Wisconsin's Best Bets for Fishing
Do you always fish close to home? That's a good thing, but you can expand your horizons by checking out these excellent angling opportunities just down the road.
| 2004 FISHING CALENDAR
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By Ted Peck
Wisconsin is a tough state to fish. With excellent angling opportunities just a few minutes away from any point in our state, many of us seldom venture far from home to wet a line. Why do you think people from Chicago drive all way the up to Minocqua and points north? Besides the Friday night all-you-can-eat fish fry, it's mostly for the excellent fishing. Let's take a lesson from the flatlanders: if we all moved around a little more here in the Land of Cheese and tried fishin' a few different species, there would be the realization that the only reason to leave Wisconsin is for a quick visit to witness another Super Bowl appearance by the Packers.
Between now and next January, why not check out some of these excellent angling opportunities just a little farther down the road in America's Dairyland.
JANUARY
Bluegills at Stoddard A myriad of weed edges on the Mississippi River's Pool 8 just west of Stoddard in Vernon County hold bluegills by the thousands every winter with a bite that essentially lasts all winter long.
Green, gold, glow or orange Rat Finkees, Demons or Marmooska Jigs tipped with a wax worm and mobility are the keys to a quick limit of 8- to 10-inch fish. Use finesse with no more than 2-pound-test monofilament and a neutrally buoyant float.
Contact: Merfeld's Hardware, (608) 457-2580.
Chequamegon Bay Lake Trout First ice is the best time to chase lakers, splake and brown trout on this southern bay of Lake Superior. Move with developing ice northward out of Washburn by using your sonar to key on humps and saddles, then set smelt on two tip-ups while jigging a Crippled Herring spoon on another line.
Catfish on Lake Columbia Use your ice-fishing gear to catch small bluegills close to the rocks in this cooling lake near Portage, then hook the 'gills under the dorsal fin and make a long cast, using an egg-sinker above a barrel swivel with a 10-inch leader and No. 1 hook to keep the bait close to the bottom.
Photo by Ron Sinfelt
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FEBRUARY
Big Green Lake Lakers Chasing lake trout on our deepest inland lake is a favorite pastime for many people in southern Wisconsin. Cut bait is the best bet when targeting water less than 60 feet deep at first ice. Ciscoes and the occasional pike are part of the bag early on, with mobility being a major key to success - keep moving until you find active fish.
Don't forget to bring the grill and the brats!
Contact: Guide Mike Norton, (920) 295-3617; www.nortonsfishing.com.
Pike Lake Chain Panfish This series of connected lakes in Wisconsin's northcountry around Iron River is basically unknown, offering some of the finest winter multi-species panfish action in the state - and a great place to snowmobile!
Eagle River Chain Walleyes First ice always offers the best action here. Target the breaklines on gravel points about dusk with tip-ups. Cranberry, Catfish, Scattering Rice and Eagle lakes are historically the most productive for winter 'eyes in this nine-lake chain.
MARCH
East Coast Steelhead Runoff is the major key to triggering inland movement for steelhead into our Lake Michigan tributaries. The past couple of years, low water in many tributaries has made fishing tough, as a result this fishery has become overlooked.
Wait about four days for waters to clear after rain or considerable snowmelt, and then drift spawn sacs under a Thill River Float trying to keep the bait just off the bottom in the Pike, Root, Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Pigeon, Ahnapee and other rivers that dump into Lake Michigan. More details on this great fishery are available starting on page 17 of this magazine.
Contact: Jalensky's Sports, (262) 554-1051.
Mississippi River Saugers Saugers stack by the thousands at the "bullnose" below Mississippi River lock-and-dam complexes. Vertically jig a "river jig" or blade bait on a snap. Some fish will be foul-hooked and must be released immediately.
Salmonids at Oak Creek A mix of brown trout, coho salmon and the occasional rainbow trout will hit minnows drifted on a hook and split shot in the discharge plume of this southern Lake Michigan power plant. Carry a weather radio and fish only if conditions are stable.
APRIL
Walleyes at De Pere The Fox River at the south end of Green Bay offers a legendary walleye bite every April, with the best fishing at night.
Remove the front treble from a fire-tiger Storm ThunderStick and target slackwater areas below the fish refuge at the dam. Crankbait fishing is excellent when the sun comes up.
Use a long-handled net to retrieve lost crankbaits on the river bottom to pay for your trip! And you can stop at the Packer Pro Shop at Lambeau Field on the way home!
Wolf River White Bass When water temperatures reach the mid-40s, white bass by the bajillions move upstream at Winneconne. Try a white RoadRunner horsehead jig. Putting white bass directly on ice and removing red "mud vein" when filleting results in better eating than if you just put the fish on a stringer.
Lake Wisconsin Crappies It doesn't take long for shallow side channels off of the main body of this southernmost flowage of the Wisconsin River to warm after ice-out. Crappies sense the warm up and move in these side channels in droves. Stealth and finesse are keys to success.
MAY
Lac Vieux Desert Muskies This Michigan-Wisconsin border water may be our best all-around fishery, with big muskies a major part of the mix.
Fluorescent colors work well in these somewhat stained waters. Look for fish to be hanging in fairly shallow water. Work your way south along the 10-foot weedline from the boat landing at the Misery Creek inlet on the Michigan side southwest toward the dam, which marks the headwaters of the Wisconsin River.
Contact: Land O' Lakes Chamber of Commerce, 1-800-236-3432.
Green Bay Tributary Smallies You'll have less company fishing the Peshtigo, Suamico, Oconto and Pensaukee river inlets for smallmouth bass on opening day than encountered at Sturgeon Bay, with the fish generally running larger, too. Tube jigs and other plastics work best!
Racine-Kenosha Cohos Charter captains out of our southern ports are hoping this won't be like last spring. If weather is stable, look for these silver salmon to follow the shoreline north during May. Target the top 20 feet of the water column with trolling spoons and dodger/fly combinations for a quick limit and thrillin' grillin'.
JUNE
Bass on Kentuck Lake This beautiful lake eight miles east of Eagle River defies conventional wisdom, with both largemouth and smallmouth bass sharing similar habitat.
In June both species are cruising in shallow water in preparation for spawning. Light spinning gear with a No. 4 Mepps Black Fury spinner is a great way to locate active fish that are relating to both docks and rocky shoreline. Find 'em and then get serious with tube jigs, Senkos and other plastics.
Contact: Eagle River Sports, (715) 479-8804; www.eaglesportscenter.com.
Sturgeon Bay Steelhead If you have a boat that can handle the "big pond," set a waypoint in your GPS where the ship canal enters the lake, and start trolling southeast with Flamethower spoons and clown-pattern Rapalas behind planer boards. Be careful! Fog banks can sneak in on little cat feet between fishing areas and the mainland before you know it.
Little Tamarack Flowage Muskies Guide Howie Meyer says this flowage between Presque Isle and Land O' Lakes is super water on a windy day. Drop the trolling motor right at the launch and toss Crane Baits over submergent cabbage. Howie's e-mail is DylnThom@aol.com if you need a good guide.
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