Wisconsin Statewide (ICE) Fishing report 1.28.11The cold weather has kept ice conditions good to excellent in most spots, though there was a report of a truck going through the ice on Sauk County lake that had a deep layer of slush on top of only a few inches of solid ice. Ice depths on most lakes range from a foot to nearly 20 inches on some northern lakes. Ice conditions improved on Green Bay and some ice roads have begun to be marked. The ice road to Madeline Island across Lake Superior?s Chequamegon Bay has still not opened and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore ice caves are still not yet accessible by ice.
The recent cold temperatures have put a little bit of a damper on fishing pressure -- and fish activity does seem to be at its mid-winter low point. Panfish have been providing the best action with a few fair catches of perch and bluegill being reported. Fishing pressure on Green Bay has been heavy at some spots, with decent catches of perch and whitefish reported in some locations. Ice anglers were also out in force along the west shore, with the Oconto breakwater seeing the brunt of the fishing pressure with perch, northern pike, and whitefish all being reported.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - Ice thickness on most lakes across the Northwoods varies from 12 to 17 inches and recent snows have added 1 to 2 inches on top of the 6 inches that was already on the ice. This has made ice travel a bit difficult and 4-wheel drive vehicles are almost a necessity for getting around on the lakes. The recent cold temperatures have put a little bit of a damper on fishing pressure -- and fish activity does seem to be at it's mid-winter low point. Panfish have been providing the best action with a few fair catches of perch and bluegill being reported. Perch continue to be found in relatively shallow water, with most of the action coming on fathead minnows fished over mud/sand flats in 4 to 8 feet of water. A few crappie have been found suspended off the bottom in the deeper water areas, but anglers have had to move around quite a bit just to catch 5 or 6 keeper-size fish in a trip. Walleye fishing in the area continues to be very erratic, with just a few of the lakes reporting any kind of consistent action. The walleye anglers that have been catching fish have been finding them in 5 to 10 feet of water over the mud/sand flats or just off the break lines near gravel and rock bars. Large fathead and smaller-sized suckers have continued to be the best bait, with most action occurring in the hour before dark. Northern pike action has also been slow, with anglers catching just a few small and medium-size fish.
Marinette County -
Thompson Park, by the mouth of the Peshtigo River, is seeing some northern pike fishing activity in the 4 to 10 foot range of water. The Sixth Street Slip on the Menominee River has been producing some nice perch along with walleye and whitefish. The best bite is coming in about 18 feet of water jigging with spoons or tear drops tipped with minnows.
Oconto County -
Oconto Breakwater Park is seeing the brunt of the fishing pressure with perch, northern pike, and whitefish being the dominate species. Pike anglers are keying in the shallower areas north of the breakwater all the way to Oconto Park II. Dead smelt in the round or large shiner minnows are recommended, for perch and whitefish minnows seem to be the bait most often used.
Governor Thompson State Park ?
Cross-country ski trails were groomed Jan. 25 and were in good condition for classical skiing and very good condition for skate skiing.
Green Bay
Brown County - Voyageur Park anglers have been targeting walleye and perch in 6 to 10 feet of water. Jigs tipped with minnows are the bait of choice. Sunset Beach has seen the most fishing pressure, with perch being the most sought after species, although the occasional northern pike and whitefish were also being caught. Jigs tipped with minnows or wax worms have been working well. Duck Creek anglers were reporting a few small perch being caught in the area of the Highway Bridge.
Door County -
Some anglers have been fishing off of Stone Quarry; with most been targeting whitefish. They have had significant success using gold Swedish Pimples tipped with a waxworm. Perch were being caught as well on the same rig. Anglers also have been targeting perch out from the state park. A few anglers have been fishing for northern pike at the Sturgeon Bay yacht club. Little Sturgeon Bay anglers have seen good success on perch and whitefish over the last week. Perch have been biting on small jigging stick baits. Whitefish however have been hitting small to medium sized jigging spoons depending on the current. Anglers have also had good whitefish results in Sand Bay as well. Chaudoir?s Dock is now plowed and marked with Christmas trees. Anglers have been driving out and catching a mixed bag of whitefish and perch. There has been significant fishing pressure at Dykesville over the last few weeks. Most have been fishing in 15-30 feet of water. Anglers targeting perch have had good success finding them. The key to their best success has been staying away from the large crowds of people! Also anglers targeting perch and whitefish are catching some smelt. Fishing has been slow at Volk?s Landing but some perch were being caught. Most have been on the small side. A few smelt were being caught here as well.
Oshkosh
The 2011 sturgeon spearing seasons opens Saturday Feb. 12. Fisheries crews went out last week on Lake Winnebago (before the sub-zero temperatures) and found a good 16-20 inches of ice -- of course the ice is never completely safe in any year so be sure to know where the cracks and the areas with thin ice due to currents are. They also found an even 12 feet of visibility across Lake Winnebago. It appears there was an algae bloom probably around Christmas, which is settling out now and, barring another runoff event or bloom, may continue to settle and improve water clarity over the next 16 days. At this point the information on the Upriver Lakes is the same for ice, with only fair, but possibly improving, water clarity. Fisheries crews have also been busy getting gear together, and registration shacks set. The registration process will be the same as it has been for quite a few years -now - just make sure you get into line at the station before 1:30 p.m. the day you spear your fish; better yet - try to get in as soon as you can after you spear your fish to avoid the lines at the end of the spearing day.
Jefferson County -
Ice conditions on the lakes has improved for recreation. However, the fishing remains slow. Anglers fishing Lake Koshkonong report very slow fish activity if any. Red Cedar Lake has been producing panfish of varying size and small northern pike. This makes for a great experience for first time ice anglers or those taking children out. The action will keep the kids busy and interested and smaller fish mean opportunities to teach catch and release and less fish cleaning for the adults afterwards.
Crawford County
The Mississippi River has been slowly falling during the past week. After holding at or just above the 10 foot mark the current river stage is at 9.4 feet. The Wisconsin River is falling and creating dangerous conditions in some areas. In many areas on the Wisconsin there is an ?air gap? between the ice and the water below. This phenomenon exists mainly in the timbered lowlands. Ice conditions remain pretty good even though caution must be used when traveling on the ice. The Mississippi River continues to be unusually high for this time of year. Many back water sloughs have moderate to strong current flowing under the ice. Flowing water under the ice can rapidly deteriorate ice conditions. However, ice conditions are in pretty good shape in the most popular fishing areas. Ice thickness averages around 14 to 20 inches in the backwaters of the Mississippi River and Wisconsin River. Access to most ice fishing locations is much better now that cold weather froze the ?sloppy? spots and thin ice locations. A slowly receding river also helps making access safer. Ice fishing this week has been spotty to good. In the Prairie du Chien area nice sized bluegills were still being caught on Gremore Lake along with a few really nice perch. Anglers will have to move around to find them, however. Action seems to be better near the end of the day. Ice conditions on Gremore Lake are very good with more than 16 inches of ice. Crappie action in Gremore has been slow. Anglers have been venturing across the Ambro and Black Sloughs to Tilmont Lake. Tilmont Lake is still receiving a small amount of flow on the west side. As the Mississippi River continues to fall action should improve. Action on Tilmont has been very spotty but at times very good. Some nice bluegill and perch have been taken there. Mud Slough still has current flowing through it so very few anglers have been fishing there. Some anglers have been heading up to Fish Lake and Little Missouri. There was some decent bluegill action in Fish Lake at times last week. Little Missouri has been hit or miss recently. A few nice perch and bluegills have been caught there. Farther up in the Upper Doubles and Big Missouri action has been good at times. Bluegill, perch and a few crappie have been caught. Some anglers are using the Fish and Wildlife Service boat landing to access the upper Ambro Slough Complex. Extreme caution is advised due to open water and unsafe ice conditions created by Mill Coulee Creek entering there. Spring Lake has produced some action, but anglers will need to fish along the edges of Spring Lake away from the current. The Fennimore Cut have been very slow because current is flowing through there also. Sturgeon Slough has been very slow primarily due to the high water. Current is flowing through that area which causes bluegills and crappie to avoid that area. Action on McGregor Lake has been pretty good at times. Reports of bluegill and a few perch and crappie have been reported. Cold Spring has been slow this week. The boat landing access is a bit tricky as open water still exists there. Open water shore fishing at the boat landing has been very slow. Most successful anglers fishing for bluegill, crappie or perch are finding live bait has worked better than plain artificial baits. Largemouth bass action slowed some this week. Northern pike action has been spotty.
Minocqua Area Fishing Report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htmChippewa Flowage Fishing Report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htmLake Michigan Fishing Report and tips
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
