Minocqua, Lac du Flambeau, St Germain, Boulder Junction, and Manitowish Waters Wisconsin open water and Ice Fishing Report
FINALLY!!! We got decent travel conditions on our ice right now in the Minocqua area. The past cold weather and high winds have pretty much eliminated the slush. ATV and snowmobile travel is pretty darn good. Truck travel? Eh... Not yet everywhere. There are multiple layers of ice sitting on top of about 15-20" of good ice. Heavy vehicles like trucks could break thru those top layers. While they won't go thru the good ice at the bottom (probably) they can get stuck. And if you think getting an ATV or snowmobile unstuck is fun, wait till you try to get your truck out of a hole. All this coupled with some nice temps in the 30's has made for some very enjoyable trips.
A word of caution though. The good base layer of ice we have starts to dwindle very fast as you head north of Minocqua. When our base layer was being formed months ago, during a few cold and sleeting days, farther north they were getting heavy snow so their development was not near as good. Check locally and be very careful.
The fishing has been pretty darn good for late January. Low light is still the best time frame for almost all species but many fish are being taken during the day as well. These next few days are shaping up to be dynamite. Here's the Readers Digest run-down:
Perch - In the mud bug hunting
Crappie - Suspended over deep basins or in shallow green weeds chasing small minnows, bugs and stuff
Bluegill - same as Crappie
Walleye - Deep and hiding from the sun during the day and on green weed edges during low light chasing bait
Northern Pike - Everywhere looking for minnows and hotdogs
Smallmouth Bass - deeper weeds and rocks looking for minnows and bugs
Largemouth Bass - In the green weeds ambushing minnows
As far as what bait to use just "match the hatch." There is just a myriad of options. No relish on the hotdogs though.
Hey get out there and develop your favorite bait and the one you just gotta have. That's the challenge to fishing. Finding the right MO for that period of time you are on the water. Get at it and do it with friends and family. Now that's the only way!
Hey, we are in "YEAR END CLEARANCE" mode already here at the shop. Many items are at or below our cost right now. We want to move as much merchandise before the end of the season as possible so if you're looking for anything for ice fishing, especially electronics, shelters, hubs and clothing, make sure you check us out before you buy. Remember, if you think the big box stores have better deals than we do you are sadly mistaken. Folks come in frequently and tell us our selection is second to none! And they are correct. If you can't make it in you can always order from our website, at www.deweycatchemandhow.com and we'll ship your order to you. Lots of SPECIALS on right now and the Livescope Plus ice kits, MEGA Live ice kits and MEAG 360 Ice Kits are in stock! CLAM and Strikemaster Ice Suites are deeply discounted and the selection is dwindling fast. The sale ends when the stock is gone.
Monday thru Thursday from 6am to 6:30pm
Friday 6am to 7pm
Saturday 6am to 6pm
Sunday from 6am to 5pm.