Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 2.25.10Ice conditions generally remain good on most lakes across Wisconsin, but rivers are opening up more. The main channel of the Mississippi River remains ice covered in most areas, but more areas of open water are appearing, and next Monday is the deadline for all permanent ice shelters to be removed from all Wisconsin-Minnesota boundary waters, covering the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.
Inland ice anglers report panfish success has continued to be the most consistent. Walleye fishing continued to be very erratic and northern pike action has been fair to poor, Lower oxygen levels that are starting to show up on shallow and weedy lakes, brining fish up higher to the surface.
Along Lake Michigan, the Menominee River was producing some nice brown and rainbow trout at Marinette. A few perch and some whitefish were being caught out from the mouth of the Oconto River. The Fox River is open flowing into Green Bay with open water anglers fishing, along with some people still fishing through the shore ice for walleye and perch. Sturgeon Bay anglers have been fishing perch and northern pike. At Little Sturgeon Bay, whitefish have been the most productive over the last week with good catches reported, and there have been reports of walleye biting near Larson Reef.
The Mississippi River remained steady throughout the week, and was at 8 feet Monday at Prairie du Chien. Ice fishing has generally been slow, with oxygen levels also dropping in some of the backwater sloughs.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
Ice conditions continue to be very good, with most lakes now having between 18 and 22 inches of solid ice. Light snowfall in last week has added a couple of inches of light fluffy snow to most of our northern lakes, but warmer daytime temperatures has helped compact this down to manageable level. As such, the snow cover has had minimal impact on travel and many two-wheel-drive vehicles are still being seen traversing the lakes. In addition, there have been no reports of any major slush spots and it's generally been a good year to get out and explore new areas or different lakes for fishing. The variable weather conditions of cold nights and mild days has made for another erratic week of fishing in the Northwoods. Panfish success has continued to be the most consistent, with many anglers reporting slow but steady action. No limits - but anglers were getting a meal or two from each trip. Light line and finesse tactics have been the most successful and some decent perch and crappie have been caught. Walleye fishing continued to be very erratic with some days resulting in a catch of 2 or 3 fish, and most other days finding bites very hard to come by! The best success continues to come in the low-light periods and near break lines in 8 to 12 feet of water. Northern pike action could only be termed fair to poor, as the recent increase in snow cover seems to have slowed up pike activity. On many pike lakes in the north, anglers have had to move their baits up a couple feet off the bottom. This is to get above the low oxygen levels that are starting to show up on these generally shallow and weedy lakes.
Marinette County -
The Menominee River continues to produce some nice browns and rainbows fishing from the Hattie Street walk way as well as fishing the ice below the dam. The walleye bite on the Menominee remains good at both the dam and 6th Street Slip, jigging spoons, rattlin raps, and moonshines tipped with minnows work well. The best bite seems to be early morning and evening.
Oconto County -
A few perch are being caught out from the Geano Beach area, a well as northern. Oconto Breakwater Park anglers are still having success with perch in the mouth of the Oconto River using jigs and wax worms. Some white fish are being caught straight out from the mouth of the Oconto, with pike being fished in the flats north of the breakwater. Pike anglers are having limited success with pike out from Oconto Parks I and II. Care should be taken when approaching the ice shoves as the ice is thin and will not support vehicle traffic.
Governor Thompson State Park Conditions -
Quite a few ice fishers have been spotted on Woods Lake and Caldron Falls Flowage. Please remember that ice conditions can vary and that the ice is never completely safe.
Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay anglers have been fishing perch and northern pike off the State Park. The perch bite has been good, most anglers are using waxworms to catch fish. The pike action has been slow, golden shiners have been the best bait. Anglers have also been fishing pike at the yacht club with some success. Anglers have been catching some smelt off the Stone Quarry over the last week with some good numbers reported. A ship had passed through the channel recently and broke up some of the ice; caution is advised. At Little Sturgeon Bay, whitefish have been the most productive over the last week with good catches of fish starting around Lime Kiln road up to Sand Bay. Most anglers have been using jigging spoons or Genz worms tipped with a waxworm. Also anglers have been getting some perch inside the bay. There have been some reports of walleye biting up near Larson Reef. Dykesville and Red River anglers have been catching perch and whitefish in good numbers in this area. Most anglers have been using a jigging spoon to catch both, but a small ice jig has been working well as well. Anglers have been reporting fish in 15-30 feet of water.
Wyalusing State Park -
Local ice anglers report that ice fishing success continues to be slow in the area. Fishing activity is subject to many different elements.
Crawford County -
The Mississippi River remained steady throughout the week, and was at 8.03 feet Monday. Ice conditions in most areas are pretty good. Most of the popular ice fishing spots have anywhere between 14 to 24 inches of ice. The main channel of the Mississippi River is frozen over for the most part, but travel on it is not recommended. Ice fishing action this week was generally slow. Prairie du Chien Area and Lower bottoms: Garnet Lake has decent ice but access to it remains tricky and action there has been slow. Pickerel Slough was producing some bluegills but it too has slowed. Fishing pressure in these areas was light. Dillman?s pit white bass (striper) action was very slow. In the past stripers were caught on jigging rapalas or sweedish pimples near the bottom of 40 feet of water. Ice conditions are pretty good there with over 20 inches of ice. Rotten Slough, St. Feriole Slough and Hunter?s Slough which are located near the sewer treatment plant have ice that, in areas, is not safe. Caution in these areas is advised. Anglers have been 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 open water areas near the bridges and in the center of the channel so use caution there. Prairie du Chien Ambro Slough Complex: Gremore Lake?s northern end has very low oxygen so fishing action there is very bad. The lower end of Gremore Lake was very spotty. A few crappie, bluegill and perch 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 have been very slow. Good ice conditions exist on Tilmont Lake and Mud Slough. Anglers are urged to use caution crossing over the Black Slough to get to Tilmont Lake. The Lower Doubles and Fish Lake have been pretty slow recently. 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 has been very slow for some reason. The Upper Doubles had been the best area to fish, but action there has been spotty. Tip up anglers are still finding a few bass. 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 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, but overall size has been small. Access to the Doubles, Big and Little Missouri, the Fenimore Cut, and Spring Lake can be 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 is slowing in it and ice conditions can change rapidly. Sturgeon Slough Area: Sturgeon Slough remains very quiet. Some anglers have ventured down to Sturgeon (aka McGregor or Horseshoe) Lake but success there has been very slow. Recent oxygen level testing on Sturgeon Lake shows very low oxygen levels. Sturgeon Slough and Sturgeon Lake have good ice, however travel to Sturgeon Lake can be tricky. 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, but overall very slow. 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. Mississippi River: Walleye and sauger anglers have been venturing out onto the ice below the Lynxville dam. Ice conditions there vary greatly and day to day. Even so, some anglers have been vertical jigging or dead lining through the ice. This week some anglers came off the ice with a few sauger and an occasional walleye. Ice conditions have been reported as ranging from an inch or two to 6 or more inches.
Merrick State Park -
Ice fishing is beginning to pick up with some nice northern pike caught this past week.
Salmon Fishing Puzzle Solved!
http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=3429.0Salmon On Spoons And Why!
http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=3369.0Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
