Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 3.11.10
With the warm weather and snowmelt, more and more rivers are opening up. Southern Wisconsin lakes still have as much as 15 inches of ice, but the melting conditions are opening up some shorelines and making travel difficult. Any kind of vehicle travel on southern lakes is now dangerous. Ice depths on northern lakes still ranges up to 20 inches, but again, access areas on the west and north shores have become extremely treacherous with deep ruts and lots of water and slush. The game fish season is now closed on most inland lakes. However, there have still been quite a few panfish anglers venturing out and they continue to have some generally good success with catches of crappie, perch and bluegill reported. Game fishing remains open on some rivers, and open water boaters have been out fishing for walleyes on the Wisconsin, Fox and Mississippi rivers.
Anglers on Green Bay have been doing quite well fishing smelt and whitefish. Anglers have also been seeking northern pike, walleye and perch, though they have had to put in some time to find fish. With all the snowmelt, Lake Michigan tributaries are opening up. Upstream sections of the Sheboygan River are open, but fishing access is still very limited due to ice flows. The Milwaukee River is open under the Hoan bridge, and the boat launch at riverfront is usable. Anglers have been catching good numbers of browns and lake trout. Fast moving portions of Oak Creek are open, but water levels are low. The Root River is open from the Horlick dam into Island Park, and flows are slowly increasing as the snow melts. The water is clear and fishing has been decent, with both browns and steelhead caught.
The main channel of the Mississippi River is open at Prairie du Chien and the east channel is opening up. Farther north at La Cross ice anglers and boaters are still fishing in close proximity to each other. So far, the river has remained fairly stable and was at 7.9 feet Monday.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
With the warm and sunny weather of the past week, ice conditions have deteriorated quite a bit on the lakes across the Northwoods. Ice depths have been in the 16 to 20-inch range, but access areas on the west and north shores have become extremely treacherous with deep ruts and lots of water and slush. Most of the snow has now melted from the top of the ice, and surface conditions have become very sloppy. With overnight temps staying above the freezing mark and the rain that is forecasted in the next few days, look for ice conditions to continue to deteriorate very rapidly. With the end of the game fish ice fishing season this past Sunday, angling pressure has dropped off significantly on most waters across the North. However, there have still been quite a few panfish anglers venturing out and they continue to have some generally good success. Some nice catches of crappie, perch and bluegill have been reported and most are still being found suspended just off the bottom in the deeper water areas. Waxworms, wigglers and crappie minnows have all produced some decent catches.
Door County -
Sturgeon Bay anglers have been doing quite well fishing smelt and whitefish off Stone Quarry. They have been using a small ice jig tipped with a wax worm to target smelt. Anglers have been seeking northern pike as well; most have been fishing by the state park or the yacht club. The walleye fishing has been fair in the last week on Larson?s Reef. Most anglers have to put in some time to find the fish. The bite has been best at dawn or dusk. At Little Sturgeon Bay, anglers have been getting a few pike inside the bay; most have been running from 20-25 inches long. Anglers have been using golden shiners and sucker minnows to target them. The whitefish have been the main bite over the last week. Even though the bite slowed, some anglers are still having no problem finding fish. A Swedish pimple tipped with a waxworm was the ticket. Also it seemed the whitefish were very spooky; anglers that caught the most always seemed to be away from the large groups. Most Red River anglers have been targeting whitefish over the last week. The best bite has been in 6-20 feet of water. Most anglers have been seeing lots of fish but have trouble getting them to commit. Anglers have also reported some perch being caught in 20 feet of water.
Sheboygan County - ?
In Sheboygan, upstream sections of the Sheboygan River are starting to open up near Esslingen Park, but fishing access is still very limited due to the ice. This week?s forecast for warm temperatures and rain should help.
Ozaukee County -
In Port Washington open water anglers have been catching a few browns near the power plant discharge. Both spawn and skein have produced fish.
Milwaukee County -
In Milwaukee the river under the Hoan bridge is open, and the boat launch at Riverfront is usable. Boaters jigging in the harbor near the main gap have been catching good numbers of browns and lake trout. Fast moving portions of Oak Creek are open, but water levels are low. The Bender Park launch is open, and shore anglers there have been catching fair numbers of browns.
Racine County -
In Racine the Root River is open from the Horlick dam into Island Park, and flows are slowly increasing as the snow melts. The water is clear and fishing has been decent. Both browns and steelhead have been caught. With the water low and most fish holding in the deeper areas, fishing has been better for those drifting spawn sacs or small white tube jigs than for those fly fishing. Fly anglers should concentrate on the areas of fast water that are deep enough to hide the fish and stick with natural patterns and colors like black, olive, brown or even white. Those drifting spawn or tubes should have no trouble contacting a few fish as long as they move around and cover as many of the deeper sections of the river as possible.
Jefferson County -
Anglers are catching a few keeper bluegill on Rock Lake mostly on the south end off Sandy Beach and Elm Point. There is still 15-plus inches of ice remaining on the area lakes. With the recent rain it is extremely sloppy on the ice and some shorelines are starting to open up. Anglers are now starting to walk out on the ice instead of driving due to the shoreline conditions.
Crawford County -
The Mississippi River has remained steady for more than two weeks. As of March 8, the river was at 7.95 feet. The forecast for the Mississippi River is not available. Ice conditions in most areas are pretty good yet. Most of the popular ice fishing spots have anywhere between 12 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 opened up this week. With the exception of backwater and ?shelf? ice, the river is open. Open water exists at the confluence of Mill Coulee Creek and the Ambro Slough just upstream from the USFWS boat landing. Also, the East Channel in the Prairie du Chien is starting to open up. Sloppy conditions exist on the ice. Ice fishing action this week was spotty. Prairie du Chien Area and Lower bottoms: Garnet Lake has decent ice but access to it is becoming dangerous. Fishing on Garnet was slow this week. Pickerel Slough was slow also. White bass (stripers) action picked up a bit this week in Dillman?s pit. White bass are being caught on jigging stick baits or sweedish pimples near the bottom of 40 feet of water. ?Fish finders? are an important piece of equipment when fishing for white bass in deep 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. Some of these areas are now open water. Anglers are still 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 a lot of open water near the bridges and in the center of the channel. Prairie du Chien Ambro Slough Complex: Gremore Lake?s northern end has very low oxygen so fishing action is very bad. The lower end of Gremore Lake was spotty as fishing pressure has been light. A few crappie, bluegill and perch along with some bass have been taken from time to time. For the most part Gremore has about 24 or so inches of ice. Tilmont Lake and Mud Slough were very slow again this week. Good ice conditions exist on Tilmont Lake and Mud Slough, however anglers are urged to use caution crossing over the Black Slough to get to Tilmont Lake. As warm temperatures continue the Black Slough will become unsafe to cross. The Lower Doubles and Fish Lake have been pretty slow recently too. Ice conditions there are good with around 24 inches of ice. Little Missouri has been spotty with some smaller bluegill and a few decent crappie being taken. Good ice exists on Little Missouri. Big Missouri on the other hand continues to be very slow. The Upper Doubles has slowed too. Even so some decent bass and crappie are still being taken. Upwards of 24 inches of ice exist on the Upper Doubles and Big Missouri. 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. Access to the Doubles, Big and Little Missouri, the Fenimore Cut, and Spring Lake via the Ambro Slough is starting to get 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, run off, and melting ice can cause rapidly deteriorating conditions. Sturgeon Slough Area: Sturgeon Slough was slow, but even though some bluegills are being taken. Also some northern pike and bass have been taken on tip ups. Some anglers have ventured down to Sturgeon (aka McGregor or Horseshoe) Lake were action has been very spotty. The northern ? of the lake oxygen levels are very low. Further south the oxygen levels are better. There has been some crappie, perch, northern and bass action. Some bluegill action was reported on the slough adjacent to Sturgeon Lake. Sturgeon Slough and Sturgeon Lake have good ice, however travel to Sturgeon Lake is starting to get sloppy. Stay on established paths. 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 still good except when you get near the boat landing/stream where open water and very thin ice exists. Cold Spring is considered inland water. The game fish season closed on Monday March 8. 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 very good, although most have been running on the small size. Walleye action has been slow with only a few showing up.
