Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 12.11.08
More and more ice anglers have been venturing out for some early-season ice fishing and initial success has been pretty good. Most anglers have been targeting walleye and some decent catches of 12 to 15-inch fish have been reported, with most of the action occurring in the late afternoon hours. A few panfish anglers have also been venturing out and initial reports indicate just fair success on crappie.
Brule River State Forest -
Anglers are hitting the ice for some early ice fishing. It is reported that many smaller lakes have 5-6 inches of ice on them, and larger lakes still have some open water due to wind. Many factors can create unsafe ice conditions such as springs, depth of the lake, underwater animal activity, water current, snow cover, and decaying plant material.
Big Bay State Park –
Lake Superior is slowly forming ice along Chequamegon Bay along the South shore of Ashland. The bay is open water between Bayfield and Madeline Island and Madeline Island
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
Most lakes across the Northwoods now have between 4 and 6 inches of ice, with 3 to 4 inches of light snow on top of that. More and more anglers have been getting out to try some early-season ice fishing and initial success has been pretty good. Most anglers have been targeting walleye and some decent catches have been reported from several local waters (Turtle-Flambeau Flowage, Phillips Chain, Butternut Lake). Most of the walleye have been in the 12 to 15-inch size but a few nice fish in the low to mid 20-inch size have also been caught. The best catches have occurred on the shallow mud flats in 5 to 8 feet of water, with most of the action occurring in the late afternoon hours. Tip-ups using medium golden shiners and sucker minnows suspended 4 to 6 inches off the bottom has been the most successful method for catching these early season walleye. A few panfish anglers have also been venturing out and initial reports indicate just fair success on crappie. The few catches that have been made have come over deep water areas with the fish suspended just off the bottom. Wax worms and small minnows have produced the best.
Woodruff DNR Service Center area
Area fishing guides and Conservation Wardens report that the walleye bite is beginning with northerns doing well also. Exercise care when venturing out onto the lakes as the recent snow hit prior to real good ice conditions forming; there are many lakes developing slush as a result.
Shawano County -
Ice fishing for panfish on inland lakes has been good. Winter enthusiasts are cautioned to be careful on the ice at all times.
Potawatomi State Park -
Ice quality has been affected by the snow. No ice anglers have been fishermen on Sawyer Harbor yet. The Coast Guard is conducting ice rescue training on December 10 off the park's shoreline.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Ozaukee County - In Port Washington shore fishing has been slow overall, but anglers have been catching a few browns on spawn near the power plant.
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee, open water can still be found on the Milwaukee River under the Hoan bridge. Shore anglers there have been catching a few browns on spawn.
Racine County - In Racine most of the Root River is locked up with ice, but some open water remains in Colonial and Quarry Lake Parks, as well as below the Horlick dam. Anglers have still been catching a few coho.
Baldwin DNR Service Center area
Recent cold weather has frozen over all Lakes in the area and some ice anglers are going out; however, several area lakes like Bass, Cedar, Pine, Hatfield and Tainter recently had heavy waterfowl use keeping some areas open longer so ice conditions can be quite variable on the same water body, as always extreme caution is need by ice anglers.
Willow River State Park -
One angler reported catches of bluegills and then the small perch moved in, so the angler quit fishing at that time. Another on Sunday afternoon reported good bluegill action late in the afternoon. Bluegill action was reported as good this morning. Reminder: the pan fish daily limit is 10 fish total.
La Crosse DNR Service Center area
Anglers using underwater cameras and flashers have been having the best success on crappie and bluegill. Anglers with cameras and flashers have been reporting lots of fish but slow to bite. Ice conditions are always extremely variable on the Mississippi River and it's backwaters, but the new blanket of snow over thin river ice has made it is more important than ever for anglers to continually check the ice as they move about as ice conditions can change quickly on the river.
Crawford County -
The Mississippi River rose last week to 7.8 feet but fell over the weekend down to 7.3 feet. The forecast for the Mississippi River is to remain steady this week. Most of the Mississippi River’s main channel is frozen over. Barge traffic appears to be done for the year. The back waters of both the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers are frozen over, for the most part. Extreme caution must we used as early ice is extremely dangerous, not just because of the thin ice but because of flowing water.
Ice fishing in the area has been spotty. Again, ice conditions are dangerous and those venturing out onto the ice need to take extra safety precautions. Fishing on Sturgeon Slough has produced some bluegill and crappie, however the action is spotty. Cold Spring is dangerous but some are accessing the southern lobe from the handicap access site. Bluegill and crappie action was spotty there too. Ice fishing in the Ambro Slough area is still to dangerous. Some have ventured out onto Spring Lake with limited success.
