Outstanding weather moved through the Lake Winnebago region, with a little taste of Indian summer. Anglers came out in massive amounts around the area.
On Lake Winnebago, the first real action of the year has begun. Tree lines have been placed in some areas of the lake, and additional vehicle bridges may be placed by the end of the week. ATV travels has been common in many areas, with vehicles venturing onto the ice in Fond du Lac, Gladwater Beach and Oshkosh as of Sunday. There is currently an unplowed road running from Oshkosh to Quinney. On the south end, the cracks are so massive the bridges will not span over the openings in some cases.
Overall ice depths on Lake Winnebago run from 6-16”. The ice’s surface is slightly snow covered, with a very rough ice top.
Fishing reports have been fairly negative. It appears the large schools of fish have not formed yet, with the exception of some white bass schools on the central basin.
Lake Poygan may have been as busy as I have ever seen it. A guesstimate of over 1,000 vehicle were on the ice on Saturday. Travel is outstanding with some minor drifts. There are some bad spots on the ice especially east and south of Horseshoe Hole.
In certain parts of Lake Poygan, the bite has been good. In other parts of the lake, it’s been beyond outstanding. Ice depths were about 18 inches in most areas, with some pockets in the 10 inch range on the western portion of the lake.
Horseshoe Hole on Lake Poygan has held crappies, white bass, and walleyes. We even caught some sheephead here, indicating food sources may be at a premium right now. The crappies had impressive size, but the walleyes were running to the small side. Bare gold colored Slender Spoons did well here.
To the west of Indian Point, there was a massive school of walleyes. Many of these fish were from the 2013 year class, running in the 12 inch range. There were some tanks in the mix, going over the 22” mark. The fish were so thick within the school, they were running into our lines as they moved through.
The word about this school got out quickly via cell phones, and in a matter of an hour the pocket of fishermen grew from about 10 groups, to over a 75 groups. Initially the walleyes wanted size 3 Rapala jigging raps in gold and black. As the pressure moved in, the bite converted to a minnow under a tip up. Many anglers walked away with limits in short order.
Carp were very common here too. We had several hook ups, with one carp not able to fit through the hole. We also observed several gar being caught on the tip ups.
Party on Poygan is next weekend. This event brings in large numbers of anglers. I would expect Lake Poygan to be under siege on Saturday. Lake Winnebago can expect increased traffic going into next weekend.
Thanks for another great week. Please keep those reports coming in. [email protected] is my email. Remember, the ice is never 100% safe. Stay on top!
