Wisconsin Ice Fishing

Ice Ice Baby!

January is here and so is the ice! Good, hard, solid, safe ice. Although no ice is 100% safe, the ice that has been created with these nasty cold temperatures is really nice. I’m not a fan of these frigid temperatures but I am a fan of ice fishing. It gets me out of the house during the long, cold, and dark winter. Ice fishing brings me moments of joy. I hope you get to experience some of your own ice joy moments.

Although I will never guide for ice fishing, I do like to get out there and hunt down fish. Why won’t I guide for ice fishing? Frankly, it’s too much work. I also don’t have space for all the stuff needed. Safe transportation out on the ice is the biggest thing. Driving on the ice never ceases to freak me out. I’ll often walk for miles dragging my stuff out. And once the snow gets deep I’m done with all that walking.

Here’s a fishing report. I checked out first ice on Winnebago on December 14th. I hit up Asylum Bay as my first stop. Wow, not many fisherman, and not many fish. I caught one small perch in 2.5 hours of active ice fishing. Then I decided to check out Cowling Bay. It appeared as though I was the first person to go out there. I brought my spud and checked the ice as I went out. Yep, at least 4 inches. I drilled a hole and had a dandy crappie on the ice within 2 minutes. The rest of my afternoon was fun to say the least. I managed a 17 inch + large mouth bass, numerous white bass, a few small perch and a couple of respectable blue gills. All in all a great day on the ice. I even topped it off with a 19.5 inch eelpout.

Last Friday I ventured out on Poygan with 2 friends. We went separate ways to locate fish. The ice was 12 inches already. Full size trucks were driving out. I was driving as well. Moved a bunch before setting up my shelter for the first time. 6 degree start temp. I think it made it up to 12 that day. Winds were okay at 5-15 mph. Overcast except for a moment when the sun peaked through then went away. I trusted my jigging rap to catch fish. Ended the day with a limit of walleyes. Long day for 5 fish though. Had to keep moving. There was only one spot where I caught more than one at a location. Got two one what was the hot spot for the day. I hoped to get in on some white bass action but we never found those. The walleyes that bit were very aggressive. Just wacked the lure! Love putting walleyes on the ice. So fun to catch.

Be safe out there. I hope I get to fish with you come open water. Will it happen in February? It did last year.