We are still on the ice here in NW Wisconsin and the fishing has been heating up…unfortunately so has the weather! I’ll talk about ice conditions first because that is obviously a concern with this crazy warm December. We do have some lakes north of the Rice Lake area that made 6-8 inches of ice during our slightly colder weather in late November and early December. These lakes have still been fishable as of December 17 as I write this. Some of the slightly larger lakes we were on that had 3″ to 4″ of ice are not safe at this point and likely won’t be until we get another good cold spell of at least a few days, which looks unlikely any time soon.
So, now that the depressing news is out of the way, on to the fishing. Panfish have been holding unusually tight to weeds so far this season, probably due to the lack of snow cover and high light penetration keeping the weeds alive and green. We’ve been catching nice bluegills and crappies as shallow as 5′ of water in the thick stuff. Small tungsten jigs tipped with spikes have been the best bet for these fish. There are some classic basin crappie bites going on as well but these fish have been surprisingly spooky for being in such deep water due to the lack of snow. I’ve been watching them with my live sonar and even 30′ down they are sometimes spooking from footsteps and auger holes. It’s best to stay put and wait them out or drill out all your holes and then walk QUIETLY between them. Heavy tungsten jigs, small spoons and small glide/rattle baits have all been working for these fish.
As far as game fish, walleyes have been tough to get on as most of our best walleye lakes still don’t have good ice (or ANY ice on some of them). Pike and bass are just starting to heat up and we had a great day chasing flags on the new Clam Predator tip ups yesterday landing over 30 pike. Setlines with large suckers have definitely been the best for pike so far. That’s where we are at for now, just pray for COLD!! —
Caleb Wistad – Hookedupwi
calebwistad@gmail.com
715-338-0545
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