02/17 – Rochester Area Fishing Summary

Lake Zumbro has continued to be slow this past week. The ice is changing and driving on it is not advisable. I have heard that the ice around the edges is thin. Never go on the ice above Fisherman’s Inn – that is where the snowmobiles went through the ice.

Foster-Arends Lake is producing quite a few trout and some small panfish. Minnows, ice jigs tipped with waxies, and power bait are working best. Those fishing in a shack are able to see all the way to the bottom even in deeper water. You can see the fish, but can you get them to bite? Ice is about 12-16 inches in most places, but is opening near some of the shoreline and there is an open spring near the NE corner. Use caution when walking in that area.

Chester Woods is slow. It is producing some bluegills and a few crappies. Ice is 10-16 inches in most places. Be alert for thin ice near the beach or around wood which has heated up enough to melt some of the ice.

Willow Creek is still producing bluegills. Best fishing seems to be in about 10+ ft. Small ice jigs tipped with a waxie is working. Ice is 12-18 inches in most places.

The Gamehaven Lake (boy scout camp) is producing bluegills and small crappies. Using electronics will help to locate suspended fish. Minnows and small ice jigs with waxies are working. Ice is 12-16 inches in most places.

Country Club Manor pits are producing lots of gills and crappies, although most of the fish are small. Minnows and small ice jigs tipped with waxies are working. Ice is 10-16 inches in most places, but is subject to thinning as there are springs and some melting near shorelines. Be careful where you park as some areas are not legal.

The Mississippi backwaters are going well in some places. The harbors have been slow most days. Wilcox, West Newton, the Finger Lakes, the Dike Road, Winona, Alma, etc. are all producing fish – mostly bluegills, but there are some very nice crappies. Small ice jigs tipped with waxies or spikes are working, with minnows producing a few fish. Ice in most places is 10-18 inches. Use caution around springs and shorelines.

Please help to keep our fishing areas free from trash. Maybe some of us can make it a habit to take a bag with us and pick up some trash left by others.

Good Fishing,
Mike

Thanks for the report Mike!

Broken Record ?

Just playin with Mr. Mike.

The backwaters down here have been worthless the last couple weeks. I think the fish are getting tired of being stuck under the ice for this long too ?

Mike I want to commend you and also say thanks for your Rochester Area Fishing Summary reports. You have been consistant all ice fishing season with these reports. If memory serves me correctly you usually issue these reports at least once a week and usually on a Thursday. This gives people going out on the weekend, a heads up. I am sure others appreciate your work in keeping us informed. Thanks Mike.

Mike, thanks again for the report, makes it easy for us to make weekend decisions. I stopped by Willow early this morning and noticed the ice to be about bare of snow again (last weelend’s meltdown) and I also noticed ice sheets on the bank about a foot higher than the present ice level. This tells me the snow melted and that pond must have had a fair amount of water on top of the ice, which slowly went into the outlet and disappeared. I don’t know what this means from a safety standpoint but I’d caution people heading out to this pond to be very cautious as they venture out onto the ice.

Yes, be cautious at all times when approaching the ice. We are in that time of the year when there has been lots of melting which can cause the ice to weaken and become unsafe. It is still worth going, but just be alert. Some of the best fishing should be coming very soon!

Good Fishing,
Mike

went out all day yesterday and had a pretty good day….on Foster me and a buddy landed about 15 or 20 trout which are still swimmin out there from about 630AM till about 9 or 930 then traveled back to our place, Spring Valley, and checked out a local pond..same deal very very dirty but landed about a dowzen or so 11 to 13 inch crappies and a few smaller ones everything hit about 5 to 8 feet down in 20 feet of water…waxies were the key not minnows for some reason..anyways good luck guys keep fishin.