FOX RIVER
The Fox River at De Pere is probably the most popular walleye water in the state when April rolls around. But walleyes are holding between the dam and Highway 172 bridge all winter long.

The major key to success is being on the ice from about 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. when fish are active. Although the strike window is relatively short, this is probably your best shot at icing a wallhanger walleye.

Setting two tip-ups just off bottom with a small egg-sinker above a No. 8 treble hook baited with a golden shiner or fathead while working a Swedish Pimple or Jigging Rapala on your third line is an effective strategy.

Fish higher in the water column and you're liable to tangle with a catfish just about anytime of day. Don't even think about eating these toxic critters unless you have a death wish. But if you're just looking for a really good pull, thread several redworms on a hook and fish about 8 to 12 feet down just out from the canal at Voyageur Park.

GREEN BAY'S WEST COAST
Pike and perch are major winter draws along Green Bay's western shore from Oconto clear up to Peshtigo Point.

Northerns up to 40 inches and beyond get iced all winter long out from Breakwater Park at the mouth of the Oconto River near the harbor, with easy access right at the Oconto Harbor. Although many ice-anglers drive out from this access, use due caution even on foot during prime pike times of first and late ice. There is also good access at two county parks, the better of that is Second County Park, which is also a top spot to jig for perch while waiting for a pike to trip your flag. There is really no significant structure to key on when fishing these waters. The big toothers can be anywhere, always cruising in search of a meal. Because pike are primarily sight-feeders, setting your dead smelt or roaches about a foot under the ice is solid strategy while working from the 8-foot contour into shallower water -- sometimes much shallower. Because the fish are essentially moving parallel to the shoreline, setting your three tip-ups in a line perpendicular to the shore is a good plan.

The ice out from Second County Park is a great place to spend a sunny December afternoon with several buddies. Don't forget the bratwurst!

Contact: Oconto Area Chamber of Commerce, www.ocontocounty.org.

LAKE NOQUEBAY
If you're looking for a bluegill "stringer" mount, this 2,500-acre Marinette County lake just east of Crivitz would be a good place to find the star players.

As is the case in many lakes, bluegills in Noquebay tend to school by year-class. If you're just looking for a quick limit of hand-sized "eaters," target the weed edges and pockets in less than 12 feet of water. The giant "bulls" tend to hold in deeper water, congregating in much smaller schools. A good place to start looking is along inside turns of the deep weed edge at about 18 feet. The dominant year-class of giants this winter will run about 9 to 10 inches. There are a few larger fish in the system of near-dinner-plate dimensions.

Most anglers use a couple of lightly hooked spikes and small ice jigs with jigging action somewhere between slow and subtle, with a deadstick on the side for these wary panfish. Electronics and 1-pound-test mono are also part of the success matrix.

This winter I'm going to try an opposite tack on these sometimes aggravating fish: aggressive jigging with the new Lindy Munchie "tiny tails" on a Lindy Little Fat Boy jig. Last winter I refused to use live bait for panfish, relying entirely on plastics. The result was equal or better success than in previous years with waxies, spikes and mousies -- without the frustration of frozen bait or the joy of sawdust in the eyes.