Monroe County Cranberry Bog Bluegill Beatdown

By Pat Howard 0

Well after a few weeks of fishing but not catching it was time to do some exploring. A offer was extended to fellow IDO Ice Pro Staffer Joel Nelson for a day of exploring on a Monroe County Cranberry Bog. Needless to say he couldn’t get here fast enough. So at 8 AM Friday (1-7-10) morning we hit the ice.

Without the benefit of a Lakemaster chip it was old school time to walk and drill. Now we weren’t going completely old school as our Marcums flashers and Joel’s Marcum underwater camera made the trip. Joel punched 30 some holes with his Strikemaster Solo in a secluded bay surrounded by wood while I trailed him with my LX3 giving him depth numbers. It was hard not to stop and fish as just about every hole held fish. Finally it was time to fish. I believe we both started with Custom Jigs and Spins Slender Spoons tipped with waxies while this produced a few smaller bluegills they weren’t what we were looking for. The camera told us a few nicer Bluegills roamed the area but the majority were little guys. I switched to a clown colored Diamond Jig and Joel switched to a Gill Pill.

After a bit of hole hopping I stumbled on a good hole that held a few nicer bluegills. After a few came topside I let Joel know and he came over and set up and the Marcum camera told him that I was over a couple stumps that had nice Bluegills cruising in amongst them. We managed to ice a few here but then it died off.

Time to explore again.On the way over I asked Joel if he ever had fish bite on the other side of a lake when they wouldn’t bite on the first side. His answer was “not with Bluegills”. After a short hike it was my turn on the Strikemaster and Joel on the Marcum. This time we punched around in a funnel area or pinch point between 2 points and hit the jackpot on the backside with a 10 foot hole. Joel set up there while I worked the edges I did ice a few more nice gills then Joel let me in on what was going on in his Otter Cottage. A solid red line would cruise thru about 5 feet down and would pounce on a jig as soon as the jig got close to it and every one was a real beauty. It didn’t take me long to be set up right next to him to join in the fun. And it was fun ! ! We decided to call it a day about 400 after a full day of drilling holes and tug-o-war with some nice gills. We kept 20 7-9 inchers for a meal for each of our families and released the rest including all over 9 inches practicing selective harvest. It was a great day on the ice with a great friend and it doesn’t get any better than that.

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Pat Howard

0 Comments

  1. More “just for fun” pictures

    Friday the wind was wicked but we were both comfy and warm in our Otter Cottages I truly believe they are #1 in wuss huts.

  12. As is often the case, pictures don’t convey well the numbers of fish, size of fish, and amount of fun we had that day. Those suspended gills were a blast, and like Pat mentioned, every one of them was quality. What seemed to be happening was that the larger fish were cruising in search of food, not only higher, but faster in order to simply get a solid bite to eat. The numbers of smaller fish down towards the bottom was really incredible, and difficult to deal with at times.

    For both the wood we fished, as well as determining size/location of the bigger gills, the camera was key. Even though we were in stained water, and using a camera “fixed” on your bait wasn’t that useful, it remained a key piece of the puzzle to help reveal what was going on and to help unlock the bite.

    We didn’t even stay until prime-time, electing to get on the road and enjoy the good time we’d already had by taking part in an old-fashioned WI Friday night fish fry.

    I had a great time, thanks for the fun Pat!

    Joel

  14. Here’s an example of how well those fish were taking the slender spoons. It almost got to be problematic if you didn’t have a forceps handy. These things would take in the ENTIRE treble. Not just the part with bait, not a single part of the hook in the corner of the mouth, but the hole treble into the mouth. It’s fun when they’re that aggressive!

    Joel

  15. Do you guys fish in the actual cranberry bogs or is it ponds near by that they pull water from to flood the bogs? I’ve heard about a lot of different types of fishing that goes on around the bogs, but have never done it.

  19. Great Job Gentleman!! Nothing fights pound for pound like big Bluegills. I also think those fillets are tough to compete with for a fishfry. I’ve always wondered about those Cranberry Bogs in that area whether they held fish or not. I know there are several around that area. Do they all hold Gils and Crappies?? Do any of them hold any Big pike to hold down the numbers of pannies??

    Again Great job and fun report!! Makes me want to get my quiver stick out BAD!!

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