Lake Onalaska

Some of the back bays of Lake Onalaska are starting to show a film of ice…nothing concrete, but hopefully a few more weeks!!!

My old man lives in Onalaska. Is it worth buying a one day license to take him ice fishing there or should I get him a license for my neck of the woods? (when the time comes for hardwater that is) I’m confident that I can find something to tug on his line around here but searching for fish is half the fun, as long as you catch something in the end. Thanks

Chris

Either a Minnesota or a WI license works on Lake Onalaska.

Niiice, didn’t realize that was the Miss. Thanks Dan.
Chris

Wow, waht a difference 1 15 degree morning makes . Like Slop stated, the back bays were still frozen at 1:oo this afternoon. While we were out duck hunting in the marsh, new ice formed while we were there. Fisherman’s Road looks to have a very nice sheet of ice through the whole bay. Also the runway lights were froze as well as the shoreline below Marge’s where the cribs are. If we can keep the mornings cold, we could be on ice in no time . Black Deer also has some ice forming, but with all the duck boats going in and out, it might be awhile down there, of course they only have 5 more days in that bay.

Everything but the main body of Lake Ona. has a layer of ice over it.

There were some crazies down at Goose Island Ice Fishing on 1″ of ice…TOO THIN for me

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There were some crazies down at Goose Island Ice Fishing on 1″ of ice…TOO THIN for me

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I agree I’m too fat to be on that thin of ice.

Just got back from a tour of the Lake and areas surrounding Lax/Onalaska/Brice Prairie and I will list them individually here.

Schaeffer’s Bait -At Schaeffer’s Bait docks the ice was around 1.5″ of clear ice. The edges and shorelines are eroded so gettting to thicker ice would be a problem.

Fisherman’s Road Ice here was nice and clear and around 2-2 1/2″. I did walk out on this ice but since I was alone I didn’t push it too far There was a little “cracking” where I did walk. I checked the ice at the very end next to the airport runway. There appears to be better ice a little closer to the landing there but did not check that out.

Nelson Park The ice near the landing was not good due to boats breaking it up. In the park I also walked out on the ice there as well. Same thing, there was some cracking, but didn’t venture too far. The water there was crystal clear as well as the ice. I am sure there are some hungary sunnies in the pads there .

Lytle’s Landing This bay was mostly wide open. I thought for sure this would be the first to freeze up. There was a lot of broken ice due to boats there as well. How they got in there I will never know. So the early tip-up action will have to wait.

Nutbush Area -The little bay behind Nutbush already has some holes drilled in it out a ways from shore. The ice there was real close to 2″. It did the same cracking there as well. That bay is pretty deep so I let it go with checking a little ways from shore. The shoreline there is really eroded.

Well that was my tour today and it was kind of depressing . I want some ice so bad I am about to lose my mind

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I want some ice so bad I am about to lose my mind

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Mike, if it’s that bad don’t read any further…..

The weather forecast for La Crosse is predicting a high of 47° tomorrow. Sunday is predicted to hit 44°.

My suggestion. Go shopping for ice fishing gear. If you are looking for a drive check out the ice fishing show in the cities or stop by Hooked on Fishing in Rochester. Rumor has it they have lots of ice gear. Who knows you might just find yourself in need of a custom made rod for catching those “shakers” at the dam this winter. I hear HOF is running a sweet deal on custom rods.

That was downright cold hearted bringing up the weather like that . I am half tempted to dig the boat out of storage and go to Dresbach tomorrow. Maybe that will get me by for awhile. Anybody want to hit up the eys or saugers tomorrow

Blue Fleck is right. Hooked On Fishing makes some great custom rods (which are 10% off atm) I bought a carbon blank rod today and Mike showed me the perfect Okuma reel for it. Mike knows his stuff and has plenty of ice gear to outfit you with.

Chris

Nice report, I made about the same rounds was talking to a couple duck hunters up at Schaeffers, he claimed where they brake through with their boat the ice will be stronger than the other ice once it refreezes. He was an old-timer so I believe him. My policy is see lots of people on the ice before going out and preferably don’t go alone. Putting the boat away today and going through my jigs. 47 degrees

Went home for lunch and just about the entire lake has a coat of ice on it including blackdeer.

Just got back from my rounds after work. There is some good news and bad news
The bad news is-Near the Schaeffer’s Landing the ice is not ready yet. I put a foot through right off the docks
Black Deer is not anywhere near close as there are still boats going in and out.
The good news-There was a guy fishing on Fisherman’s Road, so we went and checked it out. It was 3-4 inches out to about 40 yards or so. The guy was catching gills There was a trapper there with his boat and he said it was pretty good in most places, but did break through in some spots that were out there aways. With a low of 20 tonight this will only help. I can’t say how the weather will affect it as I haven’t seen the forecast yet today. All I know is I will be on the ice tomorrow as soon as I get off work.

there were 4 – 5 people out there this morning on my way into work. Lets hope the 40 degrees and sunny doesn’t hurt us to bad today

If I come Sat.Will there be ice to fish on?3hr.drive one way so I need good info.Ponds by me in N.E.IA.got skim ice to a inch.Please some one post up dates till Sat.Thank you Ice John.If I come up anyone want to fish with me never fished here before?

I’ll make sure to check the ice on friday and give an update….

I have tomorrow and Friday off so I will also be checking the ice conditions. But, right now I am off to Tremplo for what might be the last trip in the boat for awhile

Wats, I am planning on heading up there this weekend for a bit. Hopefully get into some better sized fish this time. If you get a chance, post your results.

I will be out there Saturday morning as well, If anyone wants to meet me out there… Matth, Blue, Slop, Wats or anyone else that I am forgetting.

What time you going to be out there? I am planning on spending a lot of time out there this weekend

It seems as though yesterdays “warmer” weather did thin the ice too much. This morning there were a few people at the end of fisherman’s road going for sunnies. The ice was thick enough (a little over 2″), but the fish weren’t. May there be better luck out there in the upcoming days.

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The ice was thick enough (a little over 2″), but the fish weren’t.

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Hmm 2″ huh I hope we make a little more by Saturday otherwise i might be bringing the life jacket. 300lbs on 2″

Wats – Not sure what time, I can go any time. I would perfer sometime in the morning, but I wa going to wait and see what everyone else is doing. I kind of want to take the buddy approach seeing as the ice is a little thin.

I’m going to try and be there. It’s supposed to be quite windy with a high of 30°. I doubt it’ll get that high with winds in the 15-20 range.

I’d really like to hit Lawrence Lake, but I’ll take what I can get.

John, if it’s too windy we could have a poker tourney at Slop’s place.

Blue – All the above sounds good, except for the wind. I have some poker chips. My house would work as well, except the wife works friday night so she will be sleeping most of saturday.

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John, if it’s too windy we could have a poker tourney at Slop’s place

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Bring Beer

John- Sent you a PM
By next week we “should” be able to get on Lawrence as well as a lot of Onalaska, of course that can all change in a matter of hours .
I am going to do a little shopping today and then hit Fisherman’s Road to do a little snooping.

You know I’ve talked to lots of people being new here in Lacrosse and there are different views for as many people as you talk to. I know down in Lansing the only thing they tell you about where they’re biting is “right here in the lip.” They even get mad if you try to look in their bucket to see if they caught any. Now that is touchy!!! The way I look at it is I tell people where I’m catching fish and figure they have to catch them themselves. They might not do it like I do or have the hot jig. But I like to help people. Last spring we even gave some fellows our hottest jigs for walleyes (they had a kid on board). To each his own I guess. By the way I haven’t been on the ice yet.

Tom send me a pm on how the fishing is before you let any of these other guys know will ya?
Nothing specific, just the spot-on-the-spot, type and color of jig, bait, you know, minor things like that.

Well after hitting the ice from 2-4 pm today, here is my first report for the ice fishing season.
The ice was a solid 3-4 inches and fairly clean. I fished straight out from the far landing on Fisherman’s Road. When I got there, there were several people scattered at the back end of the bay. I fished in the 4-5 fow range. The ice was clear so my approach was to find the holes in the weeds that were clearly visible, and start from there. I was using a black ant as well as a plain lead head jig (small) with a green noodle and both were tipped with waxies. It took a little bit to get a bite, but it finally happened. I felt a pretty good tug on the line and set the hook. My first fish felt awful heavy to be a gill or crappie but it came up real sluggish without hardly a fight Now Slop, you might want to have a seat. My first ice fish of the season………LM Bass . 16″ and probably weighed a pound and a half or so . I was thrilled to say the least. The only guy that was close to me was the only witness as I somehow forgot the camera on the counter in my rush to get out fishing . After awhile I started getting some tugs on the line quite regular. Ended up catching a handful of gills, with only one being keeper size. The guy close to me was doing a lot better on the gills than I was , he probably had a half dozen or better on the ice. I caught one other bass about 10″. He swam right next to the hole just under the ice. I quickly lifted my jig and he turned and slammed it . So, needless to say I will be back on the ice tomorrow as well as the weekend and most of the season.