By George Langley
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – This is the time of the year we’d like to see temperatures staying below freezing. We’re looking at some warm days this week, but fortunately, the nights are still getting below freezing.
While this is not great ice-building weather, at least it’s not staying above freezing overnight, and we have no big snow in the forecast. We’re seeing plenty of people coming through for bait and getting reports of around four to five inches in the places where folks are going out. The bigger lakes are going to take a while longer to ice up this year.
Walleye fishing has started, but because anglers are still somewhat limited in their ability to move around and get to the deep holes, we’re seeing action in the shallow weeds. So far, so good! We’ve heard reports this weekend of great numbers and good fun under tip-ups, if you can find a good spot.
It always takes a while to find these fish at the beginning of the season and to nail down their patterns on a particular lake. Start your search at the deep side of the weed edges, if you can get there. Most anglers are getting sucker minnows or medium shiners for their tip-ups, and fishing late afternoon into night.
Northern action has started, but slowly, just as the walleye fishing. Give us better ice and you will see a lot of ice anglers fishing the deep weed edges. Look for the greenest weeds you can find.
Panfish action has been ok, also, with some bluegill being caught in shallow weeds. They should stay put, along with the perch, in the shallow weedy areas until mid-winter, when they tend to move deeper. When jigging for these fish in the shallows, try both pulsing the jig and dead-sticking to see what’s working at the moment. Once anglers are able to move deeper, jigging upwards through the water column can be an effective technique.
If you haven’t gone out yet, now’s the time to get all of your equipment in working order. If the weather gets colder next week, it won’t be too long until we see those bigger bodies of water iced up. Be careful on “new” lakes and spots that have just closed up – spud as you go and remember, just because it looks safe doesn’t mean that it is!
Good luck and good fishin’!