Chippewa Flowage for opener

For the first time it has worked out where my brother, father, and I get to fish on WI opener up at our cabin.

We’ve talked about it for years but for the first time we’re going to take the plunge and fish the Chippewa flowage targeting walleyes.

I plan to launch at the eastern most launch down by the dam, but from there I’m not sure where we’ll go. Everything I read is that the west side of the flowage seems to be the better fishing. Am I better off launching else where closer to the west side? Any advice on the best approach to find walleyes would be appreciated. Not looking for all your secret spots!!! Well , maybe :). We just want to have some great memories and enjoy the time together. Our Dad had a freak illness and a very close call in January so we’ll just be happy to be out there. Thanks in advance!

Jig and minnow under and near the Hwy B bridge over the West Fork is a traditional favorite and usually works pretty well. If we have a warm April the fish might disperse from there and other spawning areas into the lake by opener. Jig and minnow or cranks to emerging weed edges and shallow structure is the ticket then. Oh, and 3-4″ (sometimes even 5″) suckers are usually better than a fathead, but don’t rule the fatheads out. Good luck.

Note that the West Fork comes in at the far NE corner of the lake and flows into Moore’s Bay.

I would agree with John, as its early in the season and it would seem that the closer to current you can get, the better chance you have of making contact with fish dropping back from the spawn… Bait choices are good too, Don’t forget some plastics to put on those jigs too!!!

Also consider contacting guide Ty Sennett for a half day as early as possible in your trip also!!! He’ll get ya on fish and make the remaining days a pleasure… and considering that this is the start of a hopeful lifetime thing make the first trip a great trip!!!

Mark

Thanks guys. I appreciate the insight. Where is the best place to launch to fish the NE part of the lake? I was planning on launching down by lake Chippewa. I guess it would be about 4-5 miles to get up there, which would be a problem. Maybe we’ll fish our way up through Cranberry Lake.

I’m a very amateur fisherman but the other guys are newbies. Just catching anything will make it an awesome time.

Launch at Deer Run resort off River Road to fish the river. Hiring Ty would be a great move if he’s available.

I believe the Governor’s Open is also there this year