Ice fishing has arrived! While limited open water remains and the ice in curent areas is unsafe yet, the backwaters, bays, and shallow flats have 3"-7" of good ice. Safety is a MUST if you are looking to venture out!
The bluegill and crappie fishing was pretty good over the weekend with some nice slab crappies and bull bluegills biting aggressively. Depths of 3'-7' containing wood and/or green weeds were holding fish. Panfish-sized jigs tipped with livebait worked well, with brighter colors seeming to produce the most action.
Walleye fishing has been a bit more spotty making it necessary to move to locate areas of active fish. Tip-ups baited with sucker minnows are a good bet with the early morning and evening hours producing the most action.
The northern pike bite has been good, with some larger fish finding their way up and out of the ice holes. Again, tip-ups baited with livebait, either sucker minnows or large golden shiners have been productive. Several of the backwater areas and bays have produced consistent action for anglers seeking those toothy adversary.
Tight lines,
Joel DeBoer
www.wisconsinanglingadventures.com