A rejuvenated Lake Winnebago showed up over the past weekend. Sportsmen hit the ice; either fishing or scouting for the upcoming Sturgeon Spearing Season, many of them for the first time in 2015. Water clarity varies around the lake with the Fond du Lac area at 5 feet of visibility while Stockbridge feature 13 feet plus. Just a week ago clarity was closer to 16 feet in many parts of the lake.
Ice depths are inconsistent, but on average are 14-16” in south, 18-21’ in the lower central basin, 12-21” out of Oshkosh, and about 17” in the north. These numbers are averages, and there are plenty of locations with under 14 inches, and over 21 inches.
There are several working cracks on the ice, some which are brand new as of Sunday. The majority of cracks are set up east to west, which is atypical for Lake Winnebago. North or South winds can become dangerous as they can move the ice sheets around.
The focus of Lake Winnebago was on the preparations for the Sturgeon Spearing season which kicks off on Valentine’s Day. A full preview is already posted on myfishingpartner.com, along with a video recap of the conditions at each major access point.
As for fishing reports on Lake Winnebago.
The south end is vacant of fisherman, and maybe of any sizable fish schools also.
The Black Wolf area has some pockets of crappies, white bass, perch and walleyes. I would not call this bite great, but rather just average.
In Oshkosh, the group off of Merritt Street is reporting some white bass schools moving around. Often these schools have crappies higher in the water column, with white bass at the bottom of the school. There also has been some walleye activity in the mouth of the river. I never suggest fishing in this location as the ice is unpredictable due to water flow. Larger silver spoons tipped with minnow heads, was the best presentation.
On the east shore there has been an excellent walleye bite, and it’s no secret. The word got out on the bite about midweek, and the area was crowded by the weekend. These fish are roaming, but the general area is near Brothertown. These fish are hungry and are engulfing the baits. Pink, orange and gold were the best color schemes. Bigger bodied jigging lures were preferred this week. Many of the fish in this school are the class from 2013, typically in the 12 inch range; however, there arenumerous larger fish in the mix.
Lake Poygan keeps chugging along.
There are defined pockets of stained water and clear water on Lake Poygan. The majority of the feeding fish were in the dirty water this week. The mouth of the Wolf River is holding walleyes, but the ice depth is only 3” and very dangerous to approach.
The smaller the bait….the better on Lake Poygan. This has been the motto in 2015. Golds, purples and reds are working the best. Don’t be afraid to drop your size presentation all the way down to a pan fish jig and waxie. If they aren’t biting for you, make the bait smaller. Overall the fishing has slowed, but it is still pretty strong. Keep moving until you find ‘em.
The Otter Street Fisheree occurred this past Saturday. The top walleye came in at 6.52 pounds, which is very impressive for Lake Winnebago. The winning white bass weighed in at 1.91 pounds, pike at 16.40 pounds and perch at .66 of a pound.
Next weekend is Sturgeon Spearing. Almost all standard ice fishing becomes forgotten over the next two weeks. It is likely that our next report will be in two weeks. However, we will have full coverage of the spearing season on myfishingpartner.com. Stay tuned for the opening day video which will be released sometime on Saturday evening. [email protected] is my email should you have any reports, or photos you would like to share.
