caution if venturing out onto the ice. There has been good success with moderate size crappies lately along with some very nice northern pike and walleye.
Sauk County Open water fishing below the Wisconsin Dells dam picked up over the weekend and good numbers of walleyes caught. Panfish were being caught in the Wisconsin River and Lake Wisconsin bays. Ice is sketchy in places.
Minocqua area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htmLake Michigan Fishing Report and tipshttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htmWausau Area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htmChippewa Flowage fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htm
Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
