We are still ice fishing! It’s been a very slow Spring transition here in Northern Wisconsin but this week it’s looking like we are finally going to start seeing temps into the 50s and even 60s which means we will probably only have a week or two of safe ice to fish anywhere in our area. That said, anyone who likes late-ice panfish should see a massive movement of fish from the basin to shallow weeds and structure through the end of the season. These fish will likely be a bit finicky the first few days after they move shallow but will become more aggressive once they get acclimated to the different environment. Morning and evening bites are typically best and being mobile is key, as these schools of bluegills and crappies are really on the move. Your typical tungsten and plastics will work well as well as small spoons or rattlebaits for the bigger fish. It’s also the best time of year to catch a trophy perch. Fish shallow with larger glide baits or spoons and keep searching until you get smoked by an aggressive jumbo!
As far as open water opportunities, Lake superior tributaries are now open and folks are catching steelhead and holdover lake run browns as well as resident fish in the Brule and some of the other smaller rivers. Our inland streams are open for catch and release stream trout as well. These typically can be caught on spinners or small jigs, or by fly fishing. The Fox river has been producing tons of walleyes and some mixed bag rough fish as well as the Mississippi River on pools 2 and 4. These river walleye and sauger have really been biting well on blade baits, jig and plastics and hair jigs. The near-surface bite for coho salmon has picked up on Lake Superior and reports of limits caught flatlining bright colored stickbaits at 2.5 to 3.2 mph have been coming in. That’s about it for now, so stay warm, and pray for spring!
Caleb Wistad – Hookedupwi
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