Wisconsin Outdoor Statewide fishing report
Sawyer County - Most smaller lakes have 4 to 6 inches of good ice, but some of the larger lakes just froze up completely in the last week and have 1 to 4 inches of ice. There is a fair amount of snow on the ice which is leading to slush and inconsistent ice underneath. People should be very careful if they venture out to fish. Anglers finding good ice have found the fishing good. Bluegill were biting well both in shallow green weeds (5-10 feet of water) and off of deeper cribs. Walleye are taking minnows on tip-ups on the outside edges of weed beds in 10 to 20 feet of water. Pike action on tip ups has been slower than average, but that might point to good pike fishing in the near future. Pike never seem to stay inactive for long in the winter and can typically be caught in 5-15 feet of water, particularly where there are weeds. - Max Wolter, fisheries biologist, Hayward
Price County - Ice development is coming along very slowly on area lakes. Some lakes have 4-6 inches of ice while others have less than 1 inch in spots. Last week's cold spell did not put on as much ice as anticipated. This week's snowfall will insulate the ice and slow any development that is taking place. Extreme caution should be used when venturing out onto the ice. Anglers that have been getting out in the Park Falls area are catching fish. Bluegills are biting in 4-7 feet of water on small jigs with spikes. Crappies are being found a little deeper over flats or near cribs. Minnows with slip bobbers are working well for them. Walleye anglers are catching walleyes in 3 to 6 feet of water on small minnows set under tip ups. Every day has been different as far as action. Somedays they are biting well, somedays they have been very picky. It has been dependent on the weather fronts pushing through. - Chad Leanna, fisheries technician, Park Falls
Oneida County - Anglers have been on the ice for the last couple weeks. Some early reports are that some folks are catching walleyes of decent size. Ice conditions are still variable up here. It's been cold, in the teens, but the amount of steady snow we've had hasn't been the best for making good ice. People are reporting anywhere from 2-8 inches or so depending on lake (smaller lakes tending to have more); however, anybody going out should still exercise caution. - Hadley Boehm, fisheries biologist, Woodruff
Milwaukee County - With the warm winter weather, most of our waterways are currently free of ice. However, we should see cold and snow over Christmas weekend, with more ice cover on our inland lakes and ponds.
