By George Langley
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – We are in our last gasp of what has been one of the most unusual ice fishing seasons on record here. We’ve got only two weekends left in the game fishing season, and it sure doesn’t look like we’re going to get any of our normal, miserably cold weather during this last bit. While the lack of snow has kept the snowmobile trails closed all season and we haven’t rented more than one or two pairs of skis or snowshoes, we are thankful that our lakes froze in the beginning of the season and stayed that way.
For the most part, the fishing has been fantastic. We’ve seen a tremendous number of people through this season who have never been to the area and traveled here only because we have ice. While it doesn’t come close to making up for the lack of snowmobiling, we sure wish the area chambers would take notice. And while the game fishing season is closing soon, we still have some of the best panfishing of the winter yet to come.
Walleye fishing has been inconsistent, with some fish being caught early in the morning and at the normal “prime time” around sunset. As usual, the best spots vary from one lake to the next. Some lakes have been producing walleye in deep water in the 20- to 30-foot range, and other lakes have seen most action on top of shallower structure. Use tip-ups rigged with shiners or sucker minnows and try jigging if the tip-ups are not producing fish.
Northern pike fishing has been very good. The best spots have been around the remaining green weed beds, where you can find them. Action has been pretty consistent all day long until sunset. There are dozens of lakes in the area with decent pike populations, and we’ve had good reports area wide. Large shiners have produced the biggest pike, but action has been good with medium shiners and sucker minnows, too.
Panfish action has been very inconsistent. Some nice bluegills are being caught in shallow water using waxworms. You can also get ‘gills suspended in deep water on some lakes. Electronics are almost a must in this situation to help you locate these schools of fish. Perch fishing has been decent, but the larger perch have been a bit tough to find. Big perch mainly hang over deep mud flats right now, feeding on wigglers. Crappie fishing has been just okay over the past week.
Get your ice creepers strapped on and get out there for some walleye and northern while you can. This season will definitely go down in the record books as one of the strangest we’ve seen.
Good luck and good fishin’!