LaCrosse area Ice Report

Thursday and Friday all I could think of was getting to Stoddard (pool 8) to finally get onto some ice and chase the first ice gills. I did a drive by Friday afternoon and couldn’t believe the amount of people. It looked elbow to elbow. After some thought and knowing it was only going to be more crowded for the weekend, I decided I didn’t want to drive 50 minutes and play in the crowd. I elected to stay closer to home and target walleye and crappie and try Reel Weeds for my first time.

I was set up by 2:00PM Saturday. I set 2 beaver dams in 11fow along an edge that jumps up to 5fow. I then headed out from the edge still in 11-12fow and set up my reel weeds in an arched shape. At first my MarCum LX-5 was marking a big fat zero, half hour later a few fish started to show now and then to take the bait. One hour later my screen looked like I was fishing on top of a Christmas tree. I started catching one crappie after another. No monsters (which I know are in this area) but I had something to do while waiting for a flag. Speaking of flags, I had one flag and broke off on a very nice eye that I seen through the clear ice I kept a few of the medium crappies to make a start on a fish fry. The crappies were inhaling a Purple Little Cecil tipped with a waxie. I have to believe it was the Reel Weeds that were holding these crappies in the middle of no where! Day one ended a bust for the tip ups but a lot of fun using Reel Weeds and catching crappies.

Sunday I was meat at the local bait shop by JP Mason just before 6:00am. After a cup of java and shootin’ the bull we headed out on the ice. First thing I did was get the tip ups in, then we headed out a ways from where I had spent Saturday hoping to find some of the larger crappies. We were setup just before light Reel Weeds and all when I had my first flag. It was a nice 20” eye. Before the first eye even hit the ice my second flag was up, another eye at 15+ After it became light the only Walleyes still hitting were 8 – 13 incheslong. We were meat by JP’s neighbor Eric and Mike C. around 8:00 and the 4 of us were catching small crappies every now and then in the Weeds. They were not holding like the day before and the biting fish were running smaller than the day before. We split up and went hunting. JP Mason found the spot holding some fish. Still nothing to brag about but we were on fish. Green Little Cecil was the color of the day for me. JP Mason was nailing fish with a Chartreuse Rat Finky. Mike C was using an Orange/Yellow Little Cecil and it was working also. It was a lot of work but I was able to weed enough crappies out to finish off the fish fry and Mason and Mike put one together also. Just as I was leaving for the day JP Mason landed a snot rocket on his jig stick. It sure looked like fun

Day two ended with tip ups winning for me

A word of caution; we were fishing on 5 inches of clear ice but the shore line is getting soft in a hurry. With the warming temps and the not so cold nights things are going to get wet and soft Creepers are also a must if you want to stay upright! A hard fall will turn what could be a fun trip into a pain!

Good luck, be safe, and say a prayer for some cold!!!

Bret