Pike fishing is also good across the river in Lawrence Lake on the Minnesota side. Reciprocity agreements with Iowa and Minnesota allow fishing with a valid Wisconsin fishing license essentially anywhere between the railroad tracks that parallel both sides of the river.

Goose Island County Park on the south side of LaCrosse, the backwaters behind the hospital and several other locales near this popular river town hold both numbers and good-sized pike. Onalaska, just north of here, is in a class by itself.

The affinity of crappies for woody structure holds true on backwaters of the Mississippi River. My favorite stumps in DeSoto Bay are under 10 feet of water, with crappies typically holding about halfway down in the water column, making electronics a plus.

In many shallow backwater areas, you can literally find success with a stick, 5 feet of line and a sensitive spring bobber or tiny Thill float. But lure choice for panfish can make a profound difference.

The Li'L Cecil -- especially in purple, pink or orange -- is by far the best crappie bait on the Miss. It will also work quite well for bigger bluegills and perch. A small Genz Fat Boy with a Lindy Munchie Teeny Tail, Moon Glo, Marmooksa and the venerable Rat Fink are in a distant second-place tie behind the Li'L Cecil.

Last year's good old-fashioned winter enabled anglers to venture out for several weeks on the hardwater below several of the huge dams that separate the river into pools, looking for walleyes and perch with No. 3 Jigging Rapalas and Swedish Pimples. Most winters, this treacherous bite lasts only a week or so, if it happens at all.

The Mississippi River may be the most unforgiving water (besides the Great Lakes) in the entire state. If the opportunity comes up to chase walleyes below the dams, stay on the beaten path to and from the fishin' hole. Straying off smooth ice onto "shove ice" can be a fatal misstep.

Because waters of the Mississippi are somewhat stained, fishing action is almost always better an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset rather than the dawn and dusk bite commonly found on many lakes.

River levels can fluctuate even under the ice, affecting water clarity, fish location and overall success. Some backwaters traditionally produce better at some times move than others. Calling ahead is a good idea.

Contacts: Bob's Bait & Tackle on French Island, phone (608) 782-5552; on Pool 9, Cap'n Hook's Bait & Tackle, phone (608) 689-2900, Web site: www.captainhookstackle.com; on Pool 10, B-Fish-N Tackle, phone (608) 412-0170.

LAKE KOSHKONONG
Just when you think ice-fishing on Kosh couldn't possibly get any better, it does! Local anglers say this past summer offered the best walleye action since 2004, with every reason to believe the winter now at hand will be the best big-fish year since 1987.

A huge year-class of 'eyes from 1993 still has good representation in this 10,400-acre lake that straddles the Rock-Jefferson county line in far south-central Wisconsin. These fish are at -- or very close to -- 30 inches. We're talking honest 10-pounders!

Back in '87, ice-anglers beat the daylights out of big walleyes on Koshkonong. It has taken 20 years to bring this wide spot on Rock River back into balance. Fisheries biologist Don Bush of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said Kosh is in "a better state of balance than I've ever seen" -- encouraging words from the guy who has managed these waters for a quarter-century.

Walleyes here resist classic winter patterns. There is little structure to hold fish in what amounts to a vast, dark-bottomed basin no more than 6 feet deep. Koshkonong's walleyes are constantly on the move, herding baitfish to a point of easy ambush. This attack can come at any time, day or night.

Besides keeping your bait in the water, you need to keep tabs on only three key elements for success here: 1) Set tip-ups over water at least 5 feet deep; 2) use hole covers or those round tip-ups to minimize unnatural light penetration; and 3) try to stay away from the crowds.