Bayfield Area Report 1-20-11

The Apostle islands, and Chequmageon Bay are a trout fisherman’s’ dream as splake, lake, and brown trout are readily available for the open water, and ice angler alike. Yesterday I headed down to Wisconsin in search of these three species of trout right off the shores of Bayfield, Wisconsin. As the sun was rising to the east, the Otter Cabin was being set up over 30 feet of crystal clear water that these trout call home. I left the truck and trailer and began the snowmobile ride at the ferry landing, which transports people to and from Madaline Island. The ice was five inches and there was around 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ice. 4-Wheelers are still making it around but snowmobile is the way to go! I had a short ride and I was at the spot I was going to set up on for the day.

Jigging for trout could be one of the most exciting ways to fish, as these fast, nimble predators, as they rapidly swim up and down the water column chasing your bait. The morning started off on a good note as three splake had made it into the Otter within the first 45 minutes. These were not monstrous fish,but nice healthy 16 to 19 inchers which made for a great fight! I was using my 32 inch Thorne Bros walleye rods which are perfect for this type of fishing. The same jigging spoons used to tie into the walleyes were also used here as quarter ounce and sometimes bigger gold, silver, and white buck shots and similar jigging spoons were dancing in front of the trout. It is important to jig aggressively as you are attracting these fish in from numerous yards away. This is why silver and gold prevail, due to the immense flash they give off once the sun peeks out. As the morning progressed and the sun got even higher,the bite tapered off and the fish became languid. The bite was best from 845 until 1030, as multiple fish were caught, seen, or lost.

Around 11 the legs needed a stretch and some brats were on the menu! The morning clouds and flurries quickly dissipated and the sun was out in full force. The Otter cabin was in need to be relocated a few yards away due to the amount of standing water on the ice. When bottles of pop and your minnow bucket start to float you know you have a lot of water in your house lol! The pressure from the snow con-caved the ice so when you drilled a hole water was flowing out. But after moving and re drilling there was considerably less water as we only had two holes now, compared to six around the house earlier. As the sun started to show signs of setting, we were all set up and ready for the evening bite. Throughout the day I had noticed two types of fish in this location. You had your bottom fish and the suspended fish. The bottom fish were a little more conservative and less active, as predicted. The suspended fish would chase your baits all over, from the bottom (30 feet) up to the ice and everywhere in between. These fish were a mix of browns and splake, as the bottom fish were confined to splake. The bottom fish had a distinct comfort zone as they would only chase your bait up six feet, so if you were going to catch one, you had to make it happen within their six foot safe zone. Pounding the bottom with your spoon was a key tactic to making these fish bite.

The sun began its fall to the west horizon and I was settled in and ready to go, but the evening bite proved to be much more tough than the morning was. The fish would chase your baits all over but not commit. With the crystal clear water, you can actually see down twenty feet, and when these fish would come up chasing my baits, I would stop watching the Lx-5 at 15 feet and just sight fish them from there on. I had a five plus pound splake or lake trout, couldn’t tell, come up and actually open its mouth wide open but not commit, and then just turn, swim away and come back and do the same thing. It was one cool sight! The day ended with numerous splake and two brown trout being caught. It was a fun day to say the least! If you are thinking about heading down, get in touch with Jim Hudson as he is on the ice daily catching these awesome fish! Another thing to try along with jigging spoons is a bladebait. I used the gold B FishNTackle B3 blade and had success with two splake in the middle of the day when other lures weren’t producing. The flash off these things is unbelievable and I feel they were a key player in attracting fish from far off distances that wouldn’t otherwise came in if other lures were being used. Next time you plan a trip, seriously consider this portion of Lake Superior, as the trout fishing is one of a kind!