With the up’s and down’s in temperatures earlier this season, I advise that anglers use caution when fishing in Northern Wisconsin. Most lakes in the Minocqua and Tomahawk area have 6-10 inches of ice with 12+ inches of snow on top. This snow adds a lot of weight on the ice and can make for areas of thin ice and difficult travel.
On the Panfish end of the spectrum, we have been concentrating most of our efforts on targeting Crappies and Bluegills. On the flowages they have been relating to mid-depth flats off of the channel edges, in 8-12 feet of water. On most lakes, these fish have been setting up in deeper water (15-30ft) on main lake basins. Panfish have been in tight schools so drilling a lot of holes and moving around have been key. VMC Tubby Jigs tipped with a Trigger X Spike Worm or Mustache Worm have been producing most fish.
If you like to fish tip ups, there has been plenty of action from Pike and Walleye’s. Scattering your lines across shallow weed or stump flats has been the best (2’-5’). Action from Northern Pike will start your day, with Walleye’s moving up shallow to feed in the evening hours.
Lake Winnebago System
The upper lakes of the Winnebago System (Poygan, Winneconne, Butte Des Morts) have been producing some great action from Walleye, White Bass, and Crappie. Move, move, move, is the name of the game. These fish can move miles from day to day, so ambition and mobility are your two best friends. Most of our fish have been coming in 4-6 feet of water, jigging with VMC Tingler Spoons in natural color patterns. I will keep moving ¼ to ½ of a mile at a time trying different depths and areas to find the active schools of fish.
For more information on Wisconsin’s fishing opportunities please visit www.rasmussenoutdoors.com.
Adam Rasmussen
What happened to the walleye fishing on the pestigo and Oconto river segment???