Lake Winnebago is ice free! Let me repeat….. Lake Winnebago is ice free! The spring like weather over the past week has deteriorated the ice on the main lake, and the first boats ventured onto the water over the weekend. With water temps below 40 degrees, there is little activity to date for active fishing reports.
The main fishing activity remains on the Wolf and Fox River during the past week. On both rivers it seems as if there are more boats than fish.
The Wolf River has been frustrating anglers for the last several weeks, especially to the north of Fremont. It appears many of the walleyes are either in the marshes, or have been done spawning for several weeks and have migrated out of the river systems. With the higher temperatures over the weekend, the remaining pre spawn fish should be completing their rituals. Falling river water levels will help push these fish back out of the marshes and into the river system.
The Wolf River has very high water levels, and is flooded. No wake rules apply on the Waupaca County waters. Be sure to read the no wake rules at the launch. These rules are misunderstood by many anglers, assuming all parts of the river are no wake.
If rainfall totals this week remain at a minimum, the Winneconne Bridge should fire up this week, and maybe a week later the Fox River in Oshkosh. The trolling bite should also start in Lake Poygan toward the weekend or following week, based on my estimates.
Easter Sunday saw an uptick in activity, and hopefully this is a sign of things to come. (photo of Jessica Mundt, provided by Jessica from Easter Sunday) The best walleye activity has been near the Rat River to the south of Fremont. Post spawn fish are typically on the eddies, and out of the current. Frogs have been common diet item for walleyes recently. Patterns are not holding from day to day, and in some cases only last a few hours. The sturgeon migration into the river is occurring, and these fish have been commonly hooked.
This past Saturday the Fort Fremont tournament was held. This tournament featured some excellent “river sticks”. The list of anglers getting skunked was large. Approximately 16 pounds won the tournament, so not everyone had a tough go of it. The average bag was between 3-6 pounds.
Lake Winnebago saw little activity. The feeder creeks and Oshkosh channels have been receiving more attention. In some areas, there are some midsized gills, crappies and perch being caught. The main issue revolves around water levels. The lake levels and feeder creeks are well below normal water levels for mid-April. The water level is managed, and they have been restricting water into the system until the ice melted to avoid property damage. I tested the waters of Lakeside Park on Saturday, and found that the fish have not moved in yet in big numbers.
On the Fox River in Oshkosh, the river has heavy flow/current to it. Heavier jigs in excess of a half-ounce are required. To date, results have been subpar for both walleye and white bass.
On the Fox River in DePere, the gates of the dam were opened for most of the week. The chocolate milk colored water hindered fishing with just an inch of visibility. For the most part, the walleye spawn has been completed, with just male walleyes remaining in the general area of the dam. On occasion, some pre-spawn females have been caught.
This week, the AIM Walleye Series will be hosted in Winneconne WI. Over 100 teams are expected to compete in this event. Expect the Wolf River, Lake Winneconne and Lake Poygan to be filled with tournament boats, especially on Sunday.
Be sure to keep in touch with the myfishingpartner.com via the Facebook page and twitter account. This a great way to get midweek reports and some fun photos. With a little luck and warm weather, the Winnebago system is on the brink of full tilt walleye action. [email protected] is my email for reports, comments and questions.
