Looking to take my 14 year old son up north over New years weekend. I will be traveling from southern WI. Willing to travel anywhere. Looking for the best area with lots of lakes. Any suggestions? The harder to access the better. Not looking for specific lakes just a general location with lodging near by. Ideas?
Hayward is one suggestion that regularly pops up for most people. There are quite a few lakes in the area, but most are not what I would consider remote or difficult to access.
There is some steady tip up fishing early for Pike, LMB, and the occasional walleye at dawn and dusk on some of the more popular lakes there. I’ve never hammered crappies up there, but have found a good average size when I do run into them. I think IDO, Gillespie, and others have done some ice videos on the Chippewa Flowage with success if you cruise YouTube.
Your best bet is going to be to patronize the local gas station, pubs, bait shops, etc. for intel when you arrive. A lot of the attention on here focuses on LOTW, URL, Mille Lacs, and the major rivers for current reports.
Eagle River/St. Germain/Minocqua area here is also overloaded with opportunities for all species. Anywhere from easy access to remote “need snowshoes or a sled to get to” waters. Lots of options, lots of lodging options.
@Mark Benson lives here too, and knows it much better than I do.
-Rev
Turtle-Flambeau Flowage has some decent ice fishing. I think Donner’s Bay Resort is open all winter and there are motels in Park Falls and Mercer which aren’t too far from the lake.
gator pm sent.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I fish the Chip and Turtle flowage every summer. Both are great fisheries and I had thought about both of them however like mentioned not being able to fish for walleye on the Chip is a big deterrent for me. Im also looking for smaller bodies of water. I will only have a couple days to fish so im hoping to find some smaller more secluded lakes that are accessible by my ATV or im also looking to possibly buy a snowdog. Eagle river,St Germain area seems to be a good option. Also looking at the Rice lake area. So many choices! I think I need to just pick a area and go with it. There’s just not much info out there on the smaller less popular lakes. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Decided im going to give St. Germain a try over New Years. Im now trying to decide wether to bring the snowdog or my ATV which is a sportsman 1000 and weighs about 3X the snowdog. From the little information I come across it sounds like the snow has melted and the ice conditions have improved and will continue to do so. Are there any locals that could give some insight and opinions on how conditions are looking? Don’t have any particular lakes picked out yet. I realize every lake will vary just looking for some in general conditions. I prefer to bring my ATV if possible.
Decided im going to give St. Germain a try over New Years. Im now trying to decide wether to bring the snowdog or my ATV which is a sportsman 1000 and weighs about 3X the snowdog. From the little information I come across it sounds like the snow has melted and the ice conditions have improved and will continue to do so. Are there any locals that could give some insight and opinions on how conditions are looking? Don’t have any particular lakes picked out yet. I realize every lake will vary just looking for some in general conditions. I prefer to bring my ATV if possible.
Check out Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Facebook page. They post a fishing and ice condition report weekly. They’re in Minoqcua. I was turned onto this info by another member here.
I caught some decent crappies on lake Namekagon a few years back…………..
Decided im going to give St. Germain a try over New Years. Im now trying to decide wether to bring the snowdog or my ATV which is a sportsman 1000 and weighs about 3X the snowdog. From the little information I come across it sounds like the snow has melted and the ice conditions have improved and will continue to do so. Are there any locals that could give some insight and opinions on how conditions are looking? Don’t have any particular lakes picked out yet. I realize every lake will vary just looking for some in general conditions. I prefer to bring my ATV if possible.
Our company is working north of Minocqua, and we had 5″ of light fluffy snow today. We could see guys out fishing Lake Minocqua this morning and after work, didn’t see any atv’s or snowmobiles out. I was checking Trout Lake last saturday, but it still had areas of open water near the islands, I did venture out a ways, but decided again going out after the ice was less than 3″, but this lake and Fence are usually the last to lock up being so deep. As someone else mentioned call a bait shop up there, you’ll get some good information. Good luck !
The Minoqua chain of lakes is C&R on walleyes and I don’t think you can target them. Ask Kurt’s Island Sports for info it is located across the street from the lake.
Also you might get some info from Rob Manthei on where to fish as he no longer guides for ice fishing. He guides soft water only anymore.
As mxskeeter just stated, the Minocqua Chain is C&R, but plenty of options in the immediate area. Call Kurt’s Island, he’ll have the latest on ice conditions and whether ATV travel is “safe” or not. I checked my local lake this week after the warmup and re-freeze, was happy to find 8″ and no slush. We got 4″ of fluff on Tuesday, and as I write this we’re getting a little more. Shouldn’t hurt the ice, but will slow the development of more. I’ll be out checking ice and doing a little fishing in the next week, so I’ll post more later.
I AM hearing reports of ATVs on the ice, but it’s scattered and very lake-specific so far.
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