December Browns on THE Big Pond

Needed an open-water fix bad, so took advantage of the decent weather conditions yesterday, and hit the Milwaukee harbor for some brown trout action. It was a bright, sunny day with very light westerlies that barely caused a ripple in the harbor, with temps hovering just above freezing….very comfortable in the winter gear.
We intentionally got a late start, launching at National avenue at about 11 am, with plans to fish into the dark. there were 3 other trailers parked there, and the launch was in great shape, having been plowed out recently and salted and sanded by the various die-hard fishermen who use this launch all winter long.
We started out trolling the harbor with 3 lead core lines (2,3 and 5 color), and two rods on planer boards, mixing it up with mag warts and spoons. The action was by no means fast and furious, but on a perfect December day, we knew we were sneaking in a bonus day of open-water fishing. We boated 3 browns in the 3 to 6 lb. range, and decided to settle into our evening spot along the wall at 3 pm.
Sitting in the shade now, we remembered it was winter, and sipped on some steaming coffee as we hung walleye rods over the boat, suspending fatheads and skein a foot or two off the bottom, just out of the strike zone of the pesky gobies, and occasionally sucking on the rod guides to break the ice away. Also pitched some plastics waiting for that first fish. Again, it was somewhat slow, as fatheads brought three more browns to the boat until the lights went out….at 5:30 or so, the dinner bell rang, and the feed was on. We proceeded to boat another 15 browns or so, most in the 6 to 8 lb. class, and a couple tens, inhaling the fatheads, and favoring the zip lures we eventually started using due to lack of interest in the plastics. Got to the point where we pulled our dead sticks out of the water and only used the blade baits, because of the tangled mess we had as these fish had their way with us with the light gear. We lost at least a dozen or so fish that came unhooked, as they tested our 8lb. mono, and reluctantly called it quits at 7 pm. Kept a few for the smoker, already planning for a return to this great winter escape.