Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 1.12.09The heat wave was also bad news for those looking forward to the 2009 Winnebago sturgeon spearing season, which also opens on Feb 14. There were 10,239 licenses sold for the upcoming spearing season. The melting snow and run-off may cause some of the bays on the lakes to loose some water clarity, although reports are still coming in about the excellent water clarity over most of system. The ice is mostly thick and solid, up to 30 inches, but those traveling on the lakes are still advised to take caution as the warmer weather causes shoves and cracks, and current and shoal areas to thin out. More information and video clips on this unique sturgeon spearing season is available on the DNR Web site
http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/sturgeon/sturgeonmultimedia.html .
The warmer temperatures of the past week spurred on a slug of ice fishing activity, but action remained only fair. In the north, panfish, walleye and northern pike have all been receiving a lot of attention, but walleye have provided the most consistent success. Perch are beginning to move into the shallower weed edges with both small minnows and jigs producing action. The reduced snow cover and increased light penetration should increase northern pike activity. Bluegill and crappie action remained fair to good on many southern waters with melt water pouring into ice holes and increasing oxygen levels. Whitefish have continued to make up the majority of the catch for anglers fishing off Door County, but some nice perch were also being iced.
The Mississippi River rose close to the 8 foot mark last week at Prairie du Chien but dropped back to 7.6 feet this week. Areas of the main channel have begun to reopen with the warm weather, but ice conditions in the back waters of both the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers were still in good shape. Ice fishing improved a bit this week, with decent action for bluegill and crappie.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
The unseasonably mild weather of the past few days has made for some real sloppy conditions out on area lakes. Ice depths still range from 20 to 22 inches but most of the snow cover has disappeared from the ice surface. This has left 2 to 4 inches of standing water in many areas of the lakes, which makes both vehicle and foot traffic a bit treacherous. In addition, many ice holes have water pouring down them and this has made both jig and tip-up fishing rather difficult in these spots. Cold nighttime temperatures in the next few days should firm up the ice surface and make both fishing and travel much easier by the weekend. The warmer temperatures of the past week spurred on a slug of fishing activity, but action remained only fair. Panfish, walleye and northern pike have all been receiving a lot of attention, but walleye have provided the most consistent success. Walleye continue to be found in a variety of areas, including deep break lines, mid-depth mud flats, and along gravel-rock shorelines. The best action continues to be in the late afternoon period, with suckers or large fathead minnows fished in 6 to 12 feet of water. Most of the fish have been in the 11- to 15-inch size but a few walleye in the low 20-inch range have also been reported. Panfish action has been real sporadic, with most days just producing a couple of fish. Perch have been more consistent than the crappie and bluegill, with small minnows producing fair numbers of 8- to 10-inch perch over the mud flats in 12 to 18 feet of water. Crappie have really been hit or miss, some 11- to 12-inch fish have been reported but numbers have been low. The reduced snow cover and increased light penetration should increase northern pike activity and look for action to be the best in the middle of the day. The best bait will be large golden shiners, fished near weed edges or over the top of any green weeds.
Door County -
Fishing was very slow at Potawatomi State Park over the last week. Most anglers are targeting perch in 20-30 feet of water. The fish that have been caught have been small and not worth keeping. There also has been some activity off of the stone quarry, not much success reported. At Little Sturgeon Bay, most anglers have been targeting whitefish and perch off of Limekiln or Henderson’s. The luckiest anglers are finding fish in 30-40 feet of water. Whitefish have been making up the majority of the catch but some nice perch are also being iced. Anglers have been getting the whitefish and perch jigging and on tip-ups. Anglers have reported good success on small jigger rapalas. Rites Cove has been the place to be over the last few days. Anglers have been doing fairly well out in 40-50 feet of water. Most anglers are coming in with 10 or so perch and a few whitefish mixed in. Anglers have had the best success with jigging. Action at Dykesville has been slow over the last weekend most anglers have moved south to Volks or north to Red River. Ice conditions out in front of Lipsky’s has been a somewhat iffy, a large heave has formed and it is hard for truck traffic to cross. Red River has also been slow with most anglers only landing a few fish each day.
Wautoma
Bass have been reported being caught on Kusel Lake in Waushara County. In Green Lake County, Lake Puckaway's current average ice depth is about 23 inches with bluegill being caught in high numbers. On Big Green Lake, average ice depth is 18 inches and Alpine Lake average ice depth is 15 inches.
Oshkosh
Recent warm weather produced an ice shove on Merrit Street that has created havoc for ice anglers trying to access Lake Winnebago from Oshkosh. Use much caution on the ice as there are soft spots, open holes and a lot of water on the lake. The heat wave is bad news for those participating in the 2009 Winnebago Sturgeon Spearing season which opens on Feb 14 at 6:30am. The Lake Winnebago Sturgeon information number is 920-303-5444. Daily harvest numbers will be recorded on this line as they are tallied. The melting snow and run-off may cause some of the bays on the lakes to loose some water clarity, although reports are still coming in about the excellent water clarity over most of Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes. There were 10,239 licenses sold for the upcoming spearing season – 9,596 resident licenses and 153 non-resident for Lake Winnebago, 482 resident and 8 non-resident (out of a total 4,031 lottery applicants for the Upriver Lakes. The ice is mostly thick and solid, up to 30 inches, but those traveling on the lakes are still advised to take caution as the warmer weather causes shoves and cracks to work, and current and shoal areas to thin out. The following links provide some additional information and video clips on our upcoming sturgeon spearing season, our sturgeon management program, our Sturgeon History book to be released in October, and the IMAX Movie Mysteries of the Great Lakes which features our Winnebago lake sturgeon program and population (currently running at the Milwaukee Museum Omnimax Theatre until March 19, and opening at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry this week).
http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/sturgeon/sturgeonmultimedia.htmlLa Crosse
Snow has melted on the surface of the ice and refrozen making it very slippery in ice fishing areas. Mississippi River ice can be very dangerous and deceiving with ice thickness and strength changing over short distances depending on what is happening under the ice. ATVs and snowmobilers have been traveling over areas with 1 to 2 inches of ice during the colder weather. Many of these areas are becoming opened water and ice travelers are cautioned that areas they traveled last week may be open water now or have substantially weaker ice especially in areas where there is more current.
Crawford County
As of Feb. 9, the Mississippi River stage was at 7.6 feet. Last week the river rose close to the 8 foot mark by slowly settled by the end of the week to its current stage. Mississippi River water stages are several times daily throughout the winter, however no forecast is available. This weeks warming trend affected the ice in those areas with current. The majority of the main channel is still frozen over; however, some open areas are starting to develop. The ice conditions in all the back waters of both the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers are still in good shape. Areas of concern would be below the dam, the main channel, and sloughs with current as these areas did see moderate ice loss due to the warm weather and run off. Most of the back water areas with no current flowing through them have around 24 or more inches of ice. Fishing improved a bit this week. Fishing on Sturgeon Slough produced a few decent bluegill and crappie this week, but success was spotty. Ice conditions there are good. McGregor Lake (aka Sturgeon or Horseshoe) has started to produce a few bluegill and crappie but like Sturgeon Slough it too was spotty. A few more anglers have ventured out there. Cold Spring’s ice conditions are pretty good except the area around the channel by the boat landing. Most anglers are still accessing Cold Spring from the southern lobe at the handicap access site while others walk from the boat landing along the creek to the railroad bridge. Caution is advised in the area near the rail road bridge. Bluegill and crappie action at Cold Spring has been very slow and most anglers are targeting the south lobe’s east shore line and northern end. A few reports of spotty bluegill action was reported. Cold Spring is considered inland water, not boundary waters. Different fishing regulations are in effect there and non-residents must possess a non-resident fishing license. Fishing on the Ambro Slough complex improved a little bit this week. Anglers are crossing over the Ambro Slough from the DNR boat landing. The USFWS boat landing on North Ambro Road became even more dangerous because of the warm weather. Mill Coulee Creek enters there and open water or very thin ice exists. This area should be avoided. Mud Slough improved a little this week as some decent crappie were taken. Bluegill action and been spotty. Tilmont Lake is still very slow. Like last week, not many anglers fishing on Tilmont Lake. Some anglers are fishing on the Ambro Slough and No-Name Slough across from Ambro Road but action was slow. Anglers have been avoiding Gremore Lake because it too has been very slow. The “bottom end” of Gremore Lake near the Ambro Slough/Big Lake produced some bluegill and crappie, but like other areas action was spotty. Fish Lake and Little Missouri have produced bluegills but the action has been slow and the size has been small. Many anglers are venturing up to Big Missouri and the Upper Doubles. There has been reported bluegill and crappie action there but it has been spotty and the fish have been on the small size. The Fennimore Cut was producing some nice crappies but it slowed down late in the week. Spring Lake was spotty but did produce a few decent bluegill and crappie. Those using ATVs or other vehicles to travel on the ice are reminded that USFWS law prohibits operation on any shoreline, island, or upland area within the Refuge boundary. Sauger and a few walleye were biting below the Lynxville dam. As of last Saturday anglers are reporting ice conditions below the dam are deteriorating rapidly due to the warm weather. Traditional fishing spots below the dam are now unsafe to fish on. Ice conditions near the center of the channel are extremely dangerous and ice conditions vary from less than an inch to a few inches. Also, access is becoming dangerous as the heavy current at the end of the long wall is eating away at the ice. Anglers should seriously consider the dangers before heading out there.
Brunet Island State Park
Fishing action on Perch Lake and in the north campground bays has been good with crappies and a few small bluegills being caught. Anglers are reporting generally good ice conditions in the backwater areas. The park does not monitor ice conditions. The Cornell flowage water levels fluctuate throughout the year and we urge caution when venturing onto the ice.
Minocqua area fishing report 2.10.09
The warmer temps have made access better, but a little sloppy. Lots of anglers took advantage of the warmth to get out on the ice. Certain speices responded very well to the warm up, while others, while not bad, were not up to the bite expected.
Bluegill: Very good. Lots of action along 8-12' weed edges. Bites were aggressive so little finesse was required. Bright colored teardrops, gill pills and shrimpos tipped with waxies or moussees produced best. Lots of reports of limits, mostly 7-8" but a few 8 1/2 to 9" to make things interesting.
Pike: Very good. Seemed to respond well once things started warming. Large suckers and shiners tops, but a lot of anglers talking of getting hit while jigging for other species. Fish to 30" this weekend, most average
22-26".
Largemouth Bass: Very good. Don't usually report on this species in the winter, but can't ignore how active they are. Very nice LMB taking big Wild shiners meant for pike. Fish of 18-19", lots in the 14-16" range working same 8-12' weeds as bluegills and pike.
Walleye: Fair to Good. Best action at dawn and dusk. Some late night angers reporting night bite between 9:30 - 10:30pm. Medium shiners, river shiners on tip-ups in 10-14' weeds, suckers over sandgrass of 18-28'. Jigging #5-#7 Rapalas on off-shore humps for larger fish of 4-7#s.
Perch: Good-Fair. Reports not as strong as expected. Problem could be that most anglers fishing too shallow. Better reports from 30-36' mud using wigglers on Hali jigs, Vinglas.
Crappies: Fair. Some tip-down action on rosies in 20-28' mud/gravel transitions areas. some scattered weed fish taking waxies, chena, but not enough to key on.
The warm weather (40 at 6am 2/10/09) has been a welcome relief for anglers use to fighting a lot of cold this winter. Snow drifts that were starting to be a problem are no more. Sloppy now, but not bad. Below freezing temps later in week should firm things up and make travel easy, but slippery. Ice thickness averaging 26-33".
Kurt's Island Sports Shop
Kurt Justice
Web Site:
http://www.kurtsislandsports.comInformation compiled from the WDNR and private sources.
